Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz said the issue of how the PA's January elections will be conducted has not been discussed by the Israeli government, according to The Forward, a liberal New York Jewish daily. "We will formulate a position on the issue shortly, but what our position could be is obvious, given that we oppose Hamas participation in the elections," Mofaz said
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is claiming to American officials that Israel is not allowing unrestricted election participation by 120,000 non-Israelis who reside in the city. The PA wants to place polling stations in the city, a move which Israel fears would appear as a symbol of PA sovereignty over the capital.
In previous municipal elections, Israel unofficially allowed only limited campaigning, but the PA wants all candidates - including those of terrorist organizations - to be able to electioneer. Approving the demand would allow Hamas and other terrorist groups to place posters for their candidates.
Hind Khoury, the PA minister for Jerusalem affairs, was in Washington last week to lobby on the issue. "We hope that the United States will support the right of [Arab] Jerusalemites to practice democracy," she told the Forward.
The PA legislative elections are scheduled for late January. Hamas has announced it will field candidates. It support in polls has ranged from 20-25 percent.
"Israel may be faced with posters carrying Hamas' emblem and belligerent Hamas slogans in East Jerusalem," said Nathan Brown, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.
PA Arabs in Jerusalem voted at post offices in previous elections, an arrangement which the PA now rejects. Ammar Dweik, its chief electoral officer, argued that the post offices do not have the capacity to accommodate voters. "We think that more residents of Jerusalem will vote if they have easy access to polling stations," he said.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is claiming to American officials that Israel is not allowing unrestricted election participation by 120,000 non-Israelis who reside in the city. The PA wants to place polling stations in the city, a move which Israel fears would appear as a symbol of PA sovereignty over the capital.
In previous municipal elections, Israel unofficially allowed only limited campaigning, but the PA wants all candidates - including those of terrorist organizations - to be able to electioneer. Approving the demand would allow Hamas and other terrorist groups to place posters for their candidates.
Hind Khoury, the PA minister for Jerusalem affairs, was in Washington last week to lobby on the issue. "We hope that the United States will support the right of [Arab] Jerusalemites to practice democracy," she told the Forward.
The PA legislative elections are scheduled for late January. Hamas has announced it will field candidates. It support in polls has ranged from 20-25 percent.
"Israel may be faced with posters carrying Hamas' emblem and belligerent Hamas slogans in East Jerusalem," said Nathan Brown, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.
PA Arabs in Jerusalem voted at post offices in previous elections, an arrangement which the PA now rejects. Ammar Dweik, its chief electoral officer, argued that the post offices do not have the capacity to accommodate voters. "We think that more residents of Jerusalem will vote if they have easy access to polling stations," he said.