Israeli facilitations for candidates of Palestinian presidential elections

At a time when Palestinian authority presidential elections were announced, Israeli officials said that the government is preparing to agree to a bunch of facilitations for Palestinian candidates, including convening of electoral elections in special area and hanging campaign posters in east Jerusalem as well as the possibility of alleviating military measures against the cities of the West Bank and Gaza several days before the elections.

However, sources at the Palestinian central elections committee said that Israel has not so far provided a permission for two presidential candidates from Gaza and has not yet decided on permitting candidates to enter east Jerusalem.

Meantime, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO Mahmoud Abbas tried to benefit from Arafat's legacy in enhancing his electoral position as a candidate expected to win the Presidential elections which will be held on January 9th. Abbas said before a crowd of 2000 persons in one of the halls of al-Beira town which adjoins the west bank "Arafat has left a big gap that nobody can fill. Our commiseration lie on the establishments and the efforts to fill some of this vacuum."

The chairman of the PLO executive committee stressed his cling to principles especially the establishment of an independent state and the "right of return" for the Palestinian refugees in pursuance of the police of the late Yasser Arafat.

In reaction to that, Hamas considered Abbas's statements as part of his election campaign and stressed that actions are more important than words.

Hamas's spokesman Sami Abu Zahri said that these statements fall in the course of "electoral campaigning for Abu Mazin," stressing that what is of concern to the movement are action rather than saying.