RAMALLAH, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye called on Wednesday for European pressure on Israel to hold the Palestinian general elections in East Jerusalem.
Ishtaye's call was made during a meeting held earlier on Wednesday with senior European diplomats in Ramallah, according to an official statement.
The statement said that Ishtaye also called on the European Union to get ready to contribute in supervising and watching the Palestinian electoral process.
"The Palestinian leadership has a firm political will to hold the general elections and overcome any challenges imposed by any party on the other," Ishtaye said.
Pressuring on Israel to let the Palestinians to hold the general elections in East Jerusalem is a major obstacle for the Palestinian leadership to hold the parliamentary elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hanna Nasser, chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) left the Gaza Strip to the West Bank after he received a written response from Hamas that it will participate in the elections.
Nasser is scheduled to bring the letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is currently visiting in Qatar, in order to issue a presidential decree that sets up a date for holding the parliamentary elections.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a member in Abbas Fatah Party's Central Committee, said that President Abbas will decide on a date for holding the elections depending on Palestinian factions' responses.
Besides the question on whether Israel would accept holding the elections in Jerusalem or not, the violent escalation in the West Bank and Gaza between Israel and the Palestinians would also deepen the concerns on holding the elections.
The last parliamentary elections were held in the Palestinian territories in January 2006, when Hamas movement won an overwhelming majority in the Palestinian Authority Legislative Council.
In 2005, Abbas won the presidential elections that were also held in the Palestinian territories.
