U.S. Pressing Palestinians to Bar Extremist Candidates

(New York Times) Steven R. Weisman - The Bush administration, worried that Palestinian militants will gain a foothold in legislative elections in January, is pressing Mahmoud Abbas to require that candidates renounce violence and "unlawful or nondemocratic" methods, administration and Palestinian representatives say. A senior State Department official said that with Abbas scheduled to meet President Bush on Thursday, the administration had held talks with the Palestinian leadership on ways to "tighten up the rules" to make it clear that candidates, even those backed by Hamas, do not incite violence or keep ties with militias.


2005-10-19 00:00:00

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