She described it as usurping of power .. Many electoral lists reject the idea of ​​postponing the Palestinian elections

"Usurpation of power" and a "constitutional crime";

This is how electoral lists - representing political factions and independents - described the postponement of the legislative elections, which are expected to be announced after the Palestinian Authority linked the holding of those elections to the Israeli permission for voting and propaganda inside the city of Jerusalem, and the authority said it had received negative responses about it.

More than 15 electoral lists - among them "Jerusalem is our date" representing Hamas and "Pulse of the People" representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in addition to independent lists - called for a sit-in in downtown Ramallah on Wednesday evening;

A refusal to postpone the elections "as it is a national, democratic and constitutional right."

These lists - and others, including "freedom" representing the leaders of the Fatah movement, Marwan Barghouti and Nasser Al-Kidwa - considered delaying or obstructing the holding of legislative and presidential elections on their scheduled dates in May and August next, "a seizure of power and undermining the Palestinians' right to self-determination."

A legal memorandum prepared by a specialized committee representing 15 electoral lists stated that postponing the elections is a constitutional crime.

The memorandum called on the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to "adhere to its independence and not consider any decisions issued in contravention of the law and relevant constitutional rules."

The memo called on professional unions, human rights and civil institutions to prepare for a legal and judicial battle "to ensure the regularity of the democratic path."

It also affirmed the Palestinians' right to peaceful protest in all its forms.

These moves came one day before a leadership meeting - tomorrow, Thursday - that includes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Central Committee of the Fatah movement and other factions, and it is expected that the fate of the elections will be decided and held as scheduled.

In a related context, Palestinian civil institutions warned - today, Wednesday - of the repercussions of canceling the elections and demanded that they be held as scheduled.

A signed statement with the names of 18 non-governmental organizations - including Al-Haq, the Arab World Election Observatory, the NGO Network, and the Jerusalem Legal Aid Center - said that they discussed developments in the general elections and the intention to postpone them, "under the pretext of verbally informing the occupation of the Palestinian Authority. By not agreeing to hold elections in Jerusalem. "

The civil institutions said that they "are surprised by the escalation of this trend among parties in power after the victory of the Jerusalemite youth in the gift of Bab al-Amud, and the proof that the Jerusalemite citizen is able to extract his rights regardless of the approval or disagreement of the occupation authority."

The institutions expressed their total rejection of postponing the elections, stressing that "no political party has legal powers to cancel and postpone the elections as long as the election commission continues to implement it and has not announced any obstacles preventing its implementation."

Hamas was not invited

For his part, Sheikh Jamal al-Tawil - a candidate for the "Jerusalem is our date" list representing Hamas in Ramallah - says that Hamas is with the popular will insisting on holding the legislative, presidential and National Council elections on time.

Al-Tawil affirms - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that "receding from this is a miscarriage of the popular will, a prejudice to the higher interests of the Palestinian people, a confiscation of its will, and a denial of its right to choose its representatives and leadership."

According to the candidate, the Hamas list is part of the movement refusing to postpone the elections.

Al-Tawil denies that the Hamas list has received any invitation to attend the meeting scheduled for Thursday with the Palestinian leadership, and says that the invitation was also not directed to "the official channels of the movement."

However, Al-Tawil confirms that if the meeting deals with mechanisms to enable Jerusalemites to vote in Jerusalem;

We are with that, but if the aim is to pass a decision that has been taken to cancel or postpone the elections, then this is an unacceptable meeting and it is not possible to participate in it, so that we are not false witnesses to pass a decision dangerous to the fate of our people.

He says that the Palestinians who forced the prime minister of the occupation government to withdraw from installing electronic gates at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque in 2017, and forcing the occupation to remove the barriers from the Damascus Gate recently.

We are able to hold elections in Jerusalem.

"Jerusalem should not be used as an excuse to postpone the elections," he added.

The candidate on behalf of Hamas believes, "The ruling party (Fatah) cannot hold elections for fear of defeat."

He added, "We do not want anyone to hijack the right of our people. Elections are the only remaining gateway to end the division, achieve unity, and arrange the Palestinian home."

Despite the opinion polls suggesting that Fatah’s lists will make progress in the legislative elections scheduled for May 22nd, the Hamas list candidate says that “it has become almost certain that Hamas’s list," Jerusalem is our date ", will get the largest share in the elections, but it will participate with He added that "the real victory is the success of the Palestinian people in completing the elections."

No elections without Jerusalem

On the other hand, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, Dalal Salameh, said this afternoon to the Palestinian Radio, saying, "The world should not expect us to hold elections without Jerusalem."

For his part, the leader of the Fatah movement and the candidate on its official list, Kaddoura Fares, says that "the decision to postpone must be collectively away from partisanship, because the participation of Jerusalem in the elections is a strategic issue and an essential component of the Palestinian cause."

And he added - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that "the elections in Jerusalem are a fundamental political issue, not a formality, and unless we are able to hold elections in Jerusalem - in accordance with what was agreed upon with Israel in the Oslo agreement - we are with a short delay during which a mechanism will be developed that enables the Palestinians to vote." In Jerusalem, the occupation wanted or refused, and within the framework of an agreement signed by all the factions and electoral lists. "

According to Fares, the Palestinian Authority has exhausted its international attempts to obtain Israeli approval to hold elections in Jerusalem, and the Palestinian leadership has requested the intervention of the European Union, the United States and Russia, to ensure that Israel does not obstruct the elections in Jerusalem, but Israel did not inform the Palestinian side of its approval, nor did the mediating parties obtain Israeli approval. Conducting elections in Jerusalem.

Fares rejected accusations that Fatah had "thwarted the elections" due to its fear of defeat, and said that these are only estimates and readings in the political scene.