Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had cancelled the first elections to be held in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2006, blaming Israel for not allowing the polls to include East Jerusalem.
Israel is unlikely to grant that permission because it annexed East Jerusalem after winning the 1967 war and views the city as its undivided capital. Allowing Palestinian elections in East Jerusalem would weaken its claim.
Israeli officials say that the delay could lead to renewed conflict with Hamas, considered terrorists by the Jewish state, the European Union and the United States.
The elections were due to take place in late-May but Abbas announced cancellation, which is viewed as an attempt to prolong his rule.
Infighting within Fatah has produced several popular rivals vying to replace the 85-year-old leader, viewed by the overwhelmingly young Palestinian population as corrupt and ineffective.
The decision has disappointed young Palestinians, who have been repeatedly denied a chance to choose a new leadership, and will be quietly welcomed by the US and Israel, which viewed the elections as a chance for Hamas to further consolidate power.
Hamas immediately termed the delay as a coup. The group’s surprise victory in the 2006 elections led to months of conflict with Fatah — including a short-lived civil war that saw Hamas take control of the Gaza Strip, triggering an Israeli blockade that continues to this day.
The EU-backed elections had been designed to renew a democratic mandate for the increasingly authoritarian Abbas, who won a four-year term as president in 2005, in the hopes of positioning him for a round of peace talks being considered by the Biden administration.
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