Bulgaroctonus

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/in...d-mideast.html
January 23, 2006
Palestinian Factions Prepare for an Election Showdown
By GREG MYRE

JERUSALEM, Jan. 23 - With rallies throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Palestinians wrapped up a parliamentary election campaign today that will be a showdown between the long-dominant Fatah movement and the radical Islamic faction Hamas.

Today was the last day of campaigning permitted before Wednesday's election. In a final appeal to voters, several Fatah candidates, including Mohammed Dahlan, a former security chief, visited the Gaza City home of Yasir Arafat, the former Palestinian leader who died in November 2004.

Hamas, the group responsible for many attacks against Israel, has sought to attract more moderate voters. A senior Hamas leader, Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, suggested that his group, which has always rejected negotiations with Israel, might consider indirect talks under certain circumstances.

"Negotiations are a means," Dr. Zahar told reporters in Gaza City. "If Israel has anything to offer on the issues of halting attacks, withdrawal, releasing prisoners," then the means can be found.

"The political crime," Dr. Zahar added, "is when we sit with the Israelis and then come out with a wide smile to tell the Palestinian people that there is progress, when in fact, there is not." Opinion polls in recent days continue to give Fatah a lead of several percentage points, though Hamas has been steadily closing the gap during the campaign, and none of the parties may win an outright majority.

While Fatah remains favored, many Palestinians have accused the movement of widespread corruption and poor governance in running the Palestinian Authority since its establishment in 1994.

One ranking Fatah official offered an apology at a campaign rally in Gaza City.

"Fatah admits there were mistakes in the past and Fatah apologizes to our people for these mistakes," said the Fatah official, Salah al-Masharawi, Reuters reported.

Like Israel, the United States government regards Hamas as a terrorist group and will continue its policy of boycotting the organization and its members after the election.

"As a matter of policy, we don't talk to terror organizations," said Stewart Tuttle, a American Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv. "We haven't dealt with Hamas and we won't deal with Hamas members who are elected to the Palestinian legislature or who are in the Cabinet."

Israel also refuses to deal with Hamas. The already limited contacts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority could become rarer still if Hamas joins a new Palestinian government.

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected a year ago, is not on the ballot. But all 132 parliamentary seats are up for grabs in just the second Palestinian parliamentary poll.

The first election was in 1996, two years after the Palestinian Authority was established. This one is years overdue, with the Palestinians citing Israeli-Palestinian violence as the main reason for the delay.

The nearly 60,000 members of the Palestinian security forces were allowed to vote for a third and final day today, and will be deployed to maintain order in Wednesday's balloting.

Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad, a small faction that is boycotting the polls and which has been responsible for all the Palestinian suicide bombings in the past year, urged its supporters not to vote

"The Palestinian elections are not going to unite the people, but on contrary, lead to splits and divisions," the group said in a statement, adding that it would disrupt the balloting.

Bulgaroctonus

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/23/in.../23nablus.html
January 23, 2006
In a Stronghold, Fatah Fights to Beat Back a Rising Hamas
By STEVEN ERLANGER

NABLUS, West Bank, Jan. 20 - Nasser Joumaa, pale and thin, was facing some tough questions from his own Fatah members.

"Our generation is being ignored," said a tall, bearded man in a small house, packed and cloudy with cigarette smoke, as more young men listened at the windows. "Where are the respected people to vote for on Fatah's list? Not you, Nasser, but there are corrupted people in this list."

Mr. Joumaa, 39 and respected here for his military and political prowess, looked pained. "I share your concerns," he said. "People are angry with Fatah and its performance, and so am I. I'm one of the angry members of Fatah. But we express our anger inside. We face a bigger challenge now from Hamas, and in a difficult situation we stand together."

Fatah, the mainstay of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, is in trouble, even here in Nablus, one of the West Bank's toughest and largest cities, and a longtime stronghold for the group. Fatah is struggling to beat back the radical Islamic movement Hamas - which won an astonishing 13 of Nablus's 15 local council seats a month ago, and elected an efficient, worldly yet devout mayor, Adli Yaish.

Palestinians vote Wednesday in elections for a new legislature, the first such vote in a decade. The United States, which lists Hamas as a terrorist organization, has quietly spent almost $2 million on dozens of quick projects to strengthen Fatah's hand, American and Palestinian officials say.

