Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas renewed a pledge to hold fresh parliamentary elections in a speech delivered at the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
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Abbas said that upon his return to Ramallah, he will call "regular local elections" and plans to invite Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and "occupied east Jerusalem" to participate in the democratic process.
A specific date will be announced at a later time, a senior Palestinian Authority official told AFP.
Abbas, 84, has made similar pledges in recent years, but no Palestinian parliamentary elections have taken place since 2006.
#Abbas stated at the #UNGA, if any government follows through on #Netanyahu's plan to annex more land, 'any signed agreements or other obligations will be terminated.'
Do you think the #annexation of more land, would hinder the chances of #peace in the region? pic.twitter.com/90cK2w5KrW
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 26, 2019
Those elections, which were surprisingly won by the Islamist movement Hamas, eventually led to a dramatic split, with Hamas seizing control of Gaza in 2007 following a violent coup.
Since then the two have traded accusations of blame over the lack of elections. In December 2018 Abbas pledged to hold parliamentary elections within six months.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS
