Palestinian local elections on hold for six months

The Palestinian government at a meeting in Hebron Tuesday decided to postpone local elections scheduled tor Oct. 8 for another six months and restrict the vote to Judea and Samaria – not the Gaza Strip. The decision followed endless bickering between Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah and the Hamas rulers of Gaza. DEBKAfile: Outside advisers have repeatedly advised Abbas to avoid any Palestinian election since Hamas is bound to win the main cities of Ramallah, seat of the PA, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Heron Qalqilya and Jericho.