Palestinians head for vote, Israel eyes Hamas

By Wafa Amr

RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Thousands of Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank cast ballots on Thursday for the final phase
of local elections seen as a bellwether of rival factions’
clout ahead of a landmark parliamentary poll in January.

The voting has been deferred indefinitely in the Gaza
Strip, where Palestinians also seek statehood, despite Israel’s
removal of soldiers and settlers from the coastal territory
this month. Elections officials blamed a lack of time to
prepare.

Unlike in the first phase of the municipal election in May,
when candidates ran individually, this time more than 144,000
voters in the West Bank will choose among faction lists.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ dominant Fatah faces
stiff competition from main Islamist rival Hamas, whose charity
networks, lack of corruption, and suicide bombings have won
many Palestinian hearts during five years of fighting with
Israel.

“Particularly after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the
run-up to legislative elections, the municipal results will
have important political implications as they will form the
basis of how the factions will perform,” Jamal al-Shobaki, head
of the Higher Commission for Local Elections, told Reuters.

Opinion polls suggest Hamas enjoys 30 percent public
support, pointing to significant gains when it takes part in
the January 25 elections for the Palestinian Legislative
Council.

Sworn to Israel’s destruction, Hamas boycotted the only
previous parliamentary poll, in 1996, in protest against
Palestinian peace talks with the Jewish state.

The prospect of an Islamist legislative sweep has raised
eyebrows in Israel and abroad. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said
Israel would not help the Palestinians in facilitating votes in
the West Bank in January if Hamas runs without first disarming.

Hamas has vowed to keep its weapons and launched rockets at
Israel from Gaza over the weekend despite an eight-month truce.

Israel has responded with air strikes and a West Bank
dragnet, detaining hundreds of militant suspects.

Hamas accused Israel of hobbling its chances in the local
elections. But Shobaki, who said 15 municipal candidates and
dozens of election monitors and coordinators were among those
now in Israeli custody, anticipated little impact on the
voting.

“The arrests will not affect the elections. Some 100 or 200
votes will not affect the entire voting process,” Shobaki said.

Voting centres opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT). Elections
official Faris Yaghi said the 142 stations would be closed in
12 hours.

The 2,478 candidates vying for 1,018 seats in the West Bank
and Arab East Jerusalem include 602 women taking part in the
first Palestinian municipal elections in 28 years.