PA furious over Hamas exclusion

Fatah members reject Israeli conditions for PA elections, threaten to call off vote

Roee Nahmias
Published: 01.11.06, 09:13 / Israel News

Sources in the Palestinian Authority have protested the statements of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who said Tuesday Israel would allow Palestinian elections in east Jerusalem to go ahead on the condition Hamas is not on the ballots.

Earlier, Mofaz said the elections in eastern Jerusalem would be allowed to take place provided they went ahead on the Palestinian side of the security fence.

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Fatah sources in east Jerusalem said Monday that the conditions were unacceptable to them, and that the PA elections would fail should Israel stick to its position.

"Olmert's terms are impossible," PA parliament member for Jerusalem and Fatah member Hatem Abd al-Qader told Ynet.

"We will vote using the same forms that all of the polls will use. Israel can't interfere in such a crude manner and set conditions for partial elections. It's as if (Palestinian) elements would come and decide that Israelis can't vote for Labor in the Israeli elections," he said.

Qader added: "Our minimum terms are the same conditions for the PA parliament in 1996, and we won't compromise for less. We won't agree to Mofaz's conditions to hold the vote on the other side of the fence, and if Israel insists on this, we'll close the other ballots and cancel the elections. Israel will bear full responsibility for the failure of the elections and the subsequent results. The Palestinian Authority and Fatah officially decided that their stance is not to go ahead with elections without the Jerusalem district."

"If Israel sticks to its position, the security chaos in the territories will escalate. Israel should decide if it will allow us to vote or not," sad Qader.

Deputy Minister for Municipal Affairs and Fatah member Ahmed Ghanem took a cynical view on Israel's stance, saying: "This is a political game that Israel is running, and it is wasting time. Up to now, they have wasted the time of the campaign of the candidates, and we have lost the opportunity of talking to our potential voters. It's fair to assume that in the end, Israel will agree to holding the elections in east Jerusalem on a similar basis to '96. At the moment Israel is wasting time without any strategic significance."

Ghanem added that he thought "Israel was strengthening Hamas with its decisions, and causing them to appear to be the best national candidates. The simple person hears these declarations and is supposed to easily be convinced to vote Hamas. If I were a Hamas candidate I would be sending checks to show my appreciation for the propaganda they (Israel) are doing for me."

Ghanem also declared that he wouldn't "accept Mofaz's and Olmert's stance."

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