Hamas: Abbas shouldn’t wait for Israel’s consent to hold vote in Jerusalem

In response to Hamas’s appeal, Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction warned that holding Palestinian elections without Jerusalem “means slipping into Zionist-American shameful deal.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
The Arab East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras al-Amud is seen in front of the Dome of the Rock (photo credit: BAZ RATNER/REUTERS)
The Arab East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras al-Amud is seen in front of the Dome of the Rock
(photo credit: BAZ RATNER/REUTERS)
Hamas on Wednesday called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to issue a “presidential decree,” setting a date for new presidential and parliamentary elections, without waiting for Israel’s approval to hold the vote in east Jerusalem.
Senior Hamas official Salah Bardaweel said during a press conference in the Gaza Strip that the Palestinians will force Israel to allow the elections to take place in east Jerusalem. “We will turn the issue of the elections and Jerusalem into a ‘political and popular conflict with Israel,’ Bardaweel said, urging Abbas to proceed with his plan to hold the vote without further delay.
Abbas announced his intention to hold new elections during a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September. His critics argue that Abbas is using the issue of east Jerusalem participation in the elections as an excuse not to hold the vote.
The Hamas official said no Palestinian will agree to participate in the elections if east Jerusalem is excluded. He also criticized Abbas for announcing that the PA was waiting for Israeli agreement to hold the elections in east Jerusalem. Abbas’s announcement, Bardaweel said, came as a “major shock to Palestinians.”
Bardaweel said that Israel has no right to “guardianship over our land and our holy sites and that’s why the Palestinians don’t need permission to carry out any activities in their capital.” Abbas, who attended Christmas Eve celebrations in Bethlehem on Tuesday night, claimed that Israel does not want the Palestinians to hold elections in east Jerusalem. “Our position is that the elections must take place for the residents of Jerusalem inside the city,” Abbas said. “If we receive permission, we will issue a presidential decree for holding the elections, which are important for us to reestablish our democracy. We believe in democracy and we believe in the liberation of Palestine soon.”
In response to Hamas’s appeal, Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction warned that holding Palestinian elections without Jerusalem “means slipping into [a] Zionist-American shameful deal,” with reference to Donald Trump’s plan for Mideast peace known as “Deal of the Century.”
Fatah spokesman Osama Qawassmeh said that the issue of Jerusalem was “not a ploy subject to partisan interpretation, but a sacred national issue.” The Palestinians, he added, won’t “submit to extortion and pressure from friends and enemies” regarding the issue of Jerusalem.
Qawassmeh said that Abbas will announce a date for the elections “only if the Israeli occupation removes its restrictions from Jerusalem.” Noting that Israel had previously allowed east Jerusalem residents to participate in Palestinian elections, the Fatah official called for international pressure on the Israeli government in order to allow the vote to take place in the city.