Palestinian president says no elections without Gaza

Palestinian president says no elections without Gaza

2011-02-18 00:46:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

RAMALLAH (BNO NEWS) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that Palestinian elections would not be held without the Gaza Strip, Palestine News Network reported.

Last week, the Palestinian Legislative Council announced that elections would be held simultaneously in both the West Bank and Gaza on July 9. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement, however, opposed to the elections unless a national reconciliation agreement is reached between Hamas and the ruling Fatah party.

Abbas told reporters that elections must take place in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem and that it would not be "acceptable to have them in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip," as cited by the news network.

The Palestinian president also noted that the Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank impedes any progress. Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority is continuing the efforts to issue a UN resolution, which has been supported by 130 countries, forcing Israel to stop settlement activity in the West Bank. The US had said it will veto it.

On Thursday, hundreds of Palestinians marched in Ramallah demanding an end to the de-facto split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Hamas movement ended months of bloody fighting with Abbas' Fatah party in June 2007 by taking over the Gaza Strip, leaving Abbas in control of the West Bank.

Abbas and the Hamas-dominated parliament remain in power despite the fact that their terms have expired. Palestinian civil society organizations took the case before the Palestinian Supreme Court, which ruled last month that the PA must set a new date for election.

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