Prominent Palestinian figures have appealed for an end to violence, adding weight to the election campaign of Mr Mahmoud Abbas to succeed Yasser Arafat and launch peace talks with Israel.
Prominent Palestinian figures have appealed for an end to violence, adding weight to the election campaign of Mr Mahmoud Abbas to succeed Yasser Arafat and launch peace talks with Israel.
Lending momentum to a fragile new trend of cooperation, Israel's cabinet ratified Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's plan to lift roadblocks in occupied territory to ensure Palestinians can be registered to vote and go to the polls freely on January 9th.
"The election is of supreme importance in establishing a (Palestinian) leadership with which we hope to move forward in the road map process," Mr Sharon told reporters today, referring to an international peace plan shelved by persistent violence.
Palestinian militants have rebuffed Mr Abbas's suggestions of a truce with Israel since Arafat died in November and fighting has persisted in occupied Gaza. Israeli tanks killed two Islamist militants planting explosives near a border fence today.
But poll ratings for Mr Abbas have surged along with sentiment for a return to calm to enable talks for statehood. Violence has abated in the larger West Bank and U.S.-led Middle East peace diplomacy is reviving after years of paralysis.