RAMALLAH, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the elections commission to head to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip soon to start consultations on holding parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories, officials said Monday.
Mohamed Ishteyeh, member of Abbas's Fatah Party Central Committee, said in a press statement that President Abbas asked chairman of the commission Hanna Nasser to head to Gaza soon to consult with Hamas movement over holding the elections.
"The Palestinians have the right to choose their representatives through free and fair elections in the parliament of Palestine in all the Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine," he said.
Ishteyeh stressed that his Fatah movement is ready to race in the parliamentary elections and respect the people's choice, adding that "Israel is demanded to respect the signed agreements related to hold the elections, especially in Jerusalem."
Ishteyeh said that "elections are the only means to end the current growing internal division."
The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has been inoperative since the beginning of the internal Palestinian split between Hamas and Fatah in 2007 after Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip and routed Abbas security forces.
Hamas, which has a majority in the PLC, had been unilaterally holding regular PLC sessions in the Gaza Strip amid the absence of Fatah Party members and other minor factions and political groups.
The last Palestinian parliamentary elections were held in January 2006, when Hamas movement won the majority of the 132 seats. In 2005, Abbas won the last presidential elections held in Palestine.
In December, President Abbas announced that a Palestinian constitutional court decided to dissolve the PLC and called for holding the parliamentary elections within six months.
Meanwhile, Hisham Kuhail, the executive director of the central elections commission told Voice of Palestine Radio that holding the parliamentary elections under the current circumstances "will be facing internal challenges related to the Palestinian political arena which may not accept holding the elections under the current division."
"It is not only the position of the Palestinian faction who may or may not accept holding the parliamentary elections amid internal division, but it is also related to Israel which imposes a blockade on the Gaza Strip, divides the West Bank and prevents holding the elections in East Jerusalem," said Kuhail.
The official stressed that holding the parliamentary elections "doesn't only need preparations and putting executive plans, but it needs also to prepare the atmosphere for holding it in order to make sure that free and fair elections are to be held without conflicts or feuds."
Since the internal Palestinian division had started between Fatah and Hamas, the two rival groups have been trading accusations between each other on preventing the parliamentary elections to be held in the Palestinian territories.
Arab and international mediations between the two sides to end their disputes had so far failed.
Earlier on Monday, the European Union had called in an official statement on the Palestinian Authority (PA) consensus government "to seriously act on holding democratic and real elections for all the Palestinians," in the light of the PA constitutional court to dissolve the PLC.
"Holding the Palestinian parliamentary elections is vital depending on the principle of establishing a viable and sovereign independent Palestinian state," said the EU statement, adding that "the PLC hadn't held any official and legal session since 2007, according to the Palestinian basic law."
It added that dissolving the PLC by the court "formally terminates the authority of the only elected government body of the PA. This is a development that the EU missions are looking at with concern."
