RAMALLAH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian official warned on Tuesday that the upcoming general elections might be obstructed if the issue of political prisoners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is not resolved.

Sabri Seidam, deputy secretary-general of the central committee of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the Fatah party looks forward to resolving the crisis immediately.

Seidam said Fatah had handed the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) a list of the political prisoners imprisoned by the movement in the Gaza Strip and called for their immediate release.

Factions of Palestine reached an agreement in Egypt last week to hold general elections within 2021, settling down years of internal disputes.

"Moving towards the general elections needs integrated and coherent steps to resolve all outstanding issues," Seidam said.

On Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye called on Hamas to release political prisoners imprisoned in its jails in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas has to "release 80 political prisoners from its jails in the Gaza Strip."

In a decree issued in mid-January, Abbas announced that the 2021 general election will include legislative elections on May 22, presidential elections on July 31, and the Palestinian National Council elections on Aug. 31.

The last Palestinian presidential elections were held in March 2005, and the legislative elections in January 2006. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)