A Palestinian official said that President Mahmoud Abbas was waiting for an Israeli response on the holding of elections in Jerusalem before issuing the relevant presidential decree.
Majed al-Fityani, secretary of the Fatah Movement’s Revolutionary Council, said that the issuance of the presidential decree regarding the Palestinian elections was awaiting the outcome of the international pressure exerted on Israel to allow the holding of the elections in occupied Jerusalem.
Fityani’s statement came in response to criticism by Hamas of what it described as “stalling” in issuing the decree.
Hamas rejected the PA’s position. Moussa Abu Marzouq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said that Abbas’ decision to postpone the presidential decree pending the Israeli position on the elections in Jerusalem “means in practice that this decree may never be issued.”
Last week, during a meeting of the PLO’s executive committee, Abbas said that while the elections were “essential and necessary”, they should be held in the “right way that guarantees the full representation of our people everywhere on the Palestinian land, most notably in Jerusalem.”
The Authority has addressed Israel and countries including the European Union and the United Nations to hold elections in Jerusalem, but Israel has not responded.
An Israeli report published earlier this month said that the security and political cabinet would discuss the PA’s request. But Israel is not expected to agree to the holding of the elections in Jerusalem, based on its rejection of any show of Palestinian sovereignty in the occupied city.
