Palestine Cabinet delays polls till Israel pullback

A Cabinet statement said elections ‘‘would be held after occupation forces pull back’’ to positions held before a Palestinian uprising for statehood erupted in September 2000.

This comes soon after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, earlier this month, said the January ballot would have to be postponed unless Israeli forces withdrew from West Bank cities reoccupied in June after a wave of suicide bombings inside Israel.

He said Palestinians would need at least one month and possibly up to three months free of Israeli military occupation to allow for campaigning for the ballot. On Friday the Palestinian Central Election Committee recommended the elections be delayed.

Arafat had issued a presidential decree in September calling for a general election after coming under pressure from the US, the EU and his own people for an overhaul of his Palestinian Authority. Israel holds its own parliamentary election on January 28. Opinion polls project Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Right-wing Likud party will win the most seats in the Knesset and that he will form the next government.