Egypt, Israel discuss Palestinian elections; Hamas lead

Egypt reported that "Minister Omar Soliman met Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on the Palestinian legislative elections due to be held next month and on the Israeli escalation in the Palestinian territories. The meeting took place on Wednesday December 21, 2005 in Tel Aviv."

The Israeli minister said the Israelis are studying the situation in the Palestinian territories and "called on the Palestinian National Authority to take action against 'terrorism' andthe firing of rockets and suicide bomb attacks against Israel. He added that Israel will take the necessary steps to provide security for its citizens."

Mofaz was reported to have "ruled out prospects of launching military strikes against Palestinians in Gaza Strip."

Meantime, an opinion survey published in the West Bank Thursday showed that the Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, could win 40 percent of the votes in the upcoming Palestinian elections scheduled for January 25, IRNA reported. According to the poll conducted by the Palestinian Research Institute, 40 percent of a randomly chosen sample of 2500 West Bank residents said they would vote for Hamas. Only 20 percent said they would vote for Fatah.