Palestinian Elections

Mustafa Barghuti (Middle East Online photo)

Lawlessness grips Nablus
Middle East Online 6/22/2005
Nablus residents demand Palestinian leader restore security as armed robbery, gangland violence escalate. -- Random killings, armed robbery and gangland violence have brought a new kind of fear to the streets of Nablus, where tense residents are demanding that Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas make good on his election promise to restore a sense of security to the city. Despite a lull in Israeli-Palestinian violence since Abbas came to power, residents of Nablus say they are increasingly afraid for their own personal safety as gunmen roam the city, extorting money and carrying out their own form of vigilante ''justice'' with apparent impunity.

Al-Qaida''s No. 2 calls on Palestinian militants to end cease-fire with Israel
Ha''aretz 6/18/2005
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida''s No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, released a new video, aired on Al-Jazeera television Friday, in which he called on Palestinian militant groups to end a cease-fire with Israel and stay out of upcoming legislative elections in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Al-Zawahri urged Palestinian militants "not to forsake their jihad, not to lay down their arms ... and not to be dragged into the game of secular elections under a secular constitution." The militant group Hamas is planning to enter the elections, a major change from its longtime boycott of Palestinian Authority politics.

Diplomacy..

EXPECTANT: Palestinians wait outside a polling station in the West Bank town of Jericho during Thursday's municipal elections. Hamas battled Fatah for voter support. MUHAMMED MUHEISEN/AP

Hamas rejects any foreign interference in the Palestinian internal affairs
Palestinian Information Center 6/17/2005
Gaza – The Hamas spokesman in Gaza Sami Abu Zuhri said on Friday that his movement rejects any foreign interference in the Palestinian internal affairs. His comments came in response to reports of US-Zionist pressure on the Abbas to exclude Hamas from the legislative elections. Abu Zuhri added: “The Palestinian authority is facing an important test to prove its rejection of any foreign interference and conduct the legislative elections as soon as possible.”

EU to Palestinians: Show determination in fighting terror
Ha''aretz 6/17/2005
European Union leaders on Friday were to urge the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate their determination to combat terrorism and reorganize its security services, according to a draft statement. The text, which is to be adopted at the EU summit, also calls on Israel to halt all building in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The EU leaders are to call on the Palestinian Authority to fulfill all its security obligations and set as soon as possible a date for free and fairparliamentary elections....EU leaders are also to urge Israel to halt settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, including a total cessation of construction of homes and new infrastructure...also..the abolition of financial incentives and subsidies for the settlements and their residents.

Rice warns Israel against ''creating facts on the ground''
Ha''aretz 6/18/2005
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Israel on Friday not to complicate the path to peace with the Palestinians through new Jewish settlements just as the date approaches for Israelis to fulfill a promise to leave other, established settlements. "We don''t intend that the Israelis try to create facts on the ground," Rice told reporters traveling on the plane with her to Jerusalem. "They simply cannot engage in activities that are supposed to prejudge" the final terms of a peace settlement....A senior source in the Prime Minister''s Bureau told Haaretz that Abbas'' postponement of the elections, which had been scheduled for July 17, was related, among other things, to Israel''s reservations about the participation of "a racist party that calls for the annihilation of the Jews." [sic]

Israel attacks EU over meetings with Hamas officials
The Guardian 6/17/2005
Israel criticised European countries yesterday for meeting members of Hamas, accusing them of appeasing and legitimising extremists. European diplomats have had a number of meetings with Hamas politicians since the militant group''s recent successes in elections in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas is banned by the EU and US as a terrorist group. Mark Regev, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said officials expressed their concerns yesterday. "We believe Europeans should be strengthening moderate Palestinians and not appeasing the extremists," he said. "Anything that demonstrates acceptance of Hamas as a legitimate player is a problem..."

EU diplomats hold fresh talks with Hamas
Daily Star 6/17/2005
The Palestinian group Hamas disclosed that European Union diplomats had held talks with some of its members, an apparent shift in EU policy that drew sharp criticism from Israel. It was the latest sign of a softening of a diplomatic boycott against Hamas after the Islamist group made a strong showing in Palestinian local elections held against the backdrop of a shaky cease-fire. An EU official confirmed the bloc has opened contacts with Hamas, but has reached no collective decision on whether to change its policy toward the black-listed group. Hamas members said meetings with EU diplomats have grown more frequent following the group''s victory in more than a third of 120 towns up for grabs in three rounds of municipal voting since December.

