OMM Redaksiyası
Israel has refused to allow representatives of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to enter Gaza and East Jerusalem to oversee preparations for legislative elections scheduled for late November, a Palestinian source said on Tuesday.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing an unnamed official source, reported that the Israeli government had denied the commission access. No further details were provided.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on July 9 setting Nov. 28 as the date for legislative elections in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza. If held, the elections would be the first since 2006.
The commission began accepting applications to register electoral lists on Sept. 26. It received eight applications in the first four days, and registration is due to remain open until Oct. 13.
Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh said on Aug. 2 that an alternative arrangement would be pursued if the elections could not take place because they were prevented or obstructed in Gaza or elsewhere in the Palestinian territories.
“The alternative plan is to form the Palestinian National Council by consensus, as the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people,” he said.
About 2.97 million Palestinians are eligible to vote, including approximately 1.59 million in the West Bank, 1.24 million in Gaza and 140,000 holders of Jerusalem identity cards.
Hamas won a majority of seats in the last Palestinian legislative elections, held in 2006. A political split between Hamas and Fatah followed: Hamas took control of Gaza about a year later, while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority remained in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007. The Supreme Constitutional Court ordered its dissolution in 2018.
