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If all goes according to plan, the Palestinians will be holding legislative elections on May 22, followed by presidential elections on July 31. These would be the first national elections to take place since 2006.
A recent report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) looked at the number of convicted terrorists on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) ballot and raised questions about possible political, budgetary and legal consequences. The authors Katherine Bauer and Matthew Levitt noted that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has also nominated candidates with criminal records for terrorism (Ahmed
Brief Analysis
The group plans to put numerous convicted terrorists on the ballot, and neither the PA nor the international community seems willing to talk about the potential legal, diplomatic, and budgetary consequences.
With less than five weeks before Palestinians are scheduled to vote for new legislators, the Biden administration has yet to clarify whether it would support results that enhance the political power of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and has ambitions to dominate the West Bank, too. The presence of numerous convicted terrorists on the group’s candidate list one of thirty-six party lists recently approved by the Palestinian Central Elections Commission should raise urgent concerns about its participation in the May 22 vote.