Palestine set to hold national elections after 14 years

Ramallah [Palestine], January 16 : Palestine is set to conduct its first national elections this year after a span of 14 years.
These include parliamentary, presidential and National Council polls.
Under a decree signed by the Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, the parliamentary elections will be held on May 22, presidential elections on July 31, and Palestinian National Council elections on August 31, Anadolu Agency reported.
"The President instructed the election committee and all state apparatuses of the state to launch a democratic election process in all cities of the homeland," the decree said.
The last round of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians broke down in 2014 amid Israeli expansion of the settlements in the West Bank.
Israel seized the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and has since controlled or blockaded them despite international criticism. The Palestinians wish to establish an independent state on these lands with East Jerusalem as its capital.