EU to pressure Israel on allowing East Jerusalem residents to vote in Palestinian elections

The EU will pressure Israel to allow Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem to vote in upcoming Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections, according to media reports.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said this week that the first unified elections in 15 years will not take place unless East Jerusalem residents are allowed to vote.

Israel has so far refused to say if residents in the eastern sector of Jerusalem under its occupation will be permitted to vote in the landmark elections.

Abbas and other Palestinian leaders will meet on Thursday to decide whether the elections will go ahead but have said the East Jerusalem issue is a red line.

In a last minute bid to save the process, the EU has pledged to increase its pressure on Israel to allow East Jerusalem residents to vote in the election, according to Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.

Egyptian officials said on Monday that the Palestinians will likely cancel the elections but Cairo is in talks with Israel on the issue.

East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move viewed as illegal under international law.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Israel has yet to approve Palestinian activities in occupied East Jerusalem and has crashed several electoral meetings and arrested candidates in the occupied city over the last few weeks. Israel views Jerusalem as its "undivided capital" and has sought to quash any Palestinian political activity in these areas.