Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the European Union on Thursday 22 April to pressure Israel to allow Palestinian legislative elections to be held in East Jerusalem on 22 May (see EUROPE 12702/40).
According to him, these elections will be “an open door to overcome the divisions” among Palestinians.
“I call on the European Parliament to step up its efforts and make every effort to obtain Israel’s agreement to receive European observers”, (see EUROPE 12690/21) and the respect of agreements for the holding of elections in East Jerusalem”, the Prime Minister summarised before the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. “We hope that things can move forward. There is not much time left, the electoral processes have to start on 1 May”, he warned.
The European External Action Service told EUROPE on 22 April that it had still not received authorisation from the Israeli Foreign Ministry to send European observers.
According to the Palestinian Prime Minister, 1,400 candidates are ready to participate in the elections, including 67 in East Jerusalem. So far, they have not been allowed by Israel to hold public meetings and 13 candidates and staff were reportedly arrested by Israeli security forces. Moreover, according to Mr Shtayyeh, the Israeli authorities have not allowed voter registration in East Jerusalem and have already warned that they will not allow the opening of polling stations.
Anticipating questions about an electronic ballot for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Mohammad Shtayyeh explained that this was not a digital or technical issue, but a “highly political issue, linked to Israel’s recognition that Palestinians have the right to vote in East Jerusalem”. He described Israel’s attitude as “sabotage. We are denied the right to vote”, he regretted.
More broadly, the Prime Minister called on the EU to base its relations with Israel on human rights, denouncing the “criminal acts” and “atrocities” committed in the Palestinian territory. “It is time for Israel to respect international law”, he said. He said the international community must put a high price on the occupation, “otherwise Israel will have no reason to end it”.
And for Mr Shtayyeh, it will soon be too late for a two-state solution and “all that is left will be the solution of living in a state that will be an apartheid state. Israel is a democracy, but only for Jews, not for Palestinians”, he added.
The Prime Minister therefore called for a European Parliament board of inquiry in the Middle East to investigate the situation on the ground. He also called on the EU to support the actions of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as on 3 March the prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation into the situation in Palestine. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)