Foreign Ministry protests EU contacts with Hamas officials
Ha''aretz 6/16/2005
The Foreign Ministry said Thursday it has protested increasing the European Union''s contacts with Hamas, saying it is pressing EU officials to maintain their official designation of Hamas as a terrorist group. "We believe Europeans should be strengthening moderate Palestinians and not appeasing the extremists," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "Anything that demonstrates acceptance of Hamas as a legitimate player is a problem." Israel''s protest came as the EU informed the U.S. administration of a substantial shift in its contacts with Hamas. The EU decision, which surprised the Americans, allows low-level European diplomats - below the rank of ambassador - to conduct talks with Hamas representatives who are running in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Keeping Hamas out of PA poll on Rice-PM agenda
Ha''aretz 6/16/2005
Israel and the United States recently began discussing the participation of Hamas in the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, and have raised the possibility of demanding that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ban Hamas from running. A senior source in the Prime Minister''s Bureau told Haaretz that Abbas'' postponement of the elections, which had been scheduled for July 17, was related, among other things, to Israel''s reservations about the participation of "a racist party that calls for the annihilation of the Jews."

Terror and Democracy: Can elections modify the behavior of Islamic militant groups fighting occupation?
By Michael Hirsh and Dan, Newsweek 6/15/2005
June 20 issue - Tim Rothermel has spent the past nine years in Gaza and the West Bank trying to make life better for Palestinians. As the local head of the U.N. Development Program, he seeks out competent and honest Palestinian officials who will find good uses for the millions of dollars in aid—some of it U.S. government funds—that he directs to building roads, schools, clinics and government institutions. Rothermel, a native North Carolinian and a registered Republican, doesn''t use a political litmus test. "I''m sure I''ve met many Hamas officials, but I don''t know who they are," he says. "It''s not a question I ask." The recent election of municipal councils in Gaza, he adds, was based "not so much on whether the candidate was Hamas or Fatah or communist or whatever. It''s more the person who is your neighbor, whom you know. And who''s best going to fix the potholes in the street."

EU renews low-level meetings with Hamas
Ha''aretz 6/16/2005
WASHINGTON - The European Union has informed the U.S. administration of a substantial shift in its contacts with Hamas. The EU decision, which surprised the Americans, allows low-level European diplomats - below the rank of ambassador - to conduct talks with Hamas representatives who are running in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by both the U.S. government and the EU. The EU decision reflects a political-strategic turnaround with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and constitutes the first stage toward recognition of a terrorist group that explicitly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and views acts of terror against civilians as legitimate.

Egypt leads drive to curb Hamas poll success
The Guardian 6/15/2005
Egypt is leading behind-the-scenes efforts to curb further ballotbox successes by the militant Palestinian group Hamas in planned parliamentary elections in Gaza and the West Bank. The "Stop Hamas" campaign is part of a strategy to secure a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in August, a subsequent large-scale international aid and reconstruction effort, and a victory for Fatah and other "moderate" Palestinian factions in polls tentatively rescheduled for next January. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, postponed the legislative elections last month, citing administrative reasons. But the delay was widely attributed to fears that Hamas would repeat its successes in municipal polls in Gaza this year.

Hamas must be boycotted till it halts terror, U.K.''s Straw tells Haaretz
Ha''aretz 6/9/2005
....Straw says the meetings with Hamas mayors, which he himself revealed in a BBC interview, are an exception. Hamas leaders should be boycotted until they meet two inflexible conditions: to "renounce violence and abandon their revolting charter which calls for the destruction of Israel." What if Hamas wins the PA parliamentary elections? "In that case," he concedes, "all of us - and Israel first and foremost - will face a dilemma." During his visit to the PA, Straw proclaimed that the Palestinians hold the key to disengagement. Only eliminating terrorism, subduing Hamas extremists and implementing reforms will guarantee continued Israeli withdrawal after the Gaza pullout, he said.

