Palestinian elections appear headed for delay amid Jerusalem dispute, Fatah infighting

Record ID: 1613418

  • Title: Palestinian elections appear headed for delay amid Jerusalem dispute, Fatah infighting
  • Date: 27th April 2021
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (FILE - FEBRUARY 2021) (REUTERS) PALESTINIANS OUTSIDE ELECTION REGISTRATION CENTRE SIGN READING (Arabic): 'REGISTRATION CENTRE FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTERING VOTERS' EMPLOYEES OF PALESTINIAN CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION (CEC) AT CENTRE
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2021 14:28
  • Keywords: Fatah Gaza and West Bank Hamas Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Palestinian election
  • Location: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • City: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/ GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Middle East,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EAATVT3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The first Palestinian elections in 15 years appeared headed for a delay on Tuesday (April 27) amid a dispute over voting in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and splits in President Mahmoud Abbas's powerful Fatah party.
    Many were sceptical from the start on whether parliamentary and presidential votes planned for May and July would take place as planned in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, with all three areas under different control.
    Abbas, 85, has said repeatedly in recent weeks that the votes will not go ahead unless Palestinians in East Jerusalem are permitted to cast ballots in the city.
    Israel has not said if it will allow such voting in the city it sees as its undivided capital.
    But analysts say the Jerusalem dispute offers Abbas an excuse to call off elections that he might lose, as an internal Fatah challenge threatens his 15-year grip on power while potentially bolstering gains by the Islamist group Hamas.
    Abbas was due to convene leaders from Fatah, Hamas and other factions on Thursday (April 29) to discuss the voting dispute.
    "Any negative response will lead to postponing the elections," Wasel Abu Youssef, a close Abbas confidant and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, said.
    Hamas objects to any delay or cancellation of the votes.
    "It is unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority is discussing the delay of the elections instead of discussing the methods of holding these elections in Jerusalem," said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.
    A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said there has been no formal announcement on whether Israel will allow Palestinian voting in Jerusalem.
    Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as capital of a future state in the West Bank and Gaza, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war. Israel annexed the city decades ago in a move not recognised internationally.
    Around 6,300 East Jerusalem Palestinians would need to cast ballots at Israeli post offices in the city, in accordance with past agreements, Palestinian officials say. The rest of the city's 150,000 Palestinians can vote outside the city, they say.
    (Production: Ismael Khader, Mohammad Shana, Arafat Barbakh, Nuha Sharaf)
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