Al-Jihad announces boycott of the Palestinian elections

The Palestinian foreign affairs Minister Nabil Shaath said that there is a consensus inside the Fatah movement that Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the PLO, will be the movement's candidate for the Palestinian Presidential elections which will be held on January 9th, 2005. But he added " we are still in need for an official meeting to announce that." He said that Abbas" did not find it appropriate to announce that in the first days of mourning the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

On the other hand, the Palestinian negotiations affairs minister Saeb Oreikat said that organizing elections in the Palestinian territories within 60 days will be a basic matter to avoid violence and chaos. A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad movement said on Monday that his movement will boycott the elections for choosing a successor for Yasser Arafat on top of the Palestinian authority.

Before the beginning of talks with Abbas in Gaza, Nafiz Azzam, said " we are, in the Jihad, have our priorities to restore back our lands, which means that the policy of resistance is a fundamental mater for us." The spokesman added that "the elected president will face several restrictions and will be in relations with Israel and the USA and therefore we will not take place in the elections."