RAMALLAH, February 21, 2017 (WAFA) – The Palestinian cabinet expressed regret Tuesday over a decision by Hamas not to allow local elections to be held in the Gaza Strip.

The cabinet said in a statement after its weekly meeting in Ramallah that after hearing from the head of the Central Elections Commission, Hanna Nasser, regarding his meetings with Hamas officials in Gaza, “the cabinet expresses its regret from Hamas position that denies our people in Gaza the right to participate in this democratic event.”

The cabinet, nevertheless, called on Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since July 2007, to change its position “in these critical times our Palestinian people, cause and national project are passing through so that elections will be the entrance to agreement on holding presidential and legislative elections.”

It said these elections would reunite the Palestinian people and bring them back to practicing democracy as a national requirement.

The cabinet had set local elections for May 13. They were originally planned for October of last year but cancelled following a court order.

M.K.