Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Palestinian president briefs Egypt, Jordan on election plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has hosted the Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence chiefs in the West Bank to brief them on plans to hold the first Palestinian elections in 14 years

Via AP news wire
Sunday 17 January 2021 17:36 GMT
Palestinians Elections
Palestinians Elections (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday hosted the Egyptian and Jordanian intelligence chiefs to brief them on plans to hold the first Palestinian elections in 14 years.

Abbas issued a decree on Friday announcing plans for parliamentary elections in May and a presidential election in July. The rival Islamic militant group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’ forces in 2007, welcomed the decree.

The elections would mark a major step toward reconciling the Palestinian rift between Abbas’ Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, and Hamas. But many obstacles remain, and past attempts at reconciliation have repeatedly failed.

In a statement, Abbas' office said it briefed the Egyptian and Jordanian delegations on “the latest developments related to the Palestinian issue, specifically the national reconciliation file” and thanked both countries for their assistance. Jordan borders the West Bank, while Egypt border Gaza.

The rival Palestinian factions are to meet in Egypt next week, hoping to settle their differences before election campaigning kicks off.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in