Rajoub big winner in Fatah primaries

Initial results from Friday's Fatah primaries in Hebron, Rafah and Tul Karm say that Jibril Rajoub, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas' senior security adviser, topped the poll. Rajoub, the former commander of the PA's Preventive Security organization and a native of Dura in the Hebron area, is expected to win second place on the national Fatah list. First place on the national list will apparently go to jailed Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti.

The victory paves the way for Fatah's new younger generation to grab powerful spots as the movement faces a stiff challenge from Hamas.

Other realistic spots on the list were won by Nabil Amru, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (the parliament), a staunch proponent of reforms, who lost a leg last year after being shot in Ramallah, and three other parliament members, as well as senior jailed Fatah leader Abu Ali Yattawi, a Rajoub opponent.

In Hebron, dozens of angry Yattawi supporters stormed Fatah's election headquarters after the results were announced, accusing Rajoub of rigging the voting. Some gunmen from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group linked to Fatah, fired in the air, forcing local election officials to flee.

Rajoub played down the violence, saying, "This is nothing in comparison to the big achievement of making democracy work today."

In the village of Halhoul near Hebron, Fatah gunmen, charging there had been election fraud, stormed a polling station, firing into the air, destroying ballot boxes and calling for a repeat vote.

"This is democracy and democracy in which members of the movement can choose their leaders and representatives. This way of operating will give Fatah viability and the ability to grow and develop," Rajoub told The Associated Press. "I would assume that those people who were chosen today would have a better chance to be chosen by the broader public."

"Voting within Fatah revealed a deep desire for change. People show no trust in their historical leadership," said Palestinian political analyst Hani Masri.

The PA political pot continued to boil yesterday, with the announcement by Finance Minister Salam Fayad, who is not a member of parliament, that he would head an independent list in the elections to include veteran PA politician Hanan Ashrawi and the FIDA party, led by Yasser Abed Rabbo.

The Palestinian Central Elections Committee said dozens of independent candidates had registered by midday Friday, having each mustered the required 500 signatures from supporters. The Palestinian political opposition has been helped by the disarray in Fatah. Highlighting Fatah's troubles, the former mayor of Nablus, Ghassan Shaka, a Fatah member, registered as an independent. He became disenchanted with Fatah after his brother was killed by a masked gunman in 2004.

Another bloc to enter the fray is the Alternative List, which includes the Communist Party and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmed Saadat, also registered for the elections from his prison cell in Jericho, where he is serving a sentence for masterminding the killing of Israel's then tourism minister, Rehav'am Ze'evi, in 2001.

Meanwhile, speaking from Rome yesterday, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said the success of next month's parliamentary elections could hinge on whether Israel allows people to vote freely in Jerusalem. Israel could be responsible for blocking the democratic process, Abbas said at the end of a two-day visit to Italy.