MIDDLE EAST: Israel said yesterday it would withdraw its army from the Palestinian territories for 72 hours during next month's presidential elections, which the moderate Mahmoud Abbas is expected to win after his main rival Marwan Barghouti withdrew his candidacy.
The Palestinians have urged Israel to withdraw and remove checkpoints before the January 9th vote to allow candidates to campaign. However, Mr Shaul Mofaz, Israeli Defence Minister, said: "We will leave the Palestinian cities for a period of about 72 hours, that is the day before, the day of, and the day after the election."
Mr Abbas's victory appeared certain after Barghouti, a jailed leader, pulled out of the Palestinian Authority election at the weekend. Polls had shown him neck and neck with Mr Abbas but his candidacy had been criticised by young militants as well as mainstream leaders who feared a divisive split in the Fatah faction.
Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for his involvement in attacks on Israelis, endorsed Mr Abbas, but was harshly critical of his leadership of Fatah, urging reform to allow younger activists to move up the ranks.
Israel yesterday accused Mr Abbas of not doing enough to curb militants after five soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in Gaza on Sunday.
Mr Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister, said yesterday that peace efforts depended on Palestinian actions against terrorism.
Mr Abbas has been trying to arrange a truce with militant factions, but attacks on soldiers within the occupied territories are widely viewed as legitimate by Palestinians.
The militant groups Hamas and Fatah Hawks claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack, in which they planted a 1,500kg bomb in a tunnel they spent months digging near the southern Gaza border with Egypt. Hamas also videotaped the attack, showing masked men in the tunnel and the large explosion.
Israel hit back yesterday with helicopter missiles on what it called Hamas weapons workshops in Gaza, and killed a Hamas gunman in the West Bank.
The upsurge in violence poses a fresh threat to Mr Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and four settlements in the northern West Bank next year, a move fiercely opposed by right-wing, nationalist parties, which view withdrawal as a "reward for terrorism".
Many Palestinians believe Mr Sharon is trying to consolidate his hold on the West Bank with his Gaza plan. Mr Abbas potentially faces a tightrope walk as he seeks a resumption of negotiations with Israel while not alienating those Palestinians who believe in continued resistance to the Israeli occupation, a platform advocated by Barghouti.
A clear electoral mandate would boost Mr Abbas's position.
A recent poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research showed that support for Hamas had dropped significantly. The centre noted there was a similar trend in December 1995, one month before the first Palestinian elections in 1996. - (Financial Times)