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September 17, 2005

Elections, Arab style

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In a shuddering preview of elections——and everything else—— in the proposed amorphous Palestinian state, the information minister of the Fatah movement has publicly declared

Palestinian MP: We will not allow Hamas victory in Al—Khalil!
 
And no, this isn't the normal political party bragging prior to an election.  When he declares "will not allow"  he means definitely means "not allow," as in forgery for starters. 
 
And no, not the relatively benign forgery that occurs regularly in Democratic party controlled Chicago elections, for instance. Violent Fatah is opposed to the more violent Hamas so the former violently acted:

A number of masked men broke into the camp's polling station during the counting of votes of the camp's youth center elections and opened random shooting. They tore the balloting papers at the time when the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas candidates were heading for a big victory. . . .
 
Brigadier general, Tareq Zaid, Nablus city police director, summoned 723 security elements prior to the election and ordered them to vote for Fatah Movement. Hamas was leading but the counting process was aborted.

Jimmy Carter offered no public comment.
 
Ethel C. Fenig   4 28 05