Israel continues to harass candidates

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Saed Bannoura-IMEMC & Agencies - Thursday, 19 January 2006, 13:05

Israeli forces resumed their harassments against the candidates and the Palestinian parties participating in the January 25 Legislative Council elections.
The International Press Center, IPC, reported on Thursday, that Secretary General of the Palestinian People Party, Bassam Al Salhi, the second man on Al Badeel candidate List, was detained by the Israeli troops for several hours upon his arrival from Jordan to Gaza Strip

A reliable source at the Party said that soldiers held Al Salhi upon arriving at an Israeli military checkpoint for nearly four hours.

The spokesman of Al Badeel list condemned the Israeli stringent measures against the candidates, and added that the soldiers chased candidates, detained them, detained and arrested some of their supporters.

In another incident, Israeli policemen stormed in a press conference by candidates from Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on Wednesday in East Jerusalem, and detained seven candidates with the charge that campaigning in Jerusalem is not allowed.

The PFLP condemned the arrest against some of its candidates for the Parliament despite Israel’s official announcement that it would permit campaigning in the city.

Ahmad Sa’dat, the PFLP’s Secretary General, who is detained in a Palestinian Prison in Jericho guarded by US and British guards, told Ramatan News Agency over phone that "the Israeli obstacles will not discourage the Palestinians from campaigning in Jerusalem, adding that these acts are grave breaches to the international law.

Sa’dat was arrested after the assassination of the Israeli tourism minister, Rahba’am Zeevi, by the military wing of the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine in 2002.

The Israeli police and security broke into a FIDA headquarter in Jerusalem, and arrested five men; FIDA is part of Al Badeel list.

Also, soldiers broke into a Hamas headquarters in Jerusalem and arrested the second candidate on Hamas list, Mohammed Abu Tair, and seven other associates.

The IPC added that in addition to Wednesday’s arrests and attacks, Israeli authorities have arrested, detained and occasionally beaten up about 10 candidates from East Jerusalem in recent days and fined the campaigners for placing posters in the city.

The Palestinian National Authority has insisted to run the elections in East Jerusalem in the same format of the elections which were held in 1996, and January’s PA presidential elections.