Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called for international pressure on Israel in order to ensure the holding of Palestinian elections in Jerusalem, after overcoming internal obstacles and the approval of all factions.
This came during a meeting held today in his office in Ramallah with Stephanie Al-Qaq, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in the presence of the British Consul General in Jerusalem, Philip Hall.
Shtayyeh stressed that the Palestinian leadership cannot accept any situation in which elections are prohibited in Jerusalem, adding that holding elections in Jerusalem is a national and political priority and not holding them there means dedicating its separation from the rest of the Palestinian components.
“There is a real and serious political will from the Palestinian leadership, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, to hold the legislative and presidential elections, and we have asked more than one international party to intervene to pressure Israel to accept the holding elections in the occupied city [of Jerusalem].”
The Prime Minister called for supporting the government’s directions as a practical move in facing Israel’s continued violation of international agreements and resolutions, in light of the green light which is given by the American administration and encourages these violations.
