By Adam Hanieh Israeli land confiscation continued at an alarming rate while Palestinians prepared for elections on January 20. On December 25 hundreds of acres of land were confiscated from the West Bank towns of Kalandia, Rafat and Jdeirah. The land was seized by the Israeli government in order to construct a road six kilometres long and 150 metres wide. On December 26, Israeli bulldozers began levelling land in the Beit Hanina village area to build a nine kilometre, 150 m wide settler link road which will run through three Palestinian villages. Other land confiscations have continued between the West Bank villages of Qalqilya and Tulkarm, and the Green Line marking Israel's border following the 1948 war. This land is reportedly being used to build a fence separating these villages from areas inside the Green Line. The construction of roads that cut across the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been condemned by critics of the Oslo Accords and subsequent peace agreements. These agreements, which were initially heralded as the first steps towards an independent Palestinian state, are coming under increasing fire by Palestinian and human rights activists in the occupied territories. The Israeli government plans to construct three major roads across the Gaza Strip and two across the West Bank. These roads will be heavily guarded by the Israeli military, divide the occupied territories and prevent free movement of Palestinians. Other smaller roads will connect Israeli settlements and surround "autonomous" Palestinian towns. Israeli settlements are continuing at a rate nearly three times greater than before the peace process, with over 10,000 hectares of Palestinian land confiscated since 1993.
Elections
Nearly 1.2 million people have registered to vote in the elections for an 88-seat Legislative Council and its president. In the week after the elections were announced, 600,000 people registered to vote. Yasser Arafat, head of the PLO, is expected to be elected president. Samiha Khalil, a member of the Palestine National Council and founder of the Palestinian Women's Union in 1952, is the only other presidential candidate. Khalil recently told the
Jerusalem Times, "In the event that I win, I will suspend negotiations with Israel until the last Palestinian prisoner is released". The 6000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails have called for a boycott of the elections. Continued Israeli detention of Palestinian political prisoners is a key problem; a big proportion of Palestinian families have members imprisoned. Israel had reportedly decided unilaterally to release up to 1500 prisoners on the election eve, January 19. PNA justice minister Freih Abu Muddein said that Israel was choosing who it would release rather than following the guidelines of the Taba agreement. West Bank human rights and prisoner activists have also expressed concern at a startling pattern of arrests by the Israeli military prior to their redeployment from several West Bank cities in December. Nearly all the Palestinians detained, many of whom have been served with six-month administrative detention orders, are said to be part of the political opposition to the Oslo 2 agreement.
Opposition
Palestinian opposition groups have taken a mixed approach towards the elections. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine have called for a boycott, although with some acrimony between activists in the territories and the leaderships based in Damascus. Fatah's PLO foreign minister, Farouq Qaddoumi, has supported a boycott. The high voter turnout is expected to further isolate these parties. Haidar abd al-Shafi, head of the Palestinian delegation in the first round of negotiations (after which he resigned), strongly criticised the election process, yet will run in a new party formation, the National Coalition Party. The Palestinian People's Party (ex-Communist Party) will also contest. The question of participation by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has caused considerable controversy. Negotiations between the PNA and Hamas in Cairo on December 18-20 ended with a refusal by Hamas to participate in the elections or end military actions against Israel. Hamas, however, is not calling for a boycott, and prominent Hamas member Imad Falouji has left the organisation to contest the election as an independent. Of four other Hamas-associated candidates, three have withdrawn. Opponents of the election process criticise Arafat for authoritarian and arbitrary rule. Human rights organisations say that since returning to the occupied territories in July 1994, Palestinian police have tortured to death at least four opponents, according to
Middle East International. On December 6, Dr Iyad Sarraj, head of the Commission for Citizens' Rights, was arrested and interrogated by Palestinian police. A survey by Reporteurs sans Frontieres indicates that media air time has strongly favoured Arafat and Fatah's campaigns. The Israeli government is hampering the election process, particularly in East Jerusalem. Residents of East Jerusalem will not be allowed to vote in the city but will need to cast their vote by ballot, implying that they are not residing on Palestinian land. Right-wing Israeli groups are also distributing posters in East Jerusalem that threaten Palestinians with loss of residence if they enrol to vote. Supporters of the election claim that abstention is politically irresponsible despite the obvious shortcomings of the poll. Opposition to Arafat is widespread amongst independent activists such as Haidar abd al-Shafi and within Fatah itself. Popular support for Arafat remains high however, with a poll on December 19 claiming that he would receive 68.5% of the vote.