NEWS: Israel Drops Its Hamas Vote Ban Proposal, page 1

The Israeli government has dropped its plans to have Hamas banned from taking part in upcoming Palestinian elections. In September Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Israel would hinder voting in the Palestinian elections should a Hamas candidate take part. The position has now softened to Israel will not help the Palestinians vote should Hamas take part. Israel wants Hamas to decide now whether or not they are a part of the political process or whether they are a terrorist organization. Hamas is currently under an informal ceasefire with Israel.

news.bbc.co.uk
Israel has pulled back from a policy opposing the participation of Hamas in January's Palestinian elections.

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said it was not in Israel's interest to oppose Hamas' participation.

In September, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that his government would hinder voting in the West Bank if Hamas candidates stood in the election.

The largest and most popular militant group, Hamas has not previously contested parliamentary elections.

In recent municipal elections, it has emerged as a serious challenger to the mainstream Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Lets give the Israeli government a round of applause, they've finally dropped their proposed illegal act of interfering in elections. Have they finally realized they have no say whatsoever in Palestinian internal affairs? The UN/US have just forced Syria to get its tentacles off of Lebanon for the same reasons.

I agree that Hamas should end its violent campaign against Israel and only target the Israeli military for retaliatory action should the Israelis attack Palestinians. Hamas should drop its "destruction of Israel" agenda as its completely unrealistic and is all but given lip-service to by every Middle Eastern country including the Iranians. Hamas should be committed to the peace process and the Palestinian political process if they ever wish to see a viable Palestinian state. A state that has a chance to prosper and end the suffering of Palestinians.