The coming vote is the first time that Hamas has run in elections for roles within the Palestinian Authority - because the authority was set up in the 1993 Oslo accords with Israel, which Hamas is committed to destroy.

But Mr. Joumaa is convinced that Hamas means to destroy Fatah first, if not now then by stages, and he warns Fatah members not to lose sight of the longer battle.

"Hamas talks of partnership with Fatah, but it wants to replace Fatah," he said. "We have power and authority, and we can't just give it up. We don't know Hamas's real program or goals, or to whom they will be subject. We cannot leave ourselves in Hamas's control."

Nablus is a stunning city, set in a steep valley, founded by the Romans in A.D. 72 and proud of its ancient aqueducts. It is the second-largest city in the West Bank, with some 325,000 people. But it has also been severely affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially in the last five years, with the highest number of casualties, most severe physical damage and most intensive restrictions on movement in the West Bank, according to a report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in December. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority are paying the price for the economy and the border closures, as well as for Fatah's reputation for corruption.

Palestinian opinion polls vary, but all show that Fatah still leads Hamas, but not by much, and Hamas seems to be gaining. Fatah has 42 percent to Hamas's 35 percent, according to pollster Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research; it has 35 percent to Hamas's 30 percent, with a larger number of undecided voters, according to Nader Said, a poll director for Birzeit University in Ramallah. Both polls have margins of error of at least 2 percent, but both show Fatah holding onto a majority, especially in coalition with other secular candidate lists like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, that of the independent Mustafa Barghouti, and another independent list called the Third Way, headed by the former finance minister Salam Fayyad, the likely next prime minister.

Both independent lists are getting aid from European and American supporters. But Fatah and Mr. Joumaa are worried that those competing independents, especially in constituencies, where many are also using the Fatah symbol, could allow Hamas candidates to win with small pluralities. Each voter will cast two ballots. Half of the 132 seats will be determined by votes for party lists, and half by votes in 16 local districts, which are harder to predict through polling.

So Fatah is trying to overcome its internal hatreds and unite, at the end, to face down Hamas, including pressing Fatah members running independently to withdraw. It is not easy for some in Fatah, upset that Hamas is even being allowed to take part. Fatah activists in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus insist they will not allow the elections to proceed, and there are worries of election-day violence.

Mr. Joumaa has reasons to be angry with Fatah's leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, who mismanaged its party primaries, finally scrapping them. Mr. Joumaa was a top member of a rival slate of 40-somethings led by the jailed leader Marwan Barghouti and was unhappy when that slate was merged with the official Fatah one. He is No. 18 on the list, so will be elected to the new legislature (as will Marwan Barghouti, who is No. 1), and his posters show him with Mr. Barghouti and the slogan: "Only the shoulders of the fighters can raise the torches of freedom. Vote for Fatah."

It has been an extraordinary personal journey for Mr. Joumaa, who spent 14 months in a Palestinian prison beginning in 1996, when older Fatah figures accused him of disloyalty. He was tortured there, and watched his best friend die there from torture, but then became the commander of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in Nablus. He was wanted by the Israelis and kept hidden, even as his mother was dying, 15 months ago, from cancer. When her body was laid out in a crowded mosque, however, he slipped in to pay last respects.

With the cease-fire brokered by Mr. Abbas early in 2005, Mr. Joumaa is no longer being hunted. He has laid aside his arms - for good, he hopes - and turned to Fatah politics, one of the young men toughened by a life under Israeli occupation and by Palestinian misrule. Between Sept. 29, 2000, and Oct. 31, 2005, 522 Palestinians were killed in Nablus, including 80 children and 28 women - 27.8 percent of all West Bank Palestinians killed, according to the December United Nations report.

A center for Palestinian militancy, Nablus is surrounded by six Israeli checkpoints and 53 other physical obstacles to travel, and by 14 Israeli settlements and 26 settlement outposts. But with the cease-fire, the number of military incursions and curfews has dropped and some of the obstacles have been removed, and the number of deaths and injuries has dropped considerably from 2004.

So there is some new optimism here, but not much confidence, and many men still have difficulty getting permission to travel out of Nablus.

Mr. Yaish, the new Hamas mayor here, only three weeks in office, is an example of why the group is doing well. He is devout, but wealthy from auto parts and a Mercedes agency. He studied mechanical engineering in England from 1970 to 1975 and speaks English fluently; he speaks the modern language of efficiency and budget oversight; he keeps a picture of Yasir Arafat in his office and not Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas leader killed by Israel in March 2004.

