Palestinians: Israel Not Easing Grip on Eve of Vote
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RAMALLAH, West Bank  - Palestinians accused Israel  on Saturday of not carrying out a promised easing of its  military grip on the West Bank and Gaza for a presidential  election to pick Yasser Arafat's successor.
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Mahmoud Abbas extended his hand in peace to Israel as he was sworn in as the new Palestinian leader Saturday, but the Israeli army killed eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 46 election officials resigned over alleged ballot irregularities, crushing optimism for an early resumption of the peace process.
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Playing on the Westâs insistence that Israel facilitate âPalestinianâ elections, and Israelâs desire to comply, the PA Tuesday threatened to call off
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Israel will withdraw its troops from Palestinian towns for 72 hours during next month's Palestinian presidential election, the defense minister said Monday, signaling that a deadly weekend attack on an Israel army post is not derailing fledgling peace efforts.
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JERUSALEM -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is inclined to call early elections, including for his office, to end the political and economic crisis in the territories, Palestinian officials said yesterday.
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A deadly Palestinian attack in the West Bank drew a threat from Israel Saturday to scrap a promise to limit military operations on the eve of a presidential election to pick a successor to Yasser Arafat.
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinian leaders are condemning an Israeli raid on a Gaza refugee camp as a major distraction ahead of the Palestinian presidential vote.
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon survived  two no-confidence votes in Israel's parliament on Monday,  clinging to power as he seeks to push through a disputed plan  for withdrawal from some occupied territory.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank  - Victory by an advocate of  non-violence in Palestinian presidential elections stirred  hopes Monday for new peace talks, but Israel demanded the  Palestinians move first by cracking down on militants.
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Palestinians Saturday started their registration for legislative and presidential elections as well as local councils, without announcing specified date for the elections.
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Israel will slow a planned pullback  from West Bank cities because of Gaza violence that has frayed  a de facto cease-fire and raised doubts Palestinians can keep  militants in check, officials said on Tuesday.
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Israel will not stand in the way of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt as part of a deal to sideline Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave, officials said on Tuesday.
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Israeli army officials said that they had stopped most search-and-arrest operations against Palestinian militants and were easing security restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to allow Palestinians greater freedom to vote Sunday for a new president.
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Freed from Yasser Arafat&#39;s one-man rule, Palestinians say they are eager and able to build the first real democracy in the Arab world, despite the dangers lurking on the road to Jan. 9 elections.
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The Islamic resistance movement Hamas on Wednesday refused to halt attacks against the Jewish settlements during the period of preparations for the Jan. 9 elections.
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Israel's prime minister refuses to bow to angry settlers' demands for a vote on his Gaza withdrawal plan.
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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt  - Members of the Quartet  of Middle East peace mediators urged Israel Tuesday to ease  restrictions on Palestinians ahead of January elections to  choose a successor to late President Yasser Arafat.