PA insists on voting in Jerusalem for PA elections, will put ballot boxes in foreign embassies if Israel prevents it
Fatah Commissioner of International Relations and Fatah Central Committee member Rawhi Fattouh: “Our position [on PA elections being held in Jerusalem] has been clear from the start: There are no elections without Jerusalem… As Fatah Movement Commissioner of International Relations, I contacted all the consulates and state representatives in Jerusalem and told them that maybe, in order to hold these elections… we will place [ballot boxes] at [your] embassies (sic., consulates) and the Palestinian voters will come to the embassies (sic., consulates) to vote. They welcomed this, including the British Consulate and others… I want the [Palestinian] citizens in Jerusalem to vote from within Jerusalem and not have to leave to vote in Al-Ram. I want them to vote in Jerusalem. We are working on this politically. There will be no elections without Jerusalem… Jerusalem needs to be included in the framework of the elections. This is a central issue that we are discussing with the international community so that it will exert pressure on the Israeli side. We hope that the new American administration in particular, and with it the international community, will work so elections will be held in the Palestinian arena. For elections to be held in the Palestinian arena, it must exert pressure on the Israeli government to allow the Palestinian citizens [to participate] in the elections in Jerusalem… This time we want it to be more than symbolic – in the sense that the Jerusalem citizens will participate, because there is a conflict and this conflict is political. Therefore, we want them to participate so that we will provide a sort of Palestinian presence and our historical right in this city [Jerusalem], so that it will be the capital of the Palestinian state.”
[Facebook page of Fatah Central Committee member Rawhi Fattouh, Jan. 15, 2021]
On Jan. 15, 2021, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas published a presidential decree setting the dates for Palestinian elections. According to the decree, elections for the Palestinian Parliament (The Palestinian Legislative Council) will take place on May 22, 2021. These elections will be followed by elections for the PA “President”/Chairman on July 31, 2021.