RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Saturday began casting their votes in local elections.

Candidates are competing for seats in 154 local councils in the first phase of the polls, according to the Central Elections Committee.

The second phase of the polls is set for March 26.

Elections will not take place in the Gaza Strip due to the refusal of Hamas, the group which rules the Palestinian territory, to take part in the vote.

The movement accuses the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority of “disrupting” the undertaking of a comprehensive elections process.

On Sept. 2, the Islamic Jihad movement said it will not agree to elections unless an agreement is reached on “a clear and specific political program based on confronting the (Israeli) occupation and stopping its incursion over our people, our land, and our sanctities."

In the same month, the Palestinian government issued a decree to hold local elections in two phases, the first on Dec. 11, and the second on March 26, 2022.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar