Ramallah court calls for Palestine polls in W. Bank only

Same court recently suspended Palestinian polls that had been set for October

By Ali Abo Rezeg

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Ramallah High Court on Monday issued a decision to conduct Palestinian municipal polls in the Israeli-occupied West Bank only and not the Gaza Strip, a local official in Gaza City told Anadolu Agency.

According to the official, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, the court did not provide a date for the elections.

Last month, the same court suspended municipal elections that had been slated for October -- polls which, if conducted, would have seen Palestine’s two main political movements, Hamas and Fatah, directly compete for the first time in a decade.

The court ostensibly postponed the vote in order to look into complaints that the planned election would not cover Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem along with allegations that courts in the Gaza Strip -- governed by Hamas since 2007 -- "lacked legitimacy".

In the past, the Israeli authorities have consistently prevented Palestinian voting in municipal polls in East Jerusalem, which the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority views as the Palestinian capital.

Kaynak:

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