Delay of PA vote suggested

Chairman of the Palestinian Authority's Central Elections Commission Hanna Nasser announced on Thursday that the commission has recommended not to hold elections on the set date of January 24.

The official reason provided for the recommendation is the difficulties Hamas plans to pose on holding elections in the Gaza Strip. The commission has yet to set an alternative date.

While the PA will not explicitly say as much, the commission's recommendation could serve to help Fatah get out of the corner it has pushed itself into. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has yet to announce whether he accepts the recommendation, but earlier he said that he is expected to support any recommendation given by the commission, and in the coming days he is expected to officially announce that elections will be delayed.

In a press conference held in Ramallah, Nasser said one of the main reasons for the recommendation to delay elections is the fact that Hamas has refused to accept or recognize the commission in the Gaza Strip.

Nasser said this obstacle has led the commission to inform Abbas that it cannot stick to the set schedule. Hamas also announced that it will forcibly prevent elections from taking place in the Strip and will penalize anyone taking part.

The PA does not want to hold elections based on factionalism in two entities – one in Ramallah and one in Gaza.

The second difficulty is related to the question whether or not Israel will allow elections to be held in Jerusalem. The PA estimates the Netanyahu government will make it difficult for east Jerusalem residents to go out and vote as it did in the previous elections. The third obstacle is the PA's lack of desire to be the ones to deal the final blow to the reconciliation efforts Hamas.

In a transparent manner, Abbas reiterated his call to Hamas to participate in elections. Even Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal called said that serious efforts must be made to put an end to the internal Palestinian conflict. In a conciliatory speech he gave at a Damascus conference, Mashaal said that Hamas "is outstretching its hand" to Fatah and is interesting in putting an end to the controversies undermining the Palestinian cause.

Parliament speaker and Hamas member Dr. Aziz Duwaik said a day later that his organization will sign on the Egypt draft reconciliation agreement at the end of the month. He said that it is therefore unclear whether the intentions to delay the elections are connected to the possibility that Hamas could sign the truce deal.

The PA would prefer the elections to be conducted with consensus. They understand that even if elections are held in the West Bank, they will be lacking because half the Palestinian people will not be able to participate because they live in Gaza.