PA will ask Israel to allow Palestinian prisoners to vote in election

The Palestinian Authority will officially ask Israel to allow Palestinian prisoners to vote in scheduled Palestinian elections in May, a senior Palestinian official says on Twitter.

“We will officially ask the government of Israel to allow Palestinian prisoners in its prisons and detention facilities to exercise their right to vote in the Palestinian elections, as their right given to them by the Palestinian law,” says Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh, one of the most powerful figures in the PA, is formally responsible for coordinating with Israel. Two weeks ago, he paid a public visit to Palestinian prisoner Marwan al-Barghouti. Some reports said the visit was an attempt to convince the popular Fatah leader, convicted by Israel on terror charges, not to run against aging PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

“The law gives [prisoners] the right to nominate themselves,” al-Sheikh adds.