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Foreign Ministry: Israel Not Interfering in Palestinian Elections
(Jerusalem Post) Lahav Harkov - The Palestinian elections are an internal Palestinian matter and Israel will not intervene, Foreign Ministry political director Alon Bar told European ambassadors on Tuesday. "Israel will not prevent the election in the Palestinian Authority from happening," Bar said. With regard to Jerusalem, the city, including majority-Arab neighborhoods, is part of sovereign Israel and is under Israeli law. In 2006, Israel allowed the PA to hold its legislative election in Jerusalem, with Arabs voting via post offices. Bar noted that the Quartet - the U.S., UN, EU and Russia - has set criteria in the past for Palestinian election candidates, saying they must abandon violence, recognize Israel, and recognize previous signed agreements. Hamas' participation in the election violates the Quartet's conditions. Empowering Hamas could be an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Bar said.