Israel bans Hamas from Palestinian elections in East Jerusalem

A European body has noted that the Israeli interference in Palestinian elections, baring Hamas from participation in the elections is harmful.

Mikhail Margelov, Rapporteur on the Middle East of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Political Affairs Committee, has welcomed the recent Israeli decision to allow 200 000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem to vote in the forthcoming parliamentary elections due to take place on 25 January 2006.

However, he also expressed anxiety about the conditions attached to this decision. In particular, banning Hamas from campaigning and blocking its inclusion on ballot papers distributed in the area might spoil the legitimacy of the elections and in consequence jeopardize the democratic process in the Palestinian Territories.

Moreover, in the Rapporteur’s opinion, the inclusion of Hamas in the political process could result in the rejection of illegal means of action by this party and thus contribute to a peaceful solution in the area.

Meantime, Haaretz (Haaretz.com) reported Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying today "We don't concede our right to all of Jerusalem, but of course we have an interest in preserving the link of East Jerusalem Palestinians to the West Bank entity," Olmert said, explaining that Israel does not want to be blamed for causing the elections to be canceled.

Haaretz reported "Palestinian leaders had warned that the balloting would not proceed if Jerusalem Palestinians were barred from voting Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Tuesday that Abbas has promised to disband militant groups after the elections, and that therefore 'Israel will not provide the Palestinian Authority any excuse for postponement of the elections and evading this commitment.'"

Haaretz reported "Olmert, who was mayor of Jerusalem for a decade beginning in 1993, has said in the past that Israel might have to relinquish some Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, the sector of the city Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. He still opposes giving up all of the eastern sector, and in particular, the walled Old City, with its key holy sites of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, close associates have said."

Meantime, Secretary General of the League of Arab States Amre Moussa considered that Israeli intervention in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in East Jerusalem forges its claimed democracy, WAFA reported. In a statement on Tuesday, Moussa asserted to al-Ahram Egyptian daily during his visit to Bahrin that the participation of the Jerusalemites in the forthcoming elections is a legal right and no one has the right to intervene. He added that he trusts Palestinians awareness of the national unity and they understand the realities of the current developments in Palestinian territories in particular and the whole area in general."