Hamas will conduct secret primaries to choose its candidates for parliamentary elections, the group's first major electoral test, a West Bank leader said yesterday. Over the weekend, Hamas announced it will participate in July elections, challenging Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement which has dominated Palestinian politics.
Mohammad Gazal, a senior Hamas leader in the West Bank, said in a telephone interview that the group would conduct an underground registration drive among members and supporters ahead of secret primaries. Later this week, leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups will meet in Cairo for what Abbas hopes will be a joint cease-fire declaration.
MIDEAST.RU web-newsproject issued by the Non-commercial partnership "Mass-media against terrorism and extremism" with information contributon of
Committees on the international affairs of the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russia's Parlament, the All-Russia's union of industrialists and businessmen, Commercial and industrial chamber of the Russian Federation, Council of the external and defensive policy of the Russian Federation, National civil council on the international affairs, the Russian-Arabian business Council.
The web-project is awarded a State grant delivered under the Russia's president decree № 367-RP dated of June,30 - 2007
E-mail: mideast@mail.ru
The Web-newspaper is related to "Russia and the outside world" issues with a special focus on the USA and the Greater Middle East countries
(the License of the Ministry of Press № 77-6483).
