MIDDLE EAST: Since the Palestinian presidential election campaign kicked off on December 25th, the front-runner, Mr Mahmud Abbas, has repeatedly called for an end to the armed uprising, and said that the government must be the sole authority in the Palestinian territories. Israel is in complete agreement with these positions, writes Michael Jansen
However, he has also upset some Israelis by adopting political positions traditionally held by the Palestinian leadership and taking original stands on highly- controversial points.
Mr Abbas, who succeeded Mr Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has reiterated longstanding positions on key issues.
He has called for Israel to withdraw from the territories captured in 1967, end expansion of settlements, evacuate settlers, and halt construction of the barrier which is carving the West Bank into Palestinian and settler enclaves.
He has said that the entirety of the West Bank and Gaza Strip should become an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. He has also demanded the release of all 7,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Last week during a visit to the northern West Bank city of Jenin, he veered into unexpectedly controversial territory by adopting a position which even Mr Arafat did not take publicly.
While visiting the martyrs' cemetery with members of the military wing of the mainstream Fatah movement, the al-Aqsa Brigades, Mr Abbas said it is the duty of the Palestine National Authority and police forces to "protect" militants by helping them evade capture by Israel.
Among the fighters accompanying Mr Abbas was Mr Zakaria Zubeidi, who is on Israel's most- wanted list. In a bid to promote unity, he said he would not crack down on dissidents, and urged them to submit to the authority of the government.
Addressing a rally in Gaza city early this week, he reiterated his support for the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes within the boundaries Israel achieved during the 1948 war. "We will never forget the rights of the refugees, and we will never forget their suffering. They will eventually gain their rights, and the day will come when the refugees return home."
A refugee himself from the town of Safed in northern Israel, Mr Abbas first enunciated this position while visiting Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon last month. Israel rejects the "right of return" of the 4.5 million Palestinian refugees, arguing that the refugees should be resettled in a future Palestinian state or in host countries.
Mr Abbas's characterisation of Israel as "the Zionist enemy" yesterday surprised many Israelis, as well as foreign observers.
This terminology was dropped by Palestinian political figures after the PLO extended recognition to Israel, within its 1948 boundaries, ahead of the signing in 1993 of the Oslo accord for which Mr Abbas was responsible on the Palestinian side.
But he was speaking at the militant Khan Yunis refugee camp, a frequent target of Israeli attacks, after Israeli tank fire killed seven Palestinian youths following a mortar strike on Israeli settlers.
Mr Abbas is no longer a bureaucrat in a grey flannel suit hovering in the background of Palestinian politics. As a candidate for elective office, he cannot afford to mince his words while stating his positions on the main issues. He must also goad Palestinians into going to the polls.
Although the latest opinion survey shows he enjoys a 43-38 per cent lead over Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the nearest of five rivals, Mr Abbas must also have a mandate from a majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza if he is to reform the Palestinian National Authority, curb violence, and negotiate with Israel, the three main tasks the new president will assume.
But since Mr Abbas is expected to win by a large margin, many Palestinians are not prepared to brave Israeli checkpoints to go to polling stations to cast ballots which, they believe, will not influence the outcome of the election.