Palestinians threaten to cancel election in vote row

The Palestinian Authority will cancel parliamentary elections planed for January 25 if Israel goes ahead with its plan to bar Jerusalem Palestinians from voting.

“If the Israelis insist on not allowing us to conduct the elections in Jerusalem, then there will be no elections at all,” said Information Minister Nabil Shaath.

Israeli officials today said that Israel would not allow Jerusalem Palestinians to vote because it objected to the participation of Hamas militants in the race, and did not want to help bring its candidates to power.