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Hamas: If elections are called off, Israel will be held reponsible
With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas widely expected to cancel the May 22 legislative ballot, Gaza-based terror group warns that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem will confront Israel for their right to vote
Elior Levy, Reuters |
Published: 04.28.21 , 22:34
With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas widely expected to cancel the May 22 legislative elections, the Hamas terror group said Wednesday that it would hold Israel accountable for the decision.
In an official statement, the Gaza-based organization that no Palestinian can accept holding elections without Jerusalem.
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(Photo: EPA)
Hamas said that Election Day will be designated as a national day in which the Palestinians will confront Israel to force it to hold the vote.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wears a mask upon his arriving to head the Palestinian leadership meeting at his headquarters, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, Pool)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told the European Union, Egypt and Jordan of his decision to postpone the upcoming elections, but the EU has asked for a delay to a formal announcement on the matter so that it can pressure Israel to allow voting in East Jerusalem, a Lebanese newspaper reported Tuesday.
As justification for the postponement, Abbas is set to cite Israel’s silence on whether East Jerusalem Palestinians can participate.
Bar told the diplomats that Israel has made a decision not to comment publicly on the elections scheduled for next month, adding that Jerusalem has not yet decided whether to allow them to take place in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem where nearly 400,000 Palestinians live, according to the Walla news site. Those Palestinians have Israeli residency rights, and in principle can apply for Israeli citizenship, but face considerable hurdles in doing so.
The Foreign Ministry official speculated that Abbas would ultimately decide to delay the elections due to growing concerns that the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group would win, Walla reported. Bar also said that Israel would oppose any future Palestinian government to which Hamas is a party.
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Illustrative A Palestinian man casts a ballot during elections for the Fatah movment in the Nablus area, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, January 23, 2021. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
The Palestinian Authority has decided to postpone the upcoming elections and has informed representatives of the international community as well as Egypt of its decision, Army Radio reported Monday.
It is expected there will be an official announcement from Ramallah in the coming days, and the Kan public broadcaster reported that the Palestinian leadership was set to meet on the matter on Thursday.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been widely expected to postpone the May vote as well as the planned presidential election in July, which various opinion polls have him losing.