Palestinian Authority "Foreign Minister" Riyad Al-Malaki plans to leave in an attempt to harness the European Union to put pressure on Israel to allow the Palestinian Authority to hold next month's elections in eastern Jerusalem.
PA officials have stated of late that it will be impossible to hold the elections if Israel does not allow to hold them in the area. The Palestinian Authority leadership is expected to convene today and tomorrow in order to discuss the predicament.
The Palestinian parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 22nd. Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the PA in 2005 for a four-year term that ended in 2009.The last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council were held on 25 January 2006. There have not been any elections either for president or for the legislature since these two elections; elections since these dates have only been for local offices.