Palestinians take Jerusalem election dispute to UN Security Council
Israel must allow Palestinians to vote in east Jerusalem, five current and former European Union members of the United Nations Security Council said on Thursday.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to facilitate the holding of elections across all of the Palestinian territory, including in east Jerusalem, in line with commitments made in the Oslo Accords as well as to facilitate the participation of international observers across all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem,” the countries said.
Estonia, Estonia, France, Ireland, Belgium and Germany issued the statement in the aftermath of the UNSC’s monthly meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Germany and Belgium ended their UNSC term in 2020, but still signed onto the statement.
Palestinian officials have threatened to delay or cancel the elections, citing Israel’s failure to respond to their request to hold the vote in Jerusalem.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN, said on Thursday that the Security Council is expected to hold an open session to discuss exerting pressure on Israel “not to obstruct” the elections in Jerusalem.
Mansour did not say when the session would be held.
He told the Palestinian Authority’s official Voice of Palestine radio station that he was planning to hold a meeting with the representative of the UN secretary-general to discuss “many important issues, including the upcoming elections for the Palestinian parliament and presidency and the role of the international community in ensuring its implementation without obstruction.”
According to Mansour, the European Union delegates are planning to express their support for holding the elections and call on Israel not to place
any obstacles in their way.
Palestinian officials have threatened to delay or cancel the elections, citing Israel’s failure to respond to their request to hold the vote in Jerusalem.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas is “facing a real dilemma,” one official told The Jerusalem Post. “If he cancels the elections, he will be accused by his political rivals of depriving the Palestinians of the chance to elect their representatives. If, on the other hand, he holds the elections without Jerusalem, he will be accused of submitting to Israeli dictates.”
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Britain to exert pressure on Israel to allow Jerusalem Arabs who hold Israeli-issued ID cards to run as candidates and cast their votes in the parliamentary and presidential elections, slated for May 22 and July 31 respectively.
Shtayyeh’s appeal came during a meeting he held in Ramallah with British Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and the British consul-general in Jerusalem, Philip Hall.
The PA premier also called
for putting pressure on Israel to allow international observers to monitor the elections.
“Holding elections in Jerusalem is a national and political necessity,” Shtayyeh was quoted as saying. “The issue is not only about the number of voters and their right to participate, but rather the Israeli recognition that Jerusalem and its people are part of the Palestinian political and national fabric.”
The British officials also met with Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the PA General Authority for Civil Affairs, and discussed with him the Palestinian elections and the ways of reviving the stalled peace process with Israel, Palestinian sources said.
The sources said the Palestinian leadership is expected to convene a meeting of leaders of various Palestinian factions in the coming days to discuss the crisis surrounding the participation of Jerusalem Arabs in the elections.
According to the sources, a final decision regarding the elections will be taken before April 30, when the election campaign period is due to start.
Wasel Abu Yusef, member of the PLO Executive Committee, said the inclusion of Jerusalem in the elections was of significant importance “because of the dangers facing the holy city.”
The Palestinian leadership is awaiting the results of its campaign to rally support for holding the elections in Jerusalem before it makes any decision regarding the postponement or cancellation of the vote, Abu Yusef said. “The position of the Palestinian factions is very clear,” he told the Voice of Palestine. “There will be no elections without Jerusalem.”
Hamas and some factions, meanwhile, expressed opposition to the delay of cancellation of the elections. “The talk about postponing the elections is totally unacceptable and illogical,” said Yusef Qazaz, a spokesperson for the Hamas electoral list for the parliamentary elections. “The elections will not be delayed, and the Palestinian people will not be punished again by having their elections delayed.”