The occupation refuses to allow the Palestinian Election Commission to enter Gaza and Jerusalem

The Israeli occupation government refused to allow the Palestinian Central Election Commission to enter the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem to monitor preparations for the legislative elections scheduled for November 28, according to the Wafa news agency citing a responsible source. The refusal comes amid technical preparations by the commission and fears of election delays due to Israeli obstacles and internal complications.

The Israeli occupation government refused to allow the Palestinian Central Election Commission to enter the Gaza Strip and occupied East Jerusalem to monitor preparations for the legislative elections scheduled for November 28. The Wafa news agency, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, quoted a responsible source on Tuesday as saying that "the Israeli government refused to allow the Central Election Commission to enter the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem to monitor the conduct of the legislative elections scheduled for November 28." This comes as the Central Election Commission continues its technical preparations for the first Palestinian legislative elections since 2006, amid pre-existing fears of possible postponement due to Israeli obstacles and internal political and security complications. The Israeli position is particularly significant because the participation of the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem is an essential element for holding comprehensive Palestinian elections. Palestinian assessments have previously warned that preventing the entry of election teams and equipment into Gaza or obstructing voting in Jerusalem could make holding the vote on schedule extremely difficult. The new refusal is likely to bring the issue of the elections' fate back to the forefront, especially since the elections scheduled for 2021 were postponed after disputes related specifically to holding them in Jerusalem, which the occupation prevented. The article reports the news via the Wafa agency without additional analysis from the editor, but the wording of the headline and body uses the term "occupation" as a fixed description of Israel, which is an ideological and not a neutral framework.