Palestine’s Islamic Jihad decries Gaza election delay

By Noor Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestine’s Islamic Jihad group Wednesday rejected a Palestinian government decision to hold local elections in the West Bank while postponing polls in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

“We reject this decision to hold municipal polls in the absence of national reconciliation,” group leader Khaled al-Butsh declared in a statement.

“Priority must be given to restoring [Palestinian] national unity with a view to resuming the reconciliation process [between rival movements Hamas and Fatah],” he said.

Al-Butsh went on to assert that this week’s decision to postpone polls in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip -- while holding them in the Fatah-run West Bank -- reflected the government’s longstanding policy of “monopolizing Palestinian decision-making”.

On Tuesday, the Ramallah-based government announced plans to hold polls in the West Bank in May while postponing them indefinitely in Gaza.

“The government has decided to conduct local elections in the West Bank on May 13 while postponing the vote in Gaza,” Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported Tuesday.

The move represented a turnaround from last month, when the government announced plans to hold polls -- in both territories -- in May.

Hamas, for its part, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, has likewise rejected the decision, saying inter-Palestinian reconciliation should first be achieved before Palestinian local elections are held.