Exit polls of 6,500 voters Wednesday evening showed Fatah as the winner with 43-percent of the vote and Hamas with 32-percent, according to Channel 2 television, with 25-percent divided up between the other nine parties.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas praised voters for conducting themselves peacefully and making it to the polls. A festive atmosphere surrounded polls in most of the voting locations in East Jerusalem and several Arab towns within Israel as well as in Gaza. “This is a holiday for the Palestinians,” said Fatah activist Ziad Halil, trying to get the vote out in the Jerusalem area.
Some shooting between internal factions in Ramallah was reported in the late afternoon. In addition, twelve people were injured in a scuffle between Fatah and Hamas supporters near Hebron. In southern Gaza, police fired in the air to control an unruly crowd of voters.
By 6:00 pm, approximately 60-percent of the 1.3 million eligible voters had come out to cast their ballots. The lowest turnout was in East Jerusalem, where only a few hundred residents had entered the voting booths.
Voting was especially heavy in Hebron, a base of support for Hamas. The terrorist organization pulled enough votes to possibly enter the PA cabinet for the first time, complicating future foreign relations with the international community.
Hamas has refused to lay down its weapons and insisted earlier in the week that it can combine its role in the new legislature and still maintain armed “resistance”.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine focused its entire campaign on the murder of former Israeli Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Senior PFLP official and candidate Khaled Bakir told Ynet news service on Wednesday that murder ‘brings plenty of support’. Bakir, age 50, served 11 years in an Israeli prison, nine of which he served in administrative detention. He was released a year and a half ago.
More than 400 candidates from 11 parties ran for seats in the new PA governing body in the first election since 1996. Islamic Jihad was the only faction that did not participate.
Some 13,000 police officers were on hand to keep the peace, enforce a weapons ban and ensure a fair vote at the1008 polling stations. A team of more than 900 foreign observers also participated as election monitors, led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas praised voters for conducting themselves peacefully and making it to the polls. A festive atmosphere surrounded polls in most of the voting locations in East Jerusalem and several Arab towns within Israel as well as in Gaza. “This is a holiday for the Palestinians,” said Fatah activist Ziad Halil, trying to get the vote out in the Jerusalem area.
Some shooting between internal factions in Ramallah was reported in the late afternoon. In addition, twelve people were injured in a scuffle between Fatah and Hamas supporters near Hebron. In southern Gaza, police fired in the air to control an unruly crowd of voters.
By 6:00 pm, approximately 60-percent of the 1.3 million eligible voters had come out to cast their ballots. The lowest turnout was in East Jerusalem, where only a few hundred residents had entered the voting booths.
Voting was especially heavy in Hebron, a base of support for Hamas. The terrorist organization pulled enough votes to possibly enter the PA cabinet for the first time, complicating future foreign relations with the international community.
Hamas has refused to lay down its weapons and insisted earlier in the week that it can combine its role in the new legislature and still maintain armed “resistance”.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine focused its entire campaign on the murder of former Israeli Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Senior PFLP official and candidate Khaled Bakir told Ynet news service on Wednesday that murder ‘brings plenty of support’. Bakir, age 50, served 11 years in an Israeli prison, nine of which he served in administrative detention. He was released a year and a half ago.
More than 400 candidates from 11 parties ran for seats in the new PA governing body in the first election since 1996. Islamic Jihad was the only faction that did not participate.
Some 13,000 police officers were on hand to keep the peace, enforce a weapons ban and ensure a fair vote at the1008 polling stations. A team of more than 900 foreign observers also participated as election monitors, led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.