There is still no clear answer to the question about whether the Palestinians will be holding legislative elections. Still, more and more people are starting to think that in light of the fracture in the Fatah movement – which has split into three different parties, in contrast to the unified Hamas list, which also has the support of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose own representatives decided to boycott the elections – and the polls that paint a grim picture for Fatah and its leader Mahmoud Abbas, both in the legislative and presidential elections, Abbas might tell the international community that there is no point in holding elections at all if Israel will not allow them to take place in east Jerusalem and is preventing east Jerusalem residents from taking part in the PA's celebration of democracy.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
It's no coincidence that high-ranking PA officials like Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki have starting pointing the finger as Israel as the entity doing everything to torpedo the PA elections though various bans. These alleged measures start with Israel rejecting the PA Central Elections Commission's request to set up polls in east Jerusalem and include Palestinian claims that Israel has informed European election monitors that it will bar them from accessing the PA because of COVID travel restrictions.
Plenty of PA officials are willingly admitting that cancelling the scheduled elections and blaming it on Israel offers Abbas an ideal way out of the corner into which he has backed himself and a way to continue ruling with an iron fist like he has for 15 years, all the while firing barbs of criticism at Israel.
However, in closed talks those same officials say that the situation is actually much more complicated and that Israel's denial of the PA election commission's request is a lifeline for Abbas.
It's not only Israel that is worried about a sweeping Hams win. Recently, there have been more reports from Ramallah about visits by high-ranking delegations representing the Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence and security apparatuses, who are pressuring Abbas to take steps to cancel the election.
This pressure from Jordanian and Egyptian security officials who are worried about Hamas gaining power in the PA, as well as US President Joe Biden and his administration's pointed lack of interest in the PA elections, as well as their failure to be impressed by Abbas' democratic gesture, will also be a catalyst for Abbas to announce that despite "the Palestinians' determination to hold elections," there can be no point to them when Israel prevents Palestinians in east Jerusalem from exercising their right to vote.
Still, it's lucky the Palestinians have Israel to blame and a way of avoiding responsibility.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
