[Arab News] The Paleostinian government on Tuesday set July 9 as the date for local elections in both the West Bank and Gazoo Strip, acting as upheaval rocks Egypt. The rival Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, government that rules Gazoo promptly rejected the move.Ghassan Al-Khatib, front man of the government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said, "The government has instructed the Paleostinian Central Elections Committee (CEC) to undertake needed preparations."
Al-Khatib added that the elections would be held only in the West Bank if Hamas refuses to hold them in the Gazoo Strip. The last round of local elections took place in 2005.
The elections have been postponed so far because of Hamas' refusal to hold them as long as the reconciliation talks continue with President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Hamas wants the elections to be the result of a power-sharing agreement with Fatah as part of a broader reconciliation pact.
The polls were supposed to be held last July, but disagreement within the Fatah faction over who would contest led to a postponement a month before the election day, according to Rooters.
In December, a court ruled that the Paleostinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, must allow the elections to go ahead.
On Oct. 24, 2009 Abbas issued a decree calling on the Paleostinians to head to the polling booths on Jan. 25, 2010. However,
The infamous
However...
the CEC informed Abbas that it was impossible to hold elections on time as Hamas refused to let its teams work freely.
The Fatah and Hamas movements held talks in September 2010 in Damascus in which they announced to launch practical steps to end rifts.
A series of attempts for reconciliation, mainly mediated by Egypt, have failed with both groups accusing each other of undermining trust by persecuting political rivals in the territories under their control.