Palestinian cabinet decides local elections next May in West Bank only

Palestinian National Unity government decided Tuesday that it will hold local municipalities elections on May 13 in the West Bank only and postpone holding it in the Gaza Strip due to disputes with Islamic Hamas movement that rules the coastal enclave, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

The government said that Hamas movement declared its final position by rejecting to hold election in Gaza, so it chose to have it done in the West Bank only.

Deputy Secretary General of Democratic for the Liberation of Palestine Qais Abu Laila told Xinhua that his party will go through the elections, most likely with a leftist coalition.

Expressing regret over Hamas's position to freeze elections in Gaza, Abu Laila said "it is pity that Hamas took this negative decision due to its actual rule of Gaza Strip, informing the Elections Commission that it will not allow holding elections in Gaza, as it would not help eliminate the obstacles in the path of national reconciliation and holding general legislative and presidential elections."

The local elections are also expected to take place in towns and villages around East Jerusalem, but not in Jerusalem city, where a special governance body is to be put up regulated by Palestinian elections law.

Legal expert Issam Abdeen told Xinhua that holding the elections is a must, but there are other issues that need to be dealt with before taking this step, mainly the jurisdiction of elections court.

"Without defining the jurisdiction of a genuinely independent specialized court for elections, we will be entering into another crisis," warned Abdeen, "especially that the segmentation of election phases has never been successfully completed in the past attempts."

The Ramallah-based legal observer said that the political atmosphere is not conducive for elections, and that holding it separately in the West Bank "would probably lead to other issues like not holding general legislative and presidential elections."

Local elections to choose domestic governing bodies like municipalities and village councils were postponed last September by a court ruling that overruled the government's decision to hold the elections, for the first time in 11 years, on Oct 8, 2016.

The last time Hamas participated in local bodies elections in Gaza Strip and West Bank was in 2004 and 2005.

The Palestinian National Authority held local elections in October 2012, but Hamas did not participate, saying the internal division should be ended before holding elections. -- Bernama