Palestinian court suspends upcoming elections, throwing campaigns into chaos

By William Booth September 8 at 11:55 AM

JERUSALEM — Democracy for the Palestinians suffered another setback Thursday when the Palestinian high court ruled that municipal elections scheduled for next month must be postponed because of a dispute between the rival political parties that control the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian court decided to suspend the elections also because of a legal challenge filed on behalf of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, who would not be allowed to vote.

Israel considers East Jerusalem a part of Israel and would not permit ballot boxes there. Palestinians consider East Jerusalem occupied territory and want it to serve as their capital in a future Palestinian state.

The now-suspended Oct. 8 vote was not for Palestinian president or parliament, but for leaders to fill 3,818 seats on 416 municipal councils in cities and villages across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The elections would be the first vote in a decade to pit the militant Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, against its bitter rivals in Fatah, which runs the West Bank and is the party steered by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. ...

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