Postponement of the Palestinian elections … factions that reject, street protests, and different international positions

Palestinian factions announced their rejection of the decision of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to postpone the elections, while other factions welcomed him, and some protests against him took place in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and different positions were issued towards the decision by many world powers.

The head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, said that the reasons behind the decision to postpone the elections are completely unconvincing, and that this means abolishing and confiscating the right of the Palestinian people. Read also Palestinian elections under occupation .. a priority?Preventing any activities in Jerusalem .. The occupation arrests 3 candidates for the Palestinian legislative elections The representative of the Palestinian President talks about the possibility of postponing the elections

Haniyeh added – in a televised speech on Friday – that his movement was and still is with the holding of the legislative, presidential and National Council elections on their specified dates (in May), and ballot boxes to be placed in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, he said.

Haniyeh stressed Hamas’s position rejecting the elections without Jerusalem, noting that the dispute with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is dependent on the Palestinian decision and the path of consensus by the decision of the occupation, or submission to the will of Israel, as he put it.

In addition to Hamas, the Popular Front and a number of lists registered in the legislative elections rejected the Palestinian president’s decision, while the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) – headed by Abbas – and some of the PLO factions welcomed it.

Popular protests

Reuters reported that protesters gathered yesterday in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Ramallah, demanding that the elections be held as scheduled. Many would vote for the first time ever in these elections, as the last elections were held in the Palestinian territories in 2006.

The Palestinian President issued a decree yesterday to postpone the holding of the general elections, which were called by a previous decree on January 15, without specifying another date for holding them.

The official Palestinian News Agency stated that the presidential decree came after the Israeli occupation authorities refused to hold elections in occupied Jerusalem. Advertising

Abbas said in a speech during a meeting of members of the Executive Committee of the PLO and the Central Committee of the Fatah movement in Ramallah: “In light of this difficult situation, we decided to postpone the date of holding the legislative elections, until the participation of Jerusalem and its people in these elections is guaranteed. Our people in Jerusalem exercise their democratic right. “

The Palestinian official added, “We have made great efforts with the international community to oblige the Israeli occupation state to hold elections in Jerusalem, but these efforts have so far been rejected, and in the face of this difficult situation, we decided to postpone the date of the legislative elections.”

Election Commission

Following President Abbas’ decision, the Palestinian Central Elections Committee said it had suspended the election process, and the election campaign was supposed to begin on Friday. The committee added in a statement that it hopes to be able to complete the implementation of the Palestinian elections as soon as possible.

Also after the postponement decision, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said that he decided to reassign government officials who had resigned from their posts to contest the elections.

France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain have said that they are disappointed by Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to postpone the parliamentary elections, and urged him to set a new date for them as soon as possible.

In international reactions, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain said that they are disappointed about Abbas’s decision to postpone the parliamentary elections, and urged him to set a new date for them as soon as possible.

The first four countries stated – in a joint statement -, “We call on the Palestinian Authority to set a new date for the elections as soon as possible, and we call on Israel to facilitate the holding of such elections in all the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with previous agreements.”

And British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab expressed his disappointment with the delay of the elections, which he described as being too late, calling for a new date to be set as soon as possible.

Imposing the will

On the other hand, European Union foreign policy and security official Josep Borrell considered – in a statement – that the postponement of the elections – the first in 15 years – is “very disappointing.” “We reiterate our call on Israel to facilitate the holding of these elections in all Palestinian territories. , Including East Jerusalem. “

On the other hand, the US State Department said that holding Palestinian elections is important, and that it is determined by the people and their leadership, and added that it encourages everyone to be calm.

It is noteworthy that a previous presidential decree determined – following consensuses between the Palestinian factions – that elections would take place in three stages this year: parliamentary on May 22, presidential on July 31, and the elections to the National Council on August 31.