BREAKING NEWS

PA High Court postpones decision on future of municipal elections

The Palestinian Authority High Court of Justice postponed on Wednesday its hearing on the future of the municipal elections to October 3.
Municipal elections were supposed to take place in locales across the West Bank and Gaza on October 8, but the PA High Court suspended them on September 8 purportedly because of the exclusion of Jerusalem from the electoral process and concerns about Hamas-run, Gazan courts. The CEC also announced on its website that the original date to hold elections, October 8, is no longer “feasible.”
Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the postponement of the court’s decision “practically constitutes the cancellation of the electoral process.”
Fatah leaders did not immediately react to the postponement of the court’s decision, but have stated incessantly that they “respect the judiciary and legal process.”
In 2012, the PA hosted municipal elections, but held them solely in the West Bank as Hamas, the dominant faction in Gaza, boycotted them.