Palestine: Elections Postponed, Abbas Calls for Statehood

On Tuesday, the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that municipal elections would be postponed from July to October, stating that more time was needed to ensure the vote can be held in both the West Bank and Gaza. The municipal elections will be a test of support for the rival factions Hamas and Fatah following the recent unity agreement and will also be the first elections held in Palestine since January 2006.  Hamas reversed its decision to boycott the elections following the signing of the reconciliation agreement.

In a recent editorial Abbas stated that ”Palestine’s admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one” and  allow Palestine to “pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations, human rights treaty bodies and the International Court of Justice.”  He counters the notion that the recognition of Palestine as a state is an impediment to the peace process by arguing that the choice is not between unity or peace with Israel, but instead between a “two-state solution or settlement colonies.”  In closing Abbas asserts that the recognition of Palestine as a state will be beneficial to negotiations because they will be negotiating from the position of a UN member-state “whose territory is militarily occupied by another” and not as a “vanquished people ready to accept whatever terms are put in front of us.”