Israel has decided to ignore and not respond to a letter sent by the Palestinian Authority, demanding that the residents of eastern Jerusalem be allowed to participate in the planned elections for the PA parliamentary and leadership, Yediot Aharonot reported Saturday, citing Israeli officials.
The final decision not to respond to the PA request was made following a discussion held by senior officials in recent days on the issue, according to the report.
It appears that Israel’s decision to ignore the request will lead to the cancellation of the PA elections.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently renewed a pledge to hold fresh parliamentary elections in the PA, which have not been held since 2006 when Hamas won an overwhelming majority.
However, the PA has chairman stressed that issuing a decree for holding elections is dependent on whether they could be held also in eastern Jerusalem.
Hamas this past week urged Abbas to issue the decree and in that way force Israel to permit the election to be held in eastern Jerusalem as well.