EU chides Israel for blocking Palestinian election activity in East Jerusalem

The European Union’s mission to the Palestinians chides Israel for shutting down a press conference yesterday in East Jerusalem and arresting three candidates in the upcoming Palestinian elections.

“We expect [Israel] to abide by its commitment under the Oslo Accord to allow PAL candidates and voters to participate in elections in East Jerusalem,” the mission tweets.

Palestinian officials have regularly said that there will be no Palestinian elections unless Israel permits them to be conducted in East Jerusalem — a request Israel is unlikely to grant.

Saturday’s arrests were the second time in less than a month that Israeli security forces detained Palestinian candidates seeking to hold PA election events in the capital. Israel bans Palestinian Authority activity in both West and East Jerusalem, viewing it as a violation of Israeli sovereignty.

IL authorities yesterday prevented a press conference in East Jerusalem and arrested 3 PAL electoral candidates. We expect IL to abide by its commitment under the Oslo Accord to allow PAL candidates and voters to participate in elections in East Jerusalem.

— EU and Palestinians (@EUpalestinians) April 18, 2021