"This is a government office," Mr. Yaish said. "President Abbas said to leave the photos of Arafat in offices, so we left it. Sheik Yassin was not elected, and this is not my house."

Mr. Yaish agrees that some people will vote differently on national and local issues, and he expects Hamas to get nowhere close to the 73 percent of the local vote it received a month ago. "We want partnership with Fatah," he said. "Democracy is competition and makes us stronger."

Hamas in the legislature will monitor government work, especially finances and accounts, to prevent corruption, he said, and to improve tax collection. "The same party as judge and jury is not good," he said. "If there is no oversight, even a good man can be tempted."

Hamas opposes negotiations with Israel, but Mr. Yaish thinks its presence in the legislature will stiffen the Palestinian Authority's back in dealings with Israel. "I don't like the Palestinian Authority to negotiate from a weak position," Mr. Yaish said, pragmatically. "We're occupied, and I want my government to talk harder to Israel."

Mouna Mansour is another Hamas candidate, 44 years old, a physics teacher and the widow of a famous local Hamas leader, Jamal Mansour, who was assassinated in 2001 by an Israeli missile strike on his office. His colleague and six others, including two children, also died in what the State Department then called "excessive" and "a new and dangerous escalation."

Today, Mrs. Mansour lives in a building named for her husband in an apartment filled with his "martyrdom" posters. She is practical and straightforward. "Hamas wants to be in the legislature to protect the resistance against occupation," she said. "It is our strategic choice. Our political role is to back the resistance."

But resistance is not just arms and bombs, she insists. "Resistance is also the farmer steadfast on his land, or the factory worker hiring as many as he can and making local products," she said.

"We will be partners with Fatah," she said. "The role of the legislature is accountability."

Should the cease-fire with Israel continue? "It's needed for a period of time, because our people are exhausted by the occupation," she said, and then added, smiling: "It's a time for the warriors to rest up."

That is exactly what Israel warns, that Hamas has not changed its goals.

Mr. Yaish says benignly: "I say to the world with open heart: 'Don't worry so much.' "

Mr. Joumaa thinks differently. "Hamas wants to infiltrate the institutions and take over," he said. "I think a Palestinian state now is farther away."

Lunatock

Choices, choices. To vote for the canidtate in the blue Keffiyah & wearing a bomb belt? Or the opponent in the green headband and wearing a bomb belt?

smilingassassin

Hmm tough choices, bad or worse?

Bulgaroctonus

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/inte...94&partner=AOL
January 24, 2006
Violence Increases Tensions on Eve of Palestinian Election
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:16 a.m. ET

NABLUS, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinian gunmen linked to the ruling Fatah movement killed one of their party leaders Tuesday, increasing tensions on the eve of parliamentary balloting and raising doubts about a new pledge by armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza to hold their fire during the vote.

Opinion polls have shown Fatah and Hamas in a close race ahead of Wednesday's election and both sides have said they might form a coalition government. Candidates were banned from campaigning Tuesday for a cooling-off period before the election.

Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas candidate in northern Gaza, said the Islamic group expects to become the largest party in parliament. But it will not try to form a government alone, instead seeking a partnership with Fatah or other parties, he said.

Top Hamas leaders spoke with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas recently to discuss the elections and their aftermath, he said, without giving details.

Meanwhile, Abbas called on all Palestinians to exercise their right to vote.

''The election is a right and duty at the same time, and I hope that the results of this election will reflect honestly the Palestinian people's opinions,'' he said in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Thousands of Palestinian security personnel, who voted early, fanned out across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to protect polling stations. More than 1,700 Israeli border police are being deployed to ensure order and the free movement of voters in the Jerusalem area during election day, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

Violence has marred the period before the elections, with militants taking over government offices and threatening poll workers. Much of the unrest was carried out by gunmen linked to Fatah, apparently fearing losses to Hamas.

Fatah also has been riven by internal divisions, which turned deadly Tuesday. Fatah gunmen shot to death Abu Ahmed Hassouna, 44, a party leader in Nablus after he told them to stop shooting at campaign posters on his house, relatives said. It was the second politically motivated killing of the campaign.

