Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said today that he would delay this month's election if Israel bars voting in Arab East Jerusalem, raising the possibility of a postponement for the first time.
Mr Abbas has so far resisted pressure from his Fatah movement to put off the January 25 parliament vote, in which the ruling party faces a strong challenge from Hamas Islamic militants.
Mr Abbas's comments also implied that he had agreement from all Palestinian factions -- which would include Hamas -- to delay the vote if Israel banned an East Jerusalem vote.
"We are all in agreement that Jerusalem has to be included in the election ... ," he said on Al Jazeera television during a visit to Qatar. "And if is not included, all the factions agree that there will be no elections."
But a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip said there had been absolutely no agreement to accept a delay.
Other Palestinian officials have repeatedly said that there is no way that elections could take place without voting in East Jerusalem. But Hamas, buoyed by disarray within Fatah, has said it could not accept any delay.
Israel had at first said it would not permit voting in East Jerusalem because of the participation of Hamas, which is sworn to destroying the Jewish state, but officials later backed away from the threat.
Israeli officials said they did not want to be accused of giving the Palestinians a reason for further postponement to the long-delayed election. The last parliamentary ballot was in 1996.