(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - Announcing the delay of the May 22 Palestinian parliamentary election, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said that Israel had failed to respond to the PA's request to hold the elections in Jerusalem. In reality, however, Israel never said that it would prevent the Palestinians from holding elections in Jerusalem. Only 6,300 Arab residents of Jerusalem were expected to vote at five Israeli post offices. The rest of the 150,000 eligible voters were free to cast ballots at voting centers in PA-controlled areas surrounding Jerusalem. In fact, only a small number of Jerusalem Arabs participated in previous PA elections because they did not seem to be interested, being well aware that the PA has no jurisdiction over their neighborhoods. Therefore, it was safe to assume that the majority of Jerusalem Arabs had no intention to be involved with the Palestinian elections. Their participation or nonparticipation would not have made a big difference.
2021-05-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive