Ramallah - The Palestinian Central Elections Committee announced Thursday that it will be unable to hold elections on the scheduled date of January 24 next year.

CEC Chairman Hana Nasser said the main reasons were the impossibility of holding elections when the Islamist Hamas movement would not allow a poll in the Gaza Strip and Israel would not allow voting in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced last month that the elections would be held on January 24. (dpa)