Interview: No Go
YNetNews 6/3/2005
Qalqilya mayor, and Hamas member, Wagia Kawass, says the organization has "no thoughts" of violence against anyone -- 398 Palestinian prisoners may have been released on Thursday, but many more were left behind. One of them, Sheikh Wajia Qawais, is Hamas’ newly elected mayor of the West Bank city of Qalqilya. Hamas’ election list also won all 15 seats on the city council. Qawais, who has been in administrative detention for 34 months, was arrested after he was declared a security risk. No indictment, no explanation. Just administrative detention, with secret evidence presented to a judge every three months. Qawais is due to be released at the end of June unless the authorities decide to extend his remand for a second time. He spoke to Ynet on Thursday.

Human Rights..

On January 9, 2005 Palestinians living in the occupied territories will elect a president of the Palestinian Authority and new members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the second general elections in nearly eight years. (Helga Tawil photo)

President of DCI/PS Section Elected President of International Movement
WAFA 6/30/2005
BETHLEHEM, June 30, 2005, (WAFA)-The General Assembly of Defence for Children International (DCI) has elected the President of DCI/PS, Rifat Qassis, as President of the International Movement for the next three years. In a declaration on Wednesday, DCI said that the election of Mr. Qassis represents an important achievement for Palestinian children, in particular Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and detention centers. The declaration denounced the discriminatory action of the Israeli authorities which denied visas to the representatives of the sections of Congo, Uganda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Angola, Benin.

UNRWA Emergency Appeal Progress Report 25 (Jan - Mar 2005)
ReliefWeb 6/17/2005
On 15th January, Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as the new President of the Palestinian Authority. The elections went smoothly with Palestinians, Israelis and international observers declaring their satisfaction with the proceedings. Later, on 27 January, Palestinian voters in 10 localities took part in the first-ever municipal elections in the Gaza Strip following a round of municipal elections in West Bank communities in December....UNRWA’s West Bank Field Office has been monitoring the rapid pace of wall/fence development around Jerusalem. In particular, it has been concerned about the implications for the Palestinian population and for UNRWA operations , including the movement of goods and staff.

UN Monthly Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine (PDF)
Palestine Media Center 6/7/2005
Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR) - A 34 page daily chronicle - Monthly highlights: Palestinians hold elections for 84 local governments. (5 and 6 May) / Secretary-General Annan appoints Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process. (6 May) / Quartet principals meet in Moscow and issue statement. (9 May) / Summit of South American-Arab Countries expresses support for Palestinians. (11 May) / PA President Abbas meets President Bush at the White House. (26 May)

Rights group blasts delay parliamentary elections
Electronic Intifada/PCHR 6/7/2005
Report, PCHR -- According to a presidential decree issued on 8 January 2005, one day before the Palestinian presidential elections, by then interim President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Rawhi Fattouh, the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) would be held on 17 July 2005.However, holding the PLC elections was postponed after a new decree was issued by the elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 3 June 2005. The decision to postpone parliamentary elections was taken in light of legal difficulties resulting from the non-promulgation of a new electoral law.Amendments to the current electoral law (Law 13 of 1995) have been collectively demanded by Palestinian partisan entities and civil society organizations.

People..

Yossi Beillin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, leaders of the so-called Geneva Accord

PCPO Poll on PLC Elections and Political Parties
Palestine Media Center 6/30/2005
Palestinian Center for Public Policy (PCPO) - Poll No. 137 -- (26 %) Consider themselves members in Palestinian political parties and movements. / (72.4%) Would participate in the coming PLC-elections. / (35.2%) Would vote for Fateh list in the elections of the proportional Representation, and (26.7%) for Hamas. / (34.4%) Of the Palestinians are in favor of harboring their daughters if they were involved in a case of family disgrace. / (50.2%) Believe that security is their main concern. Results...

Opinion Poll: Higher Rate of Palestinians would Vote For Fateh in Legislative Elections
WAFA 6/29/2005
BEIT SAHOUR, June 29, 2005 (WAFA)- A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) has shown that the higher rate (35.2%) of the Palestinians would vote for Fateh list in the upcoming legislative elections. The latest poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali, Director of PCPO, in the period from (14 - 19) of June, 2005 during different working hours, a random sample of 925 Palestinian adults over 18 years was included, representing the various demographic models of the Palestinian society in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.

Palestinian public opinion poll sees Fateh beating Hamas in PLC elections
MIFTAH 6/23/2005
PSR POll No. 16 (9-11 June 2005) - Full Analysis By PSR - DESPITE NEGATIVE EVALUATION OF PALESTINIAN CONDITIONS SINCE THE ELECTION OF ABU MAZIN, AND DESPITE THE CONTINUED RISE IN THE POPULARITY OF HAMAS, EXPECTED ELECTIONS’ OUTCOME GIVES FATEH 44% AND HAMAS 33% OF THE SEATS OF THE NEXT PLC -- These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between June 9-11, 2005. The poll deals with public evaluation of Palestinian conditions since the election of Abu Mazin, expected outcome of the next parliamentary elections, the participation of Hamas in the political process, and the disengagement plan.

Poll: Hold talks with PA even if Hamas in Parliament
Ha''aretz 6/14/2005
The survey also found that some 57.5 percent of the Jewish public support the unilateral disengagement plan -- A Peace Index poll released Tuesday shows that the majority of Israelis think that the government should hold negotiations with the PA even if Hamas wins the elections for the Palestinian parliament and becomes a senior partner in the PA leadership. Senior Israeli politicians have declared recently that if Hamas is successful in the upcoming elections to the Palestinian parliament, Israel will then terminate its contacts with the PA. But the present survey finds a majority of the public - 50 percent vs. 41 percent - saying that even if Hamas is a senior partner in the PA''s leadership, Israel should continue to conduct negotiations with the elected leadership of the Palestinians.

International..

Arabs heed Obama’s call for change
Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera 2/4/2008
If it were not for Barack Obama, many Arabs would not even bother to follow the results of the US presidential race on Super Tuesday. Such gloomy views could be attributed to Arabs’ negative attitudes toward governments and politics in general. Arabs have been living under authoritarian governments, many of them US allies, for decades. And the US’s traditional support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, coupled with the war on Iraq, has meant Arab mistrust of the US has dipped to new lows in recent years. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why many Arabs will not be following the latest news from the US presidential primary elections. ’Offensive’ rhetoric Many do not see any serious differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates who are taking part in the race.

Ahmadinejad battles on the home front
Khody Akhavi, Asia Times 2/5/2008
WASHINGTON - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, Israel and his government’s alleged support of Shi’ite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in Ahmadinejad’s office." Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonize almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad Caught Between Reformists and Hardliners
Khody Akhavi, Inter Press Service 1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, Jan 28(IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, the existence of Israel, and his government’s alleged support of Shiite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in the office of the president. "Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonise almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

Mideast press urges action on Gaza
BBC Online 6/14/2007
The Palestinian press makes an urgent appeal for action to prevent the violence in Gaza from turning into a full-blown civil war, urging President Abbas to call a state of emergency and ask for intervention from the region’s Arab states. Papers in the wider Middle East blame the violence on Palestinian leaders and demand fresh elections to resolve the power struggle between the Hamas and Fatah factions. In Israel, commentators ponder how the country should react to the Palestinian infighting, with one advocating a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied territories. - Palestinian AL-QUDS -- It seems we have reached the point of no return in this infighting and are witnessing the beginnings of civil war.

Lebanon factions resume talks
AlJazeera 3/22/2006
Leaders of Lebanon''s rival factions have resumed talks on the fate of the country''s pro-Syrian president and a UN call for the disarmament of the Hizb Allah group. The talks come amid signs that an agreement remains elusive on the two issues that threaten to destabilise the country. The discussions, which began on 2 March, have focused on a 2004 UN Security Council resolution that calls for disarming Hizb Allah and Palestinian fighters. The resolution also urged new presidential elections. It was passed in September 2004, days before Lebanese legislators extended Emile Lahoud''s term for three years.

Chirac vows ''voice of reason'' on Iran
Daily Star 3/6/2006
French president labels cartoon row a ''clash of ignorance'' -- RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president''s wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members.

Palestinian Americans Push Religious Pluralism in P.A.
Forward 2/17/2006
WASHINGTON — Palestinian American activists are vowing to lobby Hamas against turning the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic theocracy. Anxious about the victory of the Islamic fundamentalist group in last month''s Palestinian parliamentary elections, Palestinian American leaders say that they will push for laws favoring American-style church-state separation, pluralism, equality and inclusiveness. "We are at the time when defining decisions may very well be made in Palestine," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. The task force is a prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy group in Washington.

Disagreement With Gaza Disengagement Sours Orthodox on Bush
Forward 6/24/2005
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, cracks were emerging in the coalition of Jewish conservatives that rallied this past November around the claim that President Bush was "the best friend Israel ever had in Washington." Many influential Republican loyalists and non-Orthodox hawks appear to be remaining firm in their support of Bush. But a growing number of Orthodox activists who were avidly courted by Bush in the 2004 election are feeling distinctly dismayed as the administration embraces Israel''s Gaza disengagement plan and presses for more aid to the Palestinians.

Elections give hope to Palestinian refugees
Daily Star 6/7/2005
BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees living in squalid and overcrowded camps dare to hope the legislative elections will directly improve their lives. "I have been monitoring the elections to see if they will bring change," said Mohammad al-Daoud, 21, outside Beirut''s Chatilla camp where portraits of candidates jostle those of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 refugee compounds in South Lebanon, where conditions are often harsh and permanent citizenship is denied to all. Fouad Abed, 36, complained that the candidate he was rooting for lost in the first part of the four-stage elections that took place May 29.

El Salvador group opens park in honor of late Palestinian leader Arafat
Ha''aretz 5/25/2005
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A new plaza on Jerusalem Avenue was inaugurated Wednesday in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, despite criticism from the Israeli Embassy in El Salvador. "We are making a monument to the maximum leader of the struggle for the liberation of Palestine," said one of the promoters, businessman John Nasser, as the square with a large bust of Arafat was inaugurated. Migrants from Palestine flowed to El Salvador for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and several families became prominent in business and politics. Both President Tony Saca and his rival in last year''s election, Schafik Handal, are sons of families that migrated from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

AIPAC Losing this Fight
Electronic Intifada 3/7/2005
Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- AIPAC has been taken aback by new Mideast resolutions. Last month the House and the Senate each passed their own resolutions expressing support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of their successful presidential elections. The Washington Jewish Week reported that many on the Hill feel the Israel lobby was caught asleep on this one. The problem for the lobby was simple: popular support and optimism after the Palestinian presidential elections took the wind out of any possible grounds for raising opposition to the resolutions.

Arabs warmly welcome Abbas election
Middle East Online 1/10/2005
Analysts, officials hail election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, pay tribute to strong voter turnout. -- Arabs gave a warm welcome Monday to the election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, admiring a successful exercise in Arab democracy and hoping that a strong voter turnout will bolster his position. Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah of Cairo''s Al Ahram Center of Strategic Studies said the high turnout and the strong result for Mahmud Abbas "gives him the necessary legitimacy for his plans to resolve the conflict" with Israel.

Press Review: ''The hour of truth has arrived''
The Guardian 1/11/2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins but how will events now develop? -- Times, Editorial, January 10 - "After [Sunday''s] election ... there was a palpable feeling that something had changed ... Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist favoured by Israel and the outside world ... won a triumphant victory ... to succeed the late ... Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority ...

Economy..

`Standard of living in PA better this year''
Ha''aretz 6/29/2005
The Palestinians'' standard of living has improved over the past year, but they are worried by the anarchy and lack of safety, Yosef Mishlav, the coordinator of [Israeli] government activities in the territories, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday. Mishlav said trade between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has increased by 25 percent since Yasser Arafat''s death and Mahmoud Abbas'' election as PA chairman, from an annual $8 billion to $10 billion. The number of cellular telephone subscriptions in the territories has increased from 270,000 to 470,000 in the last year, a rise of 67 percent, he said.