Palestinian court suspends local poll set for October

Ramallah / AFP

A Palestinian court on Thursday suspended municipal elections set for October 8 following disputes between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements over candidate lists, jeopardising the first vote since 2006 to involve both parties.
The decision was made by the high court in Ramallah in the West Bank, where Fatah is in power. It was not immediately clear if the decision was definitive or whether the elections could be rescheduled. Radical movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, boycotted the last Palestinian municipal elections in 2012, but was due to participate this year.
A Hamas spokesman said it rejected the decision.
“This is a political decision,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
“We reject the decision to cancel the election and call on everyone to reject it.” Fatah and Hamas have not contested an election since 2006 parliamentary polls, which Hamas won—sparking a conflict that led to near civil war in Gaza the following year.
This year’s vote was planned with 81-year-old president Mahmud Abbas under heavy political pressure as opinion polls suggested most Palestinians would like him to step down.
There has been no Palestinian presidential election since 2005 and Abbas has remained in office despite the expiry of his term.
The head of the high court, Hisham Al-Hatoo, issued Thursday’s ruling in response to a challenge by a lawyer, Nael al-Houh.
Houh said his appeal was based on the fact that the elections were not being held in Jerusalem and over concerns related to the election in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians see east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, as the capital of their future state.