GAZA
CITY, December 17, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The
Palestinian Authority and the resistance group Hamas slammed on
Saturday, December 17, what they called American interventions in the
Palestinian elections.
"Elections
should remain opened for all parties," Palestinian Authority
spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaina told the Doha-based Al-Jazeera news
channel.
"The
legislative elections will be held on time and all Palestinian sides
have the right to participate. Otherwise, they would not be
democratic."
Abu
Rudaina called on the international community to convince the Bush
administration not to adopt the resolution.
"This
does not serve the peace process nor the US efforts to maintain peace
in the area."
PA
chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the position of the US Congress
"is refused lock, stock and barrel."
In
a resolution approved on Friday, December 16, by 397 to 17 votes with
seven abstentions, the US House of Representatives threatened the PA
that it risked losing US financial aid and other support if it allowed
Hamas to contest the legislative polls.
A
welcoming Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Saturday the PA
must prevent Hamas from contesting the elections, scheduled on
January 25.
"The
participation of Hamas in the elections can put us back 50
years," he told Israel Radio.
US
Democracy
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"The
only democracy allowed by Washington is that which serve its
interests," Hamas averred.
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Hamas,
which scored a resounding victory Friday in local elections in the
main West Bank cities, blasted the American resolution.
"This
is a flagrant intervention in Palestinian domestic affairs," the
resistance group said in a statement, a copy of which was faxed to
IslamOnline.net.
It
said the resolution reflected the double-standard policy of the Bush
administration and debunk its democratization rhetoric.
"The
only democracy allowed by Washington is that which serve its
interests," Hamas averred.
The
statement urged the PA to stand firm against such American
interventions and conditional aid.
The
resolution warned the PA that all financial aid offered to the
Palestinians would be withheld in case Hamas joined the government.
Hamas
won in three out of four West Bank cities in a local ballot seen as a
bellwether for a January election, official results published Saturday
showed.
The
group won 13 seats out of 15 in the traditional Fatah stronghold of
Nablus.
In
the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Hamas won eight seats and Fatah
won seven. In al-Bireh, it won nine seats versus four for Fatah.
Hamas's
only loss was in Ramallah, the current seat of the Palestinian
government, where it won three seats in the 15-seat local council.
"The
elections were free, fair and transparent," Jamal al-Shobaki,
head of Local Election Commission, told reporters at a news conference
announcing the results.
The
results illustrated Hamas's grass-roots strength especially at a time
when Abbas's ruling Fatah faction is in disarray after a group of
popular leaders broke away to form their own faction for the January
election.
Hamas's
support among Palestinians is partly the result of its corruption-free
reputation, charity network and struggle against the Israeli
occupation.
Hamas
did well in the previous three rounds of the municipal vote and it is
expected to make a strong showing in the last phase to be held in
early 2006 in Al-Khalil (Hebron) and Gaza City.
