Abbas in campaign: Israel must free all prisoners

Abbas, the front-runner in the Jan. 9 election, called on Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem - areas that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. He said he favors a negotiated settlement and promised to respect the rights of Palestinian refugees

"Israel must pull out of all Palestinian lands occupied in 1967. We must end the occupation," Abbas told hundreds of supporters. "We cannot compromise on Jerusalem."

Israel and the Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital.

"We are choosing the path of peace and negotiation," Abbas added. "If there is no peace here, there will be no peace in the Middle East or the rest of the world."

Abbas, who faces six opponents in the chairmanship vote, is the candidate of Yasser Arafat's ruling Fatah movement and he repeatedly made clear he intends to present himself as the late Palestinian leader's heir despite his often rocky relationship with Arafat.

Since Arafat's death Nov. 11, Abbas has sought to harness Arafat's popularity to build support.

Abbas' rally began with a moment of silence for Arafat and he sprinkled his speech with references to the late leader.

Abbas also appeared alongside Arafat in campaign posters and advertisements that ran prominently in Palestinian newspapers Saturday. "On your path, we will achieve the Palestinian dream," the ads say.

In his speech, Abbas reiterated previous promises to hold parliamentary elections in the first half of 2005, shortly after the January elections for PA chairman.

The militant group Hamas welcomed Abbas' call for elections, but urged him to follow through on the promise.

"So far no date has been set for this election," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. "We hope the Palestinian Authority will fulfill its promises regarding the political partnership."

Hamas, which is popular at the local level, made a surprisingly strong showing in municipal elections this week, and could be poised to do well in the legislative vote as well. The group is boycotting the presidential vote.

Marwan Barghouti, a rival to Abbas in Fatah, had initially planned to run for the chair, but pulled out under intense pressure from party members.
Listing his priorities, Abbas told Fatah supporters he was determined to provide security to his people, and continue the struggle against Israel's partially completed separation fence.

The fence, which dips into the West Bank in some areas, has divided some Palestinian towns and at times separated farmers from their land and children from their schools. The 425-mile (680-kilometer) fence is about one-third complete.

Abbas also pledged to resolve the problem of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Abbas, himself a refugee from what is today the northern Israeli city of Safed, called the refugee issue "very important and very dangerous."

The refugees, who fled or were forced to flee their homes when Israel was established in 1948, want to return to their former homes. Israel rejects any large-scale return, saying it would destroy the country's Jewish character.

Differences over the refugee issue and Jerusalem have been the most contentious issues in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

As the campaign kicked off, Palestinian newspapers were full of advertisements from those hoping to win the chairmanship. Human-rights worker Mustafa Barghouti, who is running a distant second to Abbas in opinion polls, appeared on the front page of the al-Ayyam daily and had billboard ads throughout the West Bank.

"Put the cause in safe hands," the candidate says in one add, a picture of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock mosque in the background.

With the powerful Fatah party machinery behind him, Abbas is expected to coast to victory. Israel and the United States also quietly back the moderate pragmatist.

Israel allows DFLP man to campaign in East J'lem

Israel has allowed Tayssir Khaled, who is representing the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)in the January 9 PA chairmanship elections, to launch his campaign in East Jerusalem on Saturday.

Khaled is apparently holding the rally as part of an agreement between the state and the PA to allow candidates to campaign in East Jerusalem.

Police are surrounding the building where Khaled is speaking, and though in past weeks he has been arrested and suffered many disruptions in former demonstrations, this time he will be allowed to campaign freely.

Hamas makes strong showing in Palestinian municipal elections
The radical Hamas movement made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results, signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah movement ahead of next month's poll on the PA chairmanship.

Elections for local councils were held Thursday in 26 communities perceived as Fatah strongholds, with some 150,000 eligible voters choosing from among more than 800 candidates. Sixteen percent of the 360 local council seats were reserved for women.

According to preliminary results obtained Friday by The Associated Press, Fatah won a majority of council seats in 14 towns, while Hamas, participating for the first time in Palestinian elections, took control in nine communities.

In two towns, a joint Hamas-Fatah slate won, indicating that local issues and clan loyalties blunted the rivalry at times. The outcome of the vote in one community, Yabed, was not immediately available.

"This is an outstanding result for Hamas," said Palestinian analyst, Ali Jerbawi, a former head of the Palestinian Election Commission. "The 26 localities were selected from the beginning (as) strongholds of Fatah. So the results should have been more for Fatah than Hamas."

Hamas has been at the forefront of anti-Israeli violence, carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks, even as it has emerged as the strongest political challenger to Fatah, the PLO faction led by the late Yasser Arafat.

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the result reflected strong support for the group but suggested that Hamas was ready to forge coalitions with Fatah.

"The coming stage is one of development and rebuilding our society, and we will cooperate with everyone to strengthen our society."

The vote was the first in municipalities since 1976. Polling stations were jammed throughout the day, with high voter turnout reported. Elections were held in any of the major Palestinian cities or large towns. Voting in an additional 600 towns and villages was expected to be held next year.

Hamas is boycotting the Palestinian elections on Jan. 9, but its strong showing in the municipal poll could indicate faltering support for Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen.

"Abu Mazen won't have an overwhelming majority," Jerbawi said. "I think he will win with 55 or 58 percent."

Jerbawi doubted that the weak Fatah showing in the municipal elections would have any affect on fledgling Israeli-Palestinian peace moves, despite Hamas' strong opposition to them and its continuing calls for Israel's destruction.

Israeli-Palestinian rhetoric has muted since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Nov. 11. Both sides have raised the possibility of improved relations after the Jan. 9 election.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518854.html