Ghassan Al-Shak’a, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee, said that the “committee studied on its last meeting the organization of local elections in West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

The last round of local elections took place in 2005.

Al-Shak’a added that the “government will hold the elections appropriately on Oct. 22 after consultations Fayyad made with Palestinian factions.” He did not elaborate if the consultations included the Hamas movement.

The elections have been postponed so far due to Hamas’ refusal to hold elections as long as the reconciliation talks with rival Fatah movement are ongoing.

Hamas said it wants the elections to be a result of a power-sharing agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party as part of a broader reconciliation pact.

Al- Shak’a added that the “leadership hopes the election be held in West Bank and Gaza Strip to consolidate the national unity.”

The split widened in 2007, when Hamas, which won the parliamentary elections in 2006, routed forces loyal to Abbas and took over Gaza. On early May, Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal in Cairo to end around four years of internal division.

Representatives of Hamas and Fatah movements held several meetings abroad to discuss the formation of a national unity government, the topics of security services, general and local elections and the restoration of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas nominated Fayyad to head the national unity government. Hamas rejected his nomination since it considers Fayyad part of the Palestinian split and nominated its Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh for the post.

Abbas fears that failure to appoint Fayyad would prompt the US and EU to suspend financial aid to the Palestinians. He also fears that Israelis would suspend the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority.