Palestinians in the occupied West Bank voted Saturday in municipal elections.

Voting for around 300 municipal councils opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) Saturday at dozens of schools across the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel for half a century. Polls are due to close at 7:00 pm.

“It’s important that everyone has a say” but also that those elected “assume the responsibility given to them”, said Rami Nazal, a UN employee who voted in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority.

More than a million Palestinians were registered to choose from among 4,400 candidates standing in a vote that is seen as yet another sign that reconciliation may be a long way off.

Even so, “municipal elections are better than nothing” in a country where “the situation is unlike anywhere else in the world”, said Zina Masri, who voted before going to work.

Source: AFP