Palestinian President says unacceptable to hold elections only in West Bank

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Thursday it would be "unacceptable" for planned elections to be held only in the West Bank with Gaza people left out of the polls.
  
"The presidential and legislative elections must take place in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip and in Jerusalem," he said at a joint news conference with visiting East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta.
  
"It would be unacceptable for them to be held only in the West Bank and not in Gaza. Without that it would not be possible to hold them," he said=.
  
"The internal division is the biggest danger which we are facing and our first concern is to restore national unity, that’s why we have called presidential and legislative elections so the people settle this question."
  
Last week, the Palestinian leadership announced it would hold presidential and legislative elections by September. A local election is also scheduled to take place on July 9. But Hamas has rejected the call for elections.