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PA Elections Postponed
17 November 2009Ma’ariv November 13, 2009 page 4
THE THREAT WAS WITHDRAWN
ELECTIONS POSTPONED – ABU MAZEN STAYING
After Announcing With Great Fanfare That He Is Resigning The PA Leader Found A Ladder That Will Enable Him To Come Down From The Tree
By Amit Cohen
Palestinian Authority chairman, Abu Mazen, won’t resign from his post in January – as he threatened to do last week.
An official in Abu Mazen’s office said that if elections are not organized in the Palestinian Authority, as seems to be the case now, Abu Mazen will continue to fill the post until further notice. Yesterday the Palestinian Election Commission announced that it recommends postponing the elections, because Hamas will not permit elections to take place in the Gaza Strip.
In a dramatic speech Abu Mazen delivered last week he declared that he has no intention to run again for the chairman’s post. The announcement, which was interpreted as a conclusive desire to resign from his post, caused much confusion in the PA leadership and Fatah, since there is no natural successor to Abu Mazen. In recent days Abu Mazen has been subjected to much pressure to take back his decision. But officially he refused to do so. Senior PA officials stated that Abu Mazen will not change his mind, if Israel and the US don’t concede to the Palestinians with respect to the negotiations.
Yesterday afternoon the Palestinian Authority received the ladder that enabled it to descend from the tree. Dr. Hana Natzer, head of the election commission, convened a press conference and announced officially that he is recommending postponement of the elections, that were supposed to take place on January 24 2010, on account of the measures Hamas has taken against the elections. Natzer even phoned Abu Mazen and apprised him about the decision.
Palestinian officials assessed that Abu Mazen faces two options now. The first is to declare Gaza an insurgent zone, and hold elections only in the West Bank. The chances of that happening are small and Abu Mazen himself has announced in the past that no elections will take place without Gaza. The second option is to postpone the elections until there is a reconciliation agreement, and to remain in his post until the elections are held.
Translation by yonatan silverman
