UN peace envoy Tor Wennesland on Thursday said there were “no obstacles” to stop Palestinians from going to the polls next month for the first time in 15 years, amid growing concerns the parliamentary vote will not go ahead.
Mr Wennesland said the registration of candidate lists had been completed successfully and he urged Palestinian and Israeli officials not to obstruct voters from choosing their representatives on May 22.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reportedly considering delaying or cancelling the vote, saying Palestinians in East Jerusalem could be disenfranchised by the Israeli authorities that control the area.
“Now that the legal registration and challenge period has concluded, there remain no key, technical obstacles to the holding of elections in a practical manner,” Mr Wennesland told a virtual UN Security Council meeting.
Mr Wennesland urged Palestinian and Israeli officials to allow all Palestinians – including those in East Jerusalem – to vote next month “free from intimidation” and not to arrest or detain any of the candidates or voters.
Mr Abbas, 86, in January called a parliamentary vote across the Palestinian territories, to be followed by a presidential ballot on July 31, saying that it was the fruit of a reconciliation deal struck last year with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza.
But Mr Abbas’s once-dominant Fatah movement faces challenges from breakaway factions and a unified Hamas, leading to speculation that the leader may once again postpone the twin votes, originally scheduled for 2010.
The polls are seen as a vital first step towards forging a united Palestinian voice in any future US-backed peace talks with Israel.
“The successful completion of inclusive Palestinian elections is a critical step towards renewing the democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian government,” said Mr Wennesland.
“These elections should also pave the way to uniting Gaza and the West Bank under a single, legitimate national authority, which would be an important step towards reconciliation and could advance Middle East peace.”
Mr Abbas has insisted the election must include voters in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967. The Israeli government bans Palestinian political activity in East Jerusalem and has not yet announced whether it will let voters cast ballots there.
A refusal by the Israelis could serve as a pretence for the Palestinian leadership to postpone or scrap the election, amid deep divisions within Mr Abbas’s Fatah party before a vote they could well lose to a united Hamas.
Fatah has split into three lists of candidates: One list is led by Nasser Al Kidwa, a nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Mr Al Kidwa also has the backing of popular leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison.
Mohammed Dahlan, Mr Abbas’s former security chief in Gaza, is heading another rival list from exile in Abu Dhabi.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Stage result
1. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 3:29.09
2. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto-Soudal
3. Rudy Barbier (FRA) Israel Start-Up Nation
4. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Luka Mezgec (SLO) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Alberto Dainese (ITA) Sunweb
7. Jakub Mareczko (ITA) CCC
8. Max Walscheid (GER) NTT
9. José Rojas (ESP) Movistar
10. Andrea Vendrame (ITA) Ag2r La Mondiale, all at same time
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At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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