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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: January 4, 2006 |
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Parades, rallies and posters marked the official kickoff of the campaign for the Palestinian parliament, but it was far from sure whether the election would actually take place on Jan. 25 as planned.
Lurking behind the festive opening Tuesday, where even Mickey Mouse had a role, was a serious disagreement between the ruling Fatah, which favors postponing the election, and challenger Hamas, which insists it must take place on time.
"Postponing the election will lead to a vacuum and to a dark future," Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas candidate, told reporters in Gaza.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah Party is roiled by infighting, accusations of corruption and fears of an electoral drubbing, said Monday the vote could be delayed.
This election will mark the first time that Hamas - which calls for Israel's destruction and is responsible for dozens of deadly suicide bombings - will field candidates.
Hamas candidates and about 200 supporters marched to a cemetery in the West Bank city of Nablus to bury three Hamas terrorists killed in fighting with Israel. "We ask all Palestinians to join us to create an Islamic state. The Islamic state is on the rise," said Sheik Hamed Bitawi, a Hamas candidate.
Ahmed Saadat, who heads the list for the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, launched his campaign with a news conference in a Palestinian prison in the West Bank town of Jericho. Saadat is being held in connection with the PFLP's assassination of an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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