Israel wrestles with allowing east Jerusalem Palestinians to vote in PA elections
With a new US administration in place, Israel must decide whether to allow Palestinians in east Jerusalem to vote in the legislative and presidential Palestinian elections scheduled for spring and summer.
Thousands of Israelis followed the inauguration of US President Joe Biden on TV yesterday, many of them wondering what positions will the new administration adopt on the Middle East. Secretary of state nominee Antony Blinken confirmed Jan. 20 that the new administration will continue to consider Jerusalem the capital of Israel and that the embassy there will not be relocated. Biden’s people also related throughout the election campaign that the new president intends to relaunch talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
With this information in mind, Jerusalem now faces another challenge. On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that legislative and presidential elections would be held in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Three days after the announcement, on Jan. 19, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the Palestinian Authority is set to formally request that Israel allow east Jerusalem Palestinians to participate in the scheduled elections.
Abbas' announcement was hailed by the international community. The European Union stated that it "stands ready to engage with relevant actors to support the electoral process. The EU also calls on Israeli authorities to facilitate the holding of elections across all the Palestinian territory." UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was more explicit, saying, “The holding of elections in the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and Gaza will be a crucial step towards Palestinian unity.”
The Israeli leadership has issued no reactions at all — neither formal nor informal — to Abbas' words. Israeli analysts expect the move to be welcomed by the White House, as an important step on advancing democracy in the Palestinian territories. If and when that happens, Israel will be forced to formulate its stance on the issue of elections in east Jerusalem as well as Palestinian elections in general. But until that happens, Israel is staying quiet.
