Islamic Jihad will not take part in Palestine election

Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad announced yesterday that it will not take part in the presidential and legislative elections due to be held later this year, a statement released by the group said.

In the statement, the movement said: “We will not take part in the elections under the Oslo agreement which undermined the rights and principles of the Palestinian people.”

It added that it had proposed its political vision regarding the achievement of national unity during the meeting of Palestinian factions held in Cairo this week.

“We believe that the best start of true Palestinian unity would only be achieved through a united Palestinian political programme, the rearrangement of the PLO on national bases and carrying out Palestinian National Council elections far away from the parliamentarian elections,” the statement said.

Islamic Jihad Political Bureau member, Sheikh Nafeth Azzam, reassured that his movement “will not put obstacles ahead of carrying out the elections.”

On Tuesday, the Palestinian factions issued a statement following their meeting in Cairo, saying that they had agreed on writing down the principles and mechanisms of carrying out the elections.

READ: Palestinian elections and the West