RAMALLAH, 25 December 2005 — Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei yesterday pulled out of the January parliamentary elections after he was relegated to the No. 2 spot on his Fatah movement’s list.
“I have sent a letter to the central committee of Fatah as well as to the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas in which I refused to present my candidature at the next elections,” Qorei told reporters.
Qorei and Abbas are both members of the mainstream Fatah party, whose traditional domination of Palestinian politics is under threat from an unprecedented challenge from the Hamas group in the Jan. 25 poll.
The prime minister said his name had initially been placed first on the list and then relegated to second to placate the followers of jailed West Bank leader Marwan Barghouti, whose name is now in first place. Qorei complained Fatah’s central committee took this decision “without me being consulted.”
Fatah had decided on the single list in a bid to end a damaging division between the old guard and an up-and-coming new guard campaigning for reform headed by Barghouti, jailed by Israel.
Matters had been brought to a head in mid-December when Fatah produced two rival lists — one headed by Barghouti — potentially ruining its chances of competing with Hamas. Qorei also expressed fury over Israel’s refusal to allow voting to take place in East Jerusalem, saying an election in such a situation was “without any value”.
The Arab League yesterday slammed Israel’s refusal to allow voting in East Jerusalem as a move aimed at pre-empting the final status of the disputed city.
“The Arab League secretary-general points out the danger inherent to these Israeli measures and argues that Jerusalem’s final status should conform to international resolutions and be determined within an effective peace process,” a statement said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the creation of a security zone in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent continued rocket attacks by Palestinians, Israeli public radio reported yesterday.
The radio said that the zone would be a no-man’s land, where those entering would do so at their own risk. Despite the approval, the Israeli Army would await an improvement in the weather before starting to enforce the measure.
— With input from agencies