About 1,000 people marched to the main police station in Nablus to protest the shooting, giving the police chief a letter demanding an end to lawlessness. ''Enough, enough. We want the police to protect us.'' they shouted. Dozens of gunmen later blocked a main road and shopkeepers shut down their stores in protest.

In Tulkarem, about 40 militants from Islamic Jihad -- which is boycotting the vote -- marched along the West Bank town's main road to demand the release of prisoners from Palestinian jails and to ask residents to boycott the election. Many wore fake explosive belts and carried wooden sticks.

Police, claiming one of the passing protesters shot at their station, opened fire on the group, scattering the masked men. No one was hurt.

The violence cast doubts on the fragmented militant factions' promises to maintain calm on election day.

About 25 masked gunmen from various factions held a joint news conference Tuesday in Gaza City to announce they would be unarmed during the balloting.

''Everyone agreed to keep the election process moving in a smooth, clean and honest way in order to create the fundamental basis for a political partnership,'' said Abu Obeida, a Hamas spokesman.

Abu Adham, a spokesman for the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, said all groups want the elections to succeed, ''and we have to contribute to protect it.''

''The only ones who must have weapons are the uniformed security officials and we will be supporting them,'' Adham said.

Islamic Jihad did not attend.

Hamas, known for its suicide bombings and calls for Israel's destruction, has emerged as a formidable political force, attracting voters with calls for clean government and an end to Fatah's corruption, while pointing to its own popular social and education programs.

Hamas has said if it wins a majority, it would form a coalition and take only low profile, service-related Cabinet posts and let Abbas deal with Israel. Israeli officials have said they will not deal with Hamas until it disarms and renounces violence, a vow that could complicate hopes for restarting peace talks.

In a statement clearly aimed at Hamas, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Palestinian voters should bear in mind that terrorism is not a ''pathway to peace.''

''The United States won't change its policies toward Hamas,'' she said, implying the Bush administration would not work with a Palestinian government dominated by Hamas. But she did not rule out cooperating with a government that had some Hamas ministers.

The main road in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun was decorated Tuesday with green Hamas flags, yellow Fatah flags, and red, green, black and white Palestinian flags. The display was orderly, and equal space was given to all.

Ahmed Saadat, a 24-year-old policeman, said he reconsidered his plan to vote for Hamas because the militant group's softer line in recent weeks began to resemble Fatah's platform.

Although Fatah has made ''countless mistakes,'' Saadat said, ''at least Fatah has tried to bring us peace, and Fatah is known to everyone.'' He spoke near a field Israel pounded with ordnance because militants used it to launch rockets.

Saadat was among the security personnel who voted early. Officials said 91 percent of security officials voted.

In nearby Beit Lahiya, support for Hamas was clear. The group set up a makeshift headquarters in a green tent next to a mosque in the center of town.

Nearby, a large poster showed nine members killed in fighting with Israel, a large, green Islamic crescent carved in wood and the number ''6'' -- signifying the party's place on the ballot.

With many Palestinians weary after five years of fighting with Israel, Hamas has played down its violent ideology. But appealing to its hard-line core, leaders say they remain committed to armed struggle.

Fatah officials have said they expect to lead a coalition government, preferably with smaller parties. They say they will join Hamas only if it allows peace talks to resume with Israel.

Hamas' participation has created friction with Israel, the U.S. and the European Union, which all brand Hamas a terrorist group.

Bulgaroctonus

The New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/in...hers.html?_r=1
January 24, 2006
Political Sibling Rivalry: Hebron Parliamentary Race Pits Brother Against Brother
By GREG MYRE

HEBRON, West Bank, Jan. 22 - Nayef Rajoub, a Hamas candidate for the Palestinian parliament, has been arrested five times - four by Israel and once by his brother.

For the record, he bears no grudge for his detention in 1996 during a crackdown on Hamas members by the Palestinian Preventive Security, which was then led by his older sibling, Jibril Rajoub. The more important point, Nayef Rajoub noted, is that his brother released him after just one day behind bars.

The brothers' political paths diverged years ago, and now both are seeking parliamentary seats in volatile Hebron for the rival Fatah and Hamas parties. But it is not personal, they say, just politics.

"Our relations have always been excellent," Nayef Rajoub, 47, said in an interview in the modest Hamas campaign office in Hebron, where many workers are veiled women. "If we don't see each other in person, then we are speaking on the phone every day."

