The presidential race is more high profile, but the local elections "are more significant because you can't have a revival of Palestinian political institutions without them," said Mouin Rabbani, a regional analyst for the International Crisis Group.
Hamas and another radical group, Islamic Jihad, which have carried out a suicide bombing campaign against Israel, are not participating in the presidential race because they do not support the 1994 Oslo peace accords that created the Palestinian Authority. They are running candidates in the local elections, although most are not listing their specific party affiliation, running simply as Islamic candidates. Many other candidates, including those from Arafat's Fatah organization, are also running as independents, preferring to emphasize their family and tribal connections.
Palestinian presidential candidate Bassam Salhi was arrested Friday by Israeli officers as he tried to enter Jerusalem to meet with supporters.
(AP)
|
|
In Dahariya, for instance, 13 candidates are running as the "Islamic block for change," while the 13 other candidates, mostly Fatah, are running as "the national block for building and development," according to local election chief Naser. He called the arrest of four candidates "a direct assault on the election process." The son of one candidate was also arrested, he said.
"This is especially severe since the election campaign began yesterday, and it will last only until December 22," which could dramatically restrict the candidates' campaigning. "It's clear the Israelis do not want these elections. They just want to obstruct them."
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that "five Hamas terrorists were arrested overnight" in Dahariya.
In Halhul, an agricultural town about 12 miles south of Jerusalem, Akel said the presidential race would be about politics, but the local race was about services, a new hospital and job development, so political parties were irrelevant. For that reason, bringing politics into the race would probably hurt a candidate, he said.
"I was elected by my family and my tribe to run in this race. Politics are not the main issue -- it's how to help the town," he said.
"I'm not saying, 'I'm a Hamas activist,' in my campaign because it could hurt me," he said, and "very few are saying, 'I'm Fatah,' because they won't be elected." But people know his affiliation, he said.
"A Hamas person is considered a clean person in general, and that's what the public is interested in. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not involved in corruption."
Researcher Samuel Sockol contributed to this report.
