Flanked by Barghuti’s wife, Fares said the Fatah West Bank leader backed Abbas for presidency

RAMALLAH, November 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The decision taken by Fatah West Bank Secretary Marwan Barghuti, currently serving five life terms in Israeli jails, to opt out of the presidential race, gives an extra momentum to the chances of PLO Executive Committee Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

“Members and supporters of Fatah (must) support the movement's candidate brother Abbas,” 45-year-old Barghuti said in a statement read Friday, November 26, on his behalf by minister with Portfolio Qaddura Fares, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Barghuti said he wanted to keep Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian movement, united.

He called on Abbas to work towards Palestinian goals including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) as its capital and the refugees’ right of return.

Fares said Barghuti, known to many Palestinians as the father of Al-Aqsa Intifada, decided to scrap plans to run despite numerous calls from Fatah members who wanted him as their candidate as the “symbol of freedom and independence.”

Speculation had been rife that Barghuti would formally announce his decision to stand from behind bars, posing a direct challenge to Abbas.

Interim PA chairman Rawhi Fatouh had scheduled the presidential elections on January 9.

He said that the election campaign will begin on December 27 and continue until January 8, the last day before the elections.

Main Candidate

The 69-year-old Abbas was unanimously nominated by the Fatah Central Committee on Monday, November 22, to run for the presidency, a nomination later rubber-stamped by the Revolutionary Council.

He is now the overwhelming favorite to win the January 9 vote to succeed former President Yasser Arafat who died at a French military hospital at the age of 75 of a still-unidentified illness.

After Arafat’s demise, Abbas took over as head of the PLO Executive Committee.

He vowed to follow in Arafat’s footsteps and demand that Israel recognize the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.

Private Talks

The British Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that a Palestinian delegation headed by West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub was due in Britain next week for “private” talks with senior Israeli officials.

"The two sides would discuss security arrangements for the forthcoming elections and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip," said the British paper.

Among those representing the Israeli side were Sharon's son, Omri, and deputy defense minister Zeev Boim, while the Palestinian delegation would also include Fares and deputy cabinet member Sufian Abu Zaida, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Rajoub, who is expected in Moscow next week, refused to confirm or deny the report.

“I have not received an official invitation,” he said. Contacted by AFP, Israeli officials were unavailable for comment on the report.

The United States and the European Union have pledged full support for the Palestinian elections

 “I think we can make a pretty good case that this is the time to assist the Palestinians as they go forward,” US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday while on his first visit to the region in 18 months.

Cairo Talks

Meanwhile, Abbas and Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei are to leave for the Egyptian capital Saturday for a round of talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a Palestinian official said.

“Abbas and Qorei will leave for Cairo today and will hold talks with Mubarak on Sunday,” a source in Qorei's office told AFP.

There were no specific details about how long the two would stay in Egypt but talks were expected to focus on the forthcoming Palestinian elections.

The Palestinian leadership has been liaising closely with Egypt in recent months about the aftermath of Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza next year.

In recent months, Qorei has held a number of meetings with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Mubarak's pointman on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Suleiman are expected in Israel within the coming days.