Palestinian court: Put off local elections

A Palestinian court Thursday advised the Palestinian Authority to postpone the local council elections scheduled for next month. A final decision will be made after the Eid el Adha festival in three days' time. DEBKAfile: The court’s recommendation offers Mahmoud Abbas a way out of the poll, which he is seeking – ever since foreign friends warned him that his Fatah Party would lose to the fundamentalist Hamas in all Palestinian-ruled towns: Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Hebron Qalqilya and Jericho.