Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas officially postponed the PA legislative elections Thursday night, citing Israel's refusal to allow the PA to set up polling stations in Jerusalem.
Abbas said at a meeting of PA faction representatives in Ramallah that the elections would be held "within a week" of Israel's acquiescence to the PA holding the vote in eastern Jerusalem.
“This isn’t a technical issue, but rather an fundamental political one," he said.
The elections, which had been scheduled for May 18, would have been the first the Palestinian Authority has held since 2006.
Abbas, 85, is in the 16th year of a four year term as head of the PA. Sources in the PA have stated that Abbas might seek to postpone the election over fears his Fatah party would lose to the Hamas terrorist organization which rules the Gaza Strip.