Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree Saturday in Ramallah that he has decided to delay the legislative elections due on July 17.

"The postponement was made upon the amended election law number 13 of 1995, and depended on notes that go in harmony with Cairo agreement," said the decree, adding "a new date for holding the elections would be decided in another decree."

It said the new decree would be issued after "finalizing the needed legal measures and national discussions and debates."

The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved the new electoral law in mid-May, but Abbas has yet to endorse the bill.

Abbas wants the 132 parliamentary seats to be elected half through proportional representation and half through constituencies.

However, according to the bill passed by the PLC, two thirds of the seats will be elected through proportional representation and one third allocated to constituencies.

The postponement of the election will also give Abbas time to prepare for a possible tough challenge posed by the Islamic Hamas movement, whose surging street popularity has rendered it a strong showing in the local elections.

Hamas has strongly opposed the postponement of the elections.

Palestinian election committee indicated that it need two months to prepare for the elections after Abbas approved the bill.

Source: Xinhua