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Israel
escalated its air strikes against Palestinians in Gaza. (Reuters)
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RAMALLAH,
West Bank, December 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Palestinians went to polls Thursday, December 15, in the final leg of
municipal elections, as Israel escalated its air strikes against Gaza,
the latest of which targeted a charity.
In
what is seen as a rehearsal for next month's parliamentary contest,
Palestinians in the West Bank's major cities started casting their
ballots Thursday in the final round of local elections.
"Voting
began as scheduled at 7:00 a.m. (05:00 GMT) and has passed off so far
without incident," Jamal Shubaki, president of the local
elections commission, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The polls are
due to close at 7:00 pm.
Around
148,000 Palestinians were entitled to vote in Thursday's elections for
414 council seats. Around a fifth of the 1,321 candidates are women.
The
ballot pits the dominant Fatah party against resistance movement Hamas,
which has enjoyed a strong showing in the three earlier rounds of
voting.
Its
success at municipal level has persuaded Hamas to agree to participate
in what will be its first-ever parliamentary elections on January 25.
However,
Thursday's ballot was expected to provide a much firmer indicator of
the Islamist group's strength as it will be the first time voting has
taken place in the cities.
Earlier
ballots were held in towns and villages where local issues and tribal
affiliations were the main factors determining how people voted.
This
round is taking place in 40 municipalities including Nablus, Jenin and
Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.
Rehearsal
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The
poll is seen as a rehearsal for next month's parliamentary
contest. (Reuters)
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"A
lot of people are awaiting these results very keenly to get an idea of
how things could work out at the legislative elections," said
Bashar Al-Diq, director of the local elections commission.
Commentators
expect the battle for votes to be particularly intense in Nablus, with
a poll released earlier this week by Bir Zeit university predicting
Hamas would emerge triumphant in what is the largest city in the West
Bank.
Should
the poll prove to be accurate, it would deal a huge psychological blow
to Fatah and mark the first time it could lose control in one of the
main urban centers.
However,
according to the opinion poll, Fatah was leading Hamas in Ramallah and
in Jenin, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the
five-year uprising.
Jailed
Intifada leader Marwan Barghuti was Wednesday named head of both the
official Fatah party slate as well as a rival list of candidates for
the January elections, as sharp -- and violent -- divisions came to
the fore within Fatah.
Israel
Hits Gaza
On
the ground, Israeli military aircraft attacked the home of a leading
Palestinian activist and the office of an Islamic charity in the Gaza
Strip Thursday, wounding one person, witnesses and medics told
Reuters.
The
strikes on Beit Lahiya and Rafah followed a similar attack Wednesday
which killed four Palestinian activists near Gaza City.
Witnesses
said the three-storey building targeted in Beit Lahiya village
belonged to a leader of the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC), a
coalition of Palestinian activists that specializes in cross-border
rocket fire into Israel.
The
building was partly gutted by fire, but the activist was unhurt.
Another Palestinian was wounded, medics said.
Israeli
military sources said the air strike targeted a PRC weapons store.
In
Rafah, an aircraft fired a missile at the office of a charity linked
to Islamic Jihad, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli military
sources claimed the office had been used to plan attacks.
The
three-storey building suffered heavy damage but there were no reports
of any casualties, witnesses and security sources told AFP.
It
was the second time within six months that the charity had been
targeted in an Israeli air raid
