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Not now, thanks. Abbas backs away from election commitment. (AP file)
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| By Associated Press January 2, 2006 |
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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Monday for the first time that he favors postponing the January 25 elections for a new parliament, blaming Israel's objection to allowing Jerusalem Palestinians to vote but also reflecting increasing Hamas strength and Gaza chaos.
"We all agree that Jerusalem should be included in the elections," Abbas said in Doha, Qatar. "If it is not included, all the factions agree there should be no elections." His comments were carried on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel.
Up to now Abbas has resisted pressure from all sides to call off the Jan. 25 parliamentary election, but the pressure continues to build.
Israel is balking at a repeat of past procedures to allow Jerusalem's 200,000 Palestinians take part in an "absentee ballot" arrangement; leaders from Abbas' own Fatah party, reeling from internal squabbles between old and young guards, fear an election fiasco; and armed gangs, mostly from Fatah itself, are causing mayhem in Gaza, calling into question whether orderly elections can be held at all.
In an incident in Gaza on Monday, about 200 Palestinian police, shooting in the air, briefly took over several government buildings to protest the Palestinian Authority's failure to impose law and order.
Later, Fatah gunmen briefly stole two police cars in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis and exchanged fire with security forces, officials said. No one was hurt.
Palestinian Police have been powerless to halt the violence that has gripped Gaza since Israel withdrew in September. Last week, an officer was killed during a shootout between two feuding families.
And Israel has weighed in, declaring part of the border area off limits to Palestinians to try to stop rocket fire -- charging that Palestinian security is not stopping the barrages. A rocket fired from Gaza landed harmlessly in Israel on Monday, the military said.
Hovering over all the political maneuvering is the militant Islamic Hamas, poised to score an impressive result, perhaps even an overall victory, in its first foray into parliamentary voting _ largely because of Fatah corruption, ineptness and infighting. Riding high, Hamas has insisted the election must take place as scheduled.
Israel's ban on Jerusalem voting would make a convenient target for pinning blame for delaying the vote, but Israeli officials say they don't want to take the rap and are looking for a compromise.
One official called the Jerusalem issue a technical issue that could be resolved.
In the 1996 parliamentary election and again a year ago, when Abbas was elected to succeed Yasser Arafat, east Jerusalem's Palestinians voted by absentee ballot in post offices, because Israel says interim peace accords ban Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem.
The new factor is Hamas participation. Israel objects, noting Hamas responsibility for dozens of deadly suicide bombings and its charter calling for Israel's destruction.
On Monday, Israeli police broke up a political gathering of Fatah supporters in Jerusalem but made no arrests, police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
"There was a political meeting at the Christmas Hotel. As such things are forbidden by law, we asked those present to leave, which they did," he said.
A participant in the meeting, Ahmed Ghneim, called the raid "the beginning of the battle for the elections in Jerusalem."
With the election campaign set to begin officially on Tuesday, Fatah leaders are looking for a formula that would satisfy Hamas objections to delaying the vote.
Samir Mashharawi of the Fatah young leadership said holding the elections under the current circumstances could "lead to a national disaster."
"We suggested forming a national salvation government in which all factions participate, including Hamas," he said.
Hamas has never served in a Palestinian government or run for parliament, rejecting the interim peace accords with Israel on which they are based.
Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki said Fatah's inability to clean its ranks of corrupt officials and its inability to bring law and order to Gaza is further hurting the movement.
He said delaying the vote could backfire against Fatah.
"If they delay for six months or one year ... Fatah won't be able to solve the chaos and the corruption, and I believe Fatah's internal problems will be complicated more," Shikaki said. "So it's in Fatah's interest to hold elections as soon as possible."
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