Gaza Islamic Jihad to boycott Palestinian municipal elections

The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that it will boycott the municipal elections scheduled to be held in October in the Palestinian territories.

The pro-Iran and the less influential Palestinian group said in an emailed press statement that joining the Palestinian municipal elections is not the real Palestinian priority.

"The municipal elections are important, but it can never be the introduction or the mean to get out from the current Palestinian impasse that is getting deeper day after day," said the group.

The Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Hamas movement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party as well as five left-wing parties, agreed to hold the municipal elections in early October.

Last municipal elections were held in the Palestinian territories in 2005.

The municipal elections were held in the West Bank only in 2010 after Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, refused to join it.

"Instead of holding the municipal elections, the internal split has to end and the Palestinians should focus more on fighting the occupation (Israel) in Jerusalem and in the West Bank," said the Islamic Jihad.

The Islamic Jihad is the second Islamic faction in the Palestinian territories after Hamas. The military group has been always boycotting the Palestinian elections, mainly the presidential and the legislative elections. Endit