ANKARA, The Republic of Turkey said today that the main reason for the delay of the Palestinian elections is that Israel did not respond to the appeal by the Palestinian Authority to hold elections in East Jerusalem and did not allow election campaigns to be carried out there.

In a press statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry called on the Israeli government to end its “obstructive stance” and facilitate Palestinian elections.

The statement said Turkey was saddened by the news that the Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections – which were set to be held for the first time since 2006 in the country – were postponed.

“We call on the Israeli government to ensure that Palestinian elections are held as soon as possible, respect the provisions of 1995 Oslo II Accord and end obstructive stance,” it read.

“On the other hand, we hope that the decision taken to postpone the elections will not adversely affect the inter-Palestinian reconciliation process, which our country attaches great importance to, and we encourage all Palestinian groups to continue to work towards unity and reconciliation,” the statement read.

The Palestinian leadership said yesterday they will not be able to hold elections with Jerusalem excluded from voting.

“We will not go for the elections without occupied Jerusalem, I want elections in Jerusalem as in the West Bank,” President Mahmoud Abbas said in a televised speech.

He said the Israeli side had not given an answer to the Palestinian request for holding the polls in Jerusalem “because there is no Israeli government to take such a decision.”

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency