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Israel Allows Al-Quds Vote, Palestinians Slam Hamas Ban
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Palestinian
boy runs next to wall covered by pre-election posters in Abu Dis
on the edge of Al-Quds. (Reuters)
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, January 15, 2006 (IslamOnlie.net & News Agencies) –
Israel finally approved on Sunday, January 15, allowing Palestinians
in Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) to vote in the Palestinian
legislative elections, scheduled for January 25, but banned Hamas from
listing its candidates on ballots in the holy city, drawing immediate
rebuke from the Palestinian Authority and the resistance group.
The
government approved the decision unanimously, an official said, after
US pressure to lift, in the interests of Palestinian democracy,
opposition to voting in the occupied holy city, reported Reuters.
"I
propose to the cabinet that the election in east Jerusalem be
conducted on the same basis as in 1996 and 2005," acting Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert told a Cabinet meeting, in comments carried on
Israeli radio.
After
talks with both Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on
Friday, January 15, a US Middle East envoy said Washington wanted
Palestinians in Al-Quds to cast their ballot.
"The
United States believes that the Palestinians should be able to vote
everywhere," said Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern
Affairs David Welch.
Israel
had threatened to block voting in the occupied city in protest to
Hamas participation in the January 25 polls.
Palestinian
officials had threatened to postpone the legislative elections if
Israel prevented Al-Quds inhabitants from voting.
Israel
had initially been reluctant to allow voting in Al-Quds for the
presidential elections in January.
It
only allowed Al-Quds residents to vote in post offices after pressures
from the United States.
Israel
had allowed voting in the holy city in the last Palestinian
parliamentary election in 1996.
Israel
captured and then annexed Al-Quds after the 1967 war but the
international community still regards the holy city, home to nearly
200,000 Palestinians, as an occupied territory.
Al-Quds
is home of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam third holiest shrine, and represents
the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Hamas
Ban
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Israeli
policemen detained six Hamas activists, including three
candidates. (Reuters)
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The
Israeli government, however, said it would bar the distribution of
ballot slips and campaign posters belonging to candidates of the
resistance group Hamas in the occupied city.
"Under
no circumstances will we permit Hamas to enter Jerusalem and carry out
electioneering," Olmert said.
Less
than an hour after the Cabinet meeting, Israeli occupation forces
arrested six Hamas members, including three candidates, in the holy
city, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Among
the three candidates was Sheikh Mohammed Abu Tir, who is number two on
the list of Hamas candidates.
Hamas,
which is putting up candidates for parliament for the first time, is
expected to make major inroads in the Palestinian parliament in the
elections.
Defiant
Hamas
The
Israeli ban drew immediate rebuke from the Palestinian Authority and
the resistance group.
"Israel
has no right to forbid any candidate from campaigning in east
Jerusalem," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP.
"We
have asked the international observers to ensure that the campaign
will take place on the same lines as in 1996 and 2005 which allowed
for the candidates from every list to move freely. This includes Hamas,"
he added.
The
resistance group, for its part, vowed to defy the Israeli ban on
campaigning in the occupied holy city.
"Hamas
will find alternatives and continue our campaign by all possible
means," said its chief spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
The
resistance group, which agreed last March to a de facto truce that
expired with the end of 2005, has performed extremely well in the
recent municipal elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
EU
Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana warned on December 18, that if
Hamas wins the polls, it will be "very difficult that help and
the money that goes to ... the Palestinian Authority will continue to
flow".
Two
days before, the US House of Representatives threatened the PA that it
risked losing US financial aid and other support if it allowed Hamas
to contest the polls.
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