The Palestinians have voted and the presidential replacement for terrorist Yasser Arafat has declared victory.
Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas declared victory in the Palestinian presidential election late Sunday after exit polls gave him a commanding lead over his rivals.
Abbas dedicated his win to “my brother,” a reference to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
“There is a difficult mission ahead — to build our state, to achieve security for our people, to provide a good life for our people, to give our prisoners freedom, our fugitives a life in dignity, to reach our goal of an independent state,” Abbas said.
Israel is prepared to immediately make “all the necessary adjustments” to work with Abbas, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told CNN.
“The main challenge is still ahead for him,” Olmert said. “Will he fight against the terrorists? Will he try to stop this bloody, violent war against the state of Israel? This is the main question. This is what interests us.”
President Bush said: “This is a historic day for the Palestinian people and for the people of the Middle East.”
A poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found Mahmoud Abbas had 66 percent of the vote and his closest challenger, Mustafa Barghouti, had about 20 percent.
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Abbas, a moderate now serving as interim chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, would take the reins held by Arafat, the popular leader who died in November. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was the candidate of Arafat’s Fatah party.
The 69-year-old once served as prime minister but quit the post, accusing Arafat of undermining his authority by refusing to give him control of the Palestinian Authority’s security organizations.
Official results are expected Monday, but the challenge of the job is already presenting itself as Israel is set to demand the new Palestinian president act against missile attacks into Israel from Gaza.
A new Israeli coalition due to be sworn in today will demand swift action by Yassir Arafat’s successor to stamp out rocket fire by militants against Israeli targets around the Gaza Strip.
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The prime minister is expected to invite the new Palestinian president for face-to-face talks, although Palestinian officials are concerned Mr Sharon would want them to focus primarily on Israeli security.
“Of course, we expect a new, different Palestinian leadership that will be prepared to move in the direction of peace,” said Silvan Shalom, the Israeli foreign minister.
An Israeli official said the government wanted Mr Abbas, assuming he won, to match his rhetoric against the armed intifada with a serious effort to end incitement against Israel and to stop militants from launching Qassam rockets against Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Only then would moves such as a release of Palestinian prisoners and the resumption of talks be considered.
“No one expects terrorism to stop tomorrow, it’s not realistic,” the official said. “But he needs to send a signal to his own people that the war is over and then we can sit down and talk.”
Palestinian militants yesterday fired two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
I expect nothing new anytime soon. Abbas is assuming the reins of an untamed beast, one that has been fed on brutality and hatred for decades.