Palestine govt unveils plan to hold W. Bank polls only

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian government on Tuesday announced its decision to hold municipal elections in the West Bank -- some three months from now -- while postponing polls in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

“At its weekly meeting in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Palestinian government decided to hold local elections on May 13 in the West Bank while postponing the vote in Gaza,” Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported.

The move represents a turnaround from last month, when the Ramallah-based government announced plans to hold local polls -- in both the West Bank and Gaza -- in May.

Resistance movement Hamas, for its part, rejected the government's decision, saying inter-Palestinian reconciliation should first be achieved before Palestinian local elections are conducted.

"The government's decision to hold local polls in the West Bank while postponing them in the Gaza Strip will only foster further division and harm reconciliation efforts," Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, said in a statement.

The group went on to assert that elections constituted a “basic right of the Palestinian people”, urging the government to respect this right and “not tamper with it”.

In the summer of 2007, Hamas seized control of the entire Gaza Strip following deadly clashes with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ rival Fatah movement.

In April of 2014, the two rival groups signed a reconciliation agreement calling for the formation of a Palestinian unity government tasked with overseeing legislative and presidential polls.

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian government on Tuesday announced its decision to hold municipal elections in the West Bank -- some three months from now -- while postponing polls in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The move represents a turnaround from last month, when the Ramallah-based government announced plans to hold local polls -- in both the West Bank and Gaza -- in May.

Resistance movement Hamas, for its part, rejected the government's decision, saying inter-Palestinian reconciliation should first be achieved before Palestinian local elections are conducted.

The group went on to assert that elections constituted a “basic right of the Palestinian people”, urging the government to respect this right and “not tamper with it”.

In the summer of 2007, Hamas seized control of the entire Gaza Strip following deadly clashes with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ rival Fatah movement.

In April of 2014, the two rival groups signed a reconciliation agreement calling for the formation of a Palestinian unity government tasked with overseeing legislative and presidential polls.