A Fatah official hinted Sunday that the general and presidential elections in the Palestinian Authority – its first in 15 years – may be postponed.
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Executive Council member Hatem Abdel Qader told Palestinian media that the possibility of postponing the vote was "on the table." This was the first time a Fatah official publicly admitted the possibility was being considered.
The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly said that it may defer the vote if Israel restricts the participation of Palestinians who reside in east Jerusalem.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki is expected to travel to Europe later this week to convince European foreign ministers to pressure Israel on the matter.
Israeli briefly detained three Jerusalem-based candidates for Palestinian legislative elections on Saturday, deepening a dispute over the issue.
The three candidates represent factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization who planned a press conference in a Jerusalem hotel to call for the need to press Israel into allowing political activities in the eastern part of the city, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported.
In briefly detaining the candidates, Israel appears to be signaling it will not tolerate Palestinian political activity in east Jerusalem. It has not said whether it will or will not allow Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem to vote in the election.
Hamas, the terrorist group that ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip in a military coup in 2006, condemned the detention of the candidates and described it as "a flagrant meddling in the elections."
The Palestinian legislative elections are set to take place on May 22, followed by presidential polls in July.
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