Inter- Palestinian dialogue and the elections
Palestine, Politics, 11/18/2004

The chairman of the PLO executive committee Mahmoud Abbas failed during his talks which ended in Gaza on Wednesday with the Palestinian groups to get a commitment from these groups to halt the attacks against Israel during preparations for the elections.

Palestinian political sources indicated that the chairman of the PLO executive committee got a commitment from the Palestinian groups to work for restoring back security and internal order but not to suspend attacks against the Israelis.

One Palestinian official said that Abbas warned the leaders of the Palestinian groups that if calm will not prevail, Israel will make of that a pretext to launch military action. Abbas agreed with the Palestinian groups leaders to meet again but without defining a date for that.

In this context, the interim President for the Palestinian Authority, Rouhi Fattouh, said he will be heading to Gaza to continue dialogue Abbas had already made with the Palestinian groups over the elections.

Fattouh's statements came while the Palestinian groups, including the two Islamic ( Hamas) resistance and the Islamic Jihad movements, stressed the need of making pan Palestinian elections including parliamentary and local elections, without announcing a final position towards their participation or non-participation in the presidential elections.

Within the same context, the Palestinian prime minister stressed in a meeting with al-Jazeera TV on the need of the participation of East Jerusalem Palestinians in the elections as it had happened in the elections of 1996, noting that the case is basic and fundamental. "We will not accept elections that do not include Jerusalem and the people of Jerusalem."

Previous Stories:
  Dahlan supports the nomination of Abbas, a hesitant position for al--Aqsa martyrs groups   (11/17/2004)
  Hamas, Islamic Jihad refuse truce, participation in the elections   (11/17/2004)
  Al-Jihad announces boycott of the Palestinian elections   (11/16/2004)

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