The Palestinian president has said he will delay parliamentary elections scheduled for 25 January if Israel bars Jerusalem Arabs from voting.

It is the first time Mahmoud Abbas has said he may postpone the poll.

"We all agree that Jerusalem should be included in the elections," Abbas said in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.

"If it is not included, all the factions agree there should be no elections."

Abbas has been under pressure by senior figures of his Fatah party to delay the vote.

On Saturday, eight members of Fatah's central committee, including Ahmad Qureia, the prime minister, and Nabil Shaath, his deputy, called for the elections to be postponed.

The committee said elections would not proceed without guarantees that Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem could vote, after holding an emergency meeting on Sunday.

Abbas had earlier said: "This is only one condition, that they (the elections) proceed in Jerusalem as was the case during the legislative elections in 1996 and the presidential election in 2005.

"Nobody will accept that the Palestinians of Jerusalem will not take part in the elections of 25 January, because this is a sacred national event for us."

Fatah's traditional domination of Palestinian politics is facing an unprecedented challenge from the resistance group Hamas, which is taking part in legislative elections for the first time.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) speaks to Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan after Abbas' arrival in Abu Dhabi January 1, 2006. (REUTERS)