Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends an opening of the Center via a teleconference with Bethlehem, before a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia, May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Kochetkov/Pool
RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinians held municipal elections on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, a first democratic exercise in years, but one that has also raised tensions between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements.
With no legislative or presidential elections in sight, the municipal ballot is seen as a popularity test for Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, caught in a deep rift with Islamist Hamas.
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