OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: ELECTIONS

ZMAG: Israelis Hinder East Jerusalem Elections by Kristen Ess

Israeli police cars and military jeeps parked in crossroads near the Salah Adiin Street post office in East Jerusalem Sunday morning. Israeli soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders stood next to Israeli police who watched scores of journalists mingle with the voters arriving just after the polls opened at 7. Already the Israeli government would not allow 96,000 of East Jerusalem's 100,000 registered Palestinian voters to vote inside the city of East Jerusalem, instead forcing them to cross checkpoints or go around the Apartheid Wall to Jerusalem neighborhoods now stuck on the other side. But as the day wore on, East Jerusalem residents realized almost none of them were going to be allowed to vote in their city

AP: Arab world welcomes Palestinian elections
but remains skeptical over Israel

CAIRO, Egypt - The Arab world cautiously welcomed Palestinian elections - portrayed by the West as means to a Mideast peace agreement - but remained skeptical of whether the successful vote would push Israel into making concesssions.
Some also cautioned that Palestinian militants who spurned the balloting could derail peace talks by launching attacks on Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president with 62.3 percent of the vote in the elections that were a rare example of political reform in the Arab world. Israeli leaders welcomed Abbas’ victory, but said Monday they will watch closely how hard he tries to subdue militants.