Sheikh Yassin receives Arafat's rival candidate

The founder of the Hamas movement Sheikh Ahmad Yassin on Wednesday in Gaza received Husam Nazzal, who intends to nominate himself for the Palestinian Presidency in the next elections.

Following the meeting Yassin told journalists "it is difficult to judge the man positively or negatively in ten minutes, which is the duration of the meeting, especially as no political subject was discussed." Nazzal said that the aim of the visit is to "brief ( Yassin) on the idea of my nomination to the presidential elections and to consult with him in matters of destiny, knowing his view point, and giving him an idea about myself." He added "I will keep in touch with him (Yassin)," noting "I have an integrated political program of two parts, internal and external, that I will discuss in due time." Nazzal said he will "abrogate the concept of the National Authority and desolve the legislative council and then a call for legislative elections."

Justifying his desire to nominate himself for the Presidential elections, Nazzal said "whenever I look at innocent children who are killed I find it is my duty to try and rescue them." He stressed that "resistance is a legitimate right in all international laws and divine norms. There is a fundamental thing that can not be given up which are the basic principles." On the forms of the Palestinian state in his program, Nazzal said "I might ask for more than the borders of 1967 and this will be in my election program." He explained he "has been contacting the Palestinians inside and outside in the issue of elections."