Sharon said he had informed Bush of his intentions this week. (Reuters)

NEW YORK, September 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon has vowed to disrupt Palestinian legislative elections in the occupied West Bank if the Palestinian resistance group Hamas fields candidates, drawing immediate rebuke from Palestinian officials.

"I don't think they (the Palestinians) can hold elections without our assistance, and we will make all possible efforts not to aid them if Hamas participates," Sharon told journalists, reported The New York Times Saturday, September 17.

He threatened not to remove roadblocks in the West Bank , where some 246,000 Jewish settlers live highly-guarded among up to 2.4 million Palestinians, making it difficult for Palestinians to vote in the January 25 ballot.

Hawkish Sharon, a 77-year-old ex-general, said he had informed US President George W. Bush of his intentions this week.

White House said it opposed any attempt to interfere in the Palestinian elections, according to the American daily.

One Israeli official traveling with Sharon said aides feared Hamas would "get 40 percent of the vote".

Hamas, widely expected to make a strong showing in the legislative polls at the expense of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' mainstream Fatah movement.

Hamas entered electoral politics for the first time at the end of last year, securing a landslide victory over corruption-tainted Fatah in the first-ever Gaza Strip council elections in January.

Of the 118 seats on 10 councils, its candidates won over 77 seats or 65 percent against nearly 22 seats or 26 percent for Fatah.

Hamas also beat Fatah in four out of five major cities in the second stage of municipal polls.

Undemocratic Israel

" Israel claims that it is the democratic state in the region but in fact it fights democracy in Palestine ," Ghazal said.

Sharon's remarks drew immediate rebuke from Palestinian officials and leaders.

"I urge the Israelis to stay out of our elections and our internal affairs, and not to put their noses in this," chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Haaretz Saturday.

"Our election ... will be a turning point toward political pluralism and toward maintaining law and order."

Erekat urged Sharon instead to "resume negotiations including the issues of borders, refugees and Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem), because peace is the way for Israel and Palestinians to live in dignity and security".

Sharon 's tough line on the election coincides with his own political battle in Israel 's Likud Party, where he faces a leadership challenge from right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu, who quit as finance minister in protest at the Gaza pullout.

Mohammed Ghazal, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, accused Israel of acting in an undemocratic fashion, reported the Israeli daily.

"Israel claims that it is the democratic state in the region but in fact it fights democracy in Palestine," he said.

"If we win the Palestinian election, our top priority will be rebuilding the economic and social and cultural life, rebuild what Israel has destroyed."

The Hamas leader stressed that they "are not thinking of destroying Israel".