Jibril Rajoub, 52, a prominent member of the ruling Fatah movement and now a security adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, said the political sibling rivalry "is proof of our Palestinian democracy, but it will never affect our relations as brothers."

It does, however, reflect the political divisions within Palestinian society, where the secular, nationalist, and long dominant Fatah is facing a major challenge from the militant Islamic Hamas in parliamentary elections on Wednesday.

Several recent opinion polls still give Fatah a lead of 2 to 10 percentage points. But Hamas has been closing fast, with the surveys indicating that Fatah will be hard pressed to win an outright majority, and may therefore have to form a coalition with other Palestinian factions.

Fatah and Hamas disagree on fundamental issues and would not be logical partners in a coalition government. Fatah advocates peace negotiations with Israel, while Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings, has never recognized Israel and has always rejected negotiations. Even the Rajoub brothers say it would be difficult for the two parties to work together in the same government.

"We have nothing to learn from Hamas," said Jibril Rajoub, a husky man with a deep voice. "Hamas believes armed struggle is the only way to confront Israel. I hope they will adopt a pragmatic, realistic platform. But they should learn from us. We have led the revolution, we have led the Palestinian people for the past 41 years."

Nayef Rajoub and other Hamas candidates believe they can capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with Fatah, which has run the Palestinian Authority since it was established in 1994, but is widely seen as corrupt, fragmented and unable to deliver many basic services.

"The people have been suffering from corruption, mismanagement and chaos," said the bearded Nayef Rajoub. "We think they are looking for something very different."

Hamas leaders have been vague about their post-election plans. They have suggested that if the movement wins the election, it would want to form the new Palestinian government. But its leaders have not said whether, if Hamas does not win, they would seek to join the government and accept some government ministries, or prefer to be an opposition party.

Hebron, in the southern West Bank about 20 miles from Jerusalem, will be an important election battleground. Both Fatah and Hamas have a strong presence in this town marked by chronic tensions between its roughly 150,000 Palestinians and the 500 Jewish settlers, who live in tiny enclaves.

In the Palestinian balloting process, the top nine vote getters in the Hebron District will win parliamentary seats, meaning it is quite possible that both Rajoub brothers will make the cut.

The brothers are among 13 children in a family from Dura, a small town outside Hebron. Nayef Rajoub said their political loyalties were so mixed that he was not sure whether Hamas or Fatah would win a ballot among his siblings.

For Jibril Rajoub, the election is an opportunity to regain some of the stature he lost in recent years. As a teenager, he was convicted of throwing a grenade at Israeli troops and imprisoned by Israel for 17 years, until 1985. He was deported in 1988 to Lebanon, and then joined the exiled Palestinian leadership in Tunis, where he became close to Yasir Arafat. When the Palestinian Authority was established, he returned home and Mr. Arafat made him the most influential security chief in the West Bank. Jibril Rajoub was sometimes cited as a potential future leader of the Palestinians.

But in 2002, Israeli forces stormed a large security compound near Ramallah and seized militants that his forces were holding. That angered many Palestinians, who said he should have freed the prisoners before the Israelis arrived.

He left his post, but has since returned as a security adviser. He campaigns with a large entourage, dresses in dark suits and rented a conference room at Hebron's best hotel for his use. Aides hand out glossy brochures with his biography, and loudspeakers blared his campaign song before he held a news conference on Sunday.

"Jibril Rajoub is the lion of the south; he is the strong man," goes the refrain.

Nayef Rajoub, who spent eight months in an Israeli prison without charges and was released four months ago, has run a much more austere campaign, typical of Hamas candidates. He meets with small groups and talks to would-be voters outside mosques.

He teaches Islamic law at a university in Hebron, and is a beekeeper. Worried that he could be rearrested by Israel, he said he takes back roads to avoid Israeli military checkpoints even when traveling from one Palestinian village to another. He is a longtime Hamas member, but says he has not been involved with its armed wing, which carries out attacks against Israel.

He doubts he will be able to attend parliamentary sessions in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which would be difficult if not impossible to reach without passing through Israeli checkpoints.

"Israel is constantly harassing Hamas, but this is one reason so many people support us," he said.

Bulgaroctonus

The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/in...94&partner=AOL
January 25, 2006
Thousands of Palestinians Turn Out to Vote for Parliament
By STEVEN ERLANGER
and GREG MYRE

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 25 - Palestinians today held their first parliamentary election in a decade, with the long-dominant Fatah movement facing a stiff challenge from the radical Islamic faction Hamas.

