Jerusalem (CNN) -- The grass-roots upheaval spreading across the Arab world has reached the Palestinian territories as government authorities there announced Tuesday the staging this summer of long-delayed local elections.
Ghassan Khatib, Palestinian Authority spokesman, said officials intend to hold elections in the West Bank and Gaza on July 9, a move widely seen in Palestinian circles as a reaction to the ferment in the region.
Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Palestinian legislator who was involved in litigation against the Palestinian Authority in order to force them to hold the local elections, called the decision "a very good step" that would help "maintain the seeds of democracy" in the Palestinian territories.
Barghouti said the events in Tunisia and Egypt had helped serve as a warning to the Palestinian Authority that they needed to be more responsive to their citizens.
"They should be careful with how they treat people" Barghouti said.
Khatib said if elections in Gaza are not possible, they would still take place in the West Bank.
The West Bank government of the Palestinian Authority is dominated by the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas while Gaza is ruled by the rival Islamist group Hamas.
The local elections -- which were set to take place last year but were canceled by the Palestinian Authority -- are being planned amid the unrest sweeping across the Arab world.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told CNN that the Hamas movement did not accept the announcement, arguing that the "Fatah Authority cannot decide when to hold elections".
Zuhri said the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank city of Ramallah lacked legitimacy.
He said the decision was meant distract attention from revelations made in recently released Palestinian negotiating documents that detailed some of the concessions the Abbas government was considering in past negotiations with Israel
A July vote would mark the first time elections have been held in the Palestinian territories since 2006.
In that year, legislative elections brought Hamas into power and lead to international sanctions against the Palestinian Authority until Hamas agrees to the renunciation of violence, acceptance of previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and the recognition of Israel.
In 2007 Hamas seized power in Gaza beginning a bitter political split among Palestinians.
Legislative and presidential elections are now past due and there is no future date set as the political division between Fatah and Hamas continues.
Various attempts at reaching an accord through Palestinian unity talks have ended in deadlock.
Barghouti said there was no reason that local elections could not take place despite the political stalemate and that elections would help to build positive pressure on both political factions to reach some some sort of national reconciliation. CNN
