Israeli army to avoid W.Bank towns during election By Allyn Fisher-Ilan
1 hour, 23 minutes ago
The Israeli army plans to steer clear of Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank to avoid interfering in the January 25 Palestinian parliamentary election, an Israeli military source said on Monday.
The move came as hundreds of Palestinian candidates wrapped up their campaigns ahead of Wednesday's vote, which was expected to give a major boost to the militant group Hamas.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in the region to monitor the election, said he received assurances from interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that military checkpoints would be "as open as possible on election day."
But before scaling back its operations, the Israeli army arrested 24 suspected militants in what sources said was likely to be the final raids before the vote. Four Hamas activists were arrested, including a municipal official, Palestinian officials said.
Hamas, a group that calls for Israel's destruction, could make a strong enough showing in the parliamentary election to join the Palestinian government.
A big win for Hamas could prompt the United States to scale back contacts with the Palestinian Authority and possibly freeze direct financial assistance, U.S. diplomatic sources said.
Carter, speaking at a conference in Israel, said Hamas's electoral success "may or may not lead to their assuming more moderate and peaceful policies," but added: "This they must do."
Hamas has gained popularity among Palestinians not only for its attacks on Israelis during a more than five-year-old uprising but also for its charity network in the West Bank and Gaza, and its corruption-free image.
Official campaigning in the election ends on Monday and both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement and Hamas were expected to hold final get-out-the-vote rallies.
REDUCED ACTIVITY
Ahead of election day, an Israeli military source said the army would avoid staging military raids, "except in cases of ticking bombs" or an intelligence tip of an imminent attack.
The source said the army would also avoid entry into Palestinian cities for the next three days.
"The Israeli army will reduce its activity (in the West Bank), except for urgent cases," the source said.
Israeli and Palestinian security officials have named a team to coordinate activities through the balloting, Israeli Radio said.
Israeli forces have also been instructed to permit free passage of Palestinian election vehicles through Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank.
Both Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs had said on Sunday that their forces would be on heightened alert in case of an escalation of violence that could disrupt Wednesday's ballot.
Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for last week's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, issued a last-minute appeal to its supporters to boycott the poll, but the group's impact on the turnout was expected to be small.
Islamic Jihad has far less grassroots clout than Hamas, which has more established armed units and provides health and education services.
Olmert has ordered aides to draw up contingency plans for the possibility that Hamas wins enough votes to join the Palestinian government. Olmert is standing in for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was incapacitated by a January 4 stroke.
Israel has refused any dialogue with Hamas, which was behind dozens of suicide bomb attacks against Israelis during a more than five-year Palestinian uprising.
The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has also refused to deal directly with Hamas.
"If members of Hamas win seats on the Palestinian Legislative Council or receive positions in a Palestinian government, we will not deal with those officials," said Stewart Tuttle, spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Israel.
Opinion polls show Hamas narrowly trailing Abbas's Fatah.
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi)
news.yahoo.com |