With thousands of police guarding more than 1,000 polling stations, early voting was brisk and orderly. Palestinians described the ballot as extremely important because the race was competitive and all major factions were taking part, unlike the one previous parliamentary poll in 1996, when Fatah, then led by Yasir Arafat, faced no real challengers.

"This election is different because there is a full spectrum of parties, which wasn't the case before," said Fida Abdellatif, an architect who voted in East Jerusalem. "We hope this will produce a strong leadership that everyone can support."

Opinion polls gave Fatah a lead of several percentage points over Hamas, with other parties trailing far behind. However, if the polling proves accurate, Fatah may not win enough seats in the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council for an outright majority, and would need coalition partners.

Fatah and Hamas have not ruled out working together in a new government, though they would make unlikely partners. Fatah, a secular, nationalist movement, wants to restart negotiations with Israel based on the road map, the dormant peace plan that was introduced in 2003.

Hamas has waged a suicide bombing campaign and always rejected negotiations with Israel. During the campaign, some Hamas leaders toned down their rhetoric, and the group has largely abided by a truce announced early last year. Still, Hamas leaders say the group will not lay down its weapons.

Speaking at a polling station in Gaza City, Ismail Haniya, the top Hamas candidate, said, "The Americans and the Europeans say to Hamas: either you have weapons or you enter the legislative council. We say weapons and the legislative council. There is no contradiction between the two."

Fatah has dominated the Palestinian Authority since it was established in 1994, but many Palestinians are now critical of the party, saying it is riddled with corruption and internal squabbling, and has done a poor job running the Palestinian government.

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah, voted this morning in the West Bank city of Ramallah and said the balloting was going smoothly, though he complained about Israeli travel restrictions on West Bank roads.

"We are so happy with this election festival," Mr. Abbas said.

Long lines formed at many polling stations, while Palestinian election officials predicted that 75 to 80 percent of the 1.3 million registered voters would cast ballots. Eleven Palestinian parties and blocs are competing in the election, which features more than 700 candidates.

About 900 foreign observers, including former president Jimmy Carter, were monitoring the voting.

Exit polls were expected an hour or two after the polls closed at 7 p.m., though formal results were not likely until Thursday.

The best-known faction not running in the election is Islamic Jihad, a small group that has limited support, but which has carried out all six suicide bombings in Israel in the past year. Islamic Jihad urged its supporters not to vote, but said it would not disrupt the election.

While the parliamentary election was years overdue, the Palestinians have held a series of successful ballots in the past year.

Mr. Abbas was elected in a landslide in January 2005 to replace Mr. Arafat, who died two months earlier. Throughout last year, Palestinians held municipal elections in cities, towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza.

"Our elections are getting better every time," said Muhammad Nasser, who was in charge of the polling station at the An Najah school in Ramallah. "There are some people in Palestine who do not accept democracy, but we hope they will come to that."

The only serious electoral problems in the past year came when Fatah held a series of party primaries in recent weeks to choose its candidates for the parliamentary poll. Armed Fatah supporters disrupted or forced the cancellation of voting in several areas.

In Nablus, the largest city in the West Bank, leaders of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group affiliated with Fatah, had pledged to disrupt the elections.

However, Alaa Sanakra, the Al Aksa leader in Nablus's Balata refugee camp, turned up at a polling station today and declared, "I'm voting like everyone else," The Associated Press reported.

Mr. Sanakra was escorted by about 30 gunmen, but police asked them to hand in their weapons before they reached the polling station, and they complied.

In Israel, the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in a speech Tuesday night that he supported the creation of a Palestinian state, and that Israel would have to relinquish control of parts of the West Bank.

He also said the Palestinian election could create a renewed opportunity to restart negotiations based on the road map. Full-scale peace talks broke down five years ago, shortly after the Palestinian uprising began.

But Mr. Olmert said that there would be no progress if the Palestinians did not stop attacks against Israel. He urged Palestinian voters to reject "extremists who have led them from bad to worse and condemned them to a life of misery and suffering."

Steven Erlanger reported from Ramallah for this article and Greg Myre reported from Jerusalem.

Bulgaroctonus

Photographs of the election are availible here:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...HOW_index.html

Map of the election here:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/20...N_GRAPHIC.html