indefinitely because of what it said was Israel’s "continuing military occupation" Palestinian territories.
Several West Bank cities were occupied by the Israeli army in June after a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks. Palestinian officials said the ballot, scheduled for January 20, would be impossible to hold until after the Israeli army withdraws from the "re-occupied" areas.
However Israeli Government spokesman Ranaan Gisin told reporters that this could only happen if Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat showed that he was serious about tackling terrorism.
The Palestinian decision to postpone elections came amid continuing violence, the Voice of America (VOA) reported.
Israeli troops reportedly shot and killed an 11-year-old Palestinian girl in southern Gaza Saturday, December 21, as the Israeli army set up road-blocks aimed at cutting the Palestinian territory into three parts.
The military move came after the killing of rabbi late Friday in the troubled region. Several hours later, a Palestinian man was shot dead, after he threw grenades and fired at troops near the heavily guarded Jewish settlement of Morag, Israeli officials said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials strongly criticized the United States for vetoing a U.N. resolution critical of Israel, VOA said.
The resolution, which was vetoed late Friday, would have condemned Israel for the recent killing of three U.N. relief workers. Twelve other Security Council members, including Britain, voted for the resolution.
