Saleh Raafat, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, stressed the importance of holding elections in East Jerusalem, the “occupied Palestinian capital,” as was the case in 1996, 2005 and 2006. He indicated that Israel had not responded by agreeing to or rejecting the Palestinian request to hold elections in East Jerusalem until this moment. The Israeli government must allow these elections to be held in East Jerusalem and under the supervision of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission and allow local and international observers to monitor the election process pursuant to the Palestinian-Israeli accords, which include holding elections in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian territories, Raafat said. He also expressed his hope that international bodies would succeed in compelling Israel to allow the legislative elections to be held on May 22nd and to allow the entry of all international missions to monitor these elections. For further details, click here