if you care to know more on the: Palestinian Elections

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Mahmoud Abbas

Also known as Abu Mazen, Abbas is a founding member of Fateh, and for many years has been a very close aide to Yasser Arafat.  Abbas was a key architect of the Oslo Accords, which benefited Israel and the Palestinian leadership, at the expense of the Palestinian people.  Israel benefited by having the task of policing the Palestinians transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) - an authority who's power is only what the Israeli state will allow it to be.  The Tunis-based Palestine Liberation Organization benefited by keeping its hold on leadership over the Palestinian people; the first intifada, being led from within the occupied territories, presented a threat that new activists would lead the Palestinian struggle.  In their desperate cling to power, Arafat and his cronies made whatever compromises were necessary in order to reach some kind of agreement with Israel, and presented this to their people as a victory.

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The late Dr. Edward Said describes Abbas as follows: "Known universally for his "flexibility" with Israel... Abu Mazen is thought of generally as colourless, moderately corrupt, and without any clear ideas of his own, except that he wants to please the white man."  In fact, as analyst Daoud Kuttab observed,  Abbas has eliminated the political terms "thawabet" (immovable issues, such as the right of return and the status of Jerusalem), reasoning that politics can't be frozen and one must be flexible.

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Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi

In second place, according to the polls, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi offers a refreshing and needed change from the PA's corruption and self-serving policies.  A physician by profession, Dr. Barghouthi is the founder of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), which has provided medical care and aid to 495 Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps.  PMRS volunteers have distributed food, water, and emergency first aid services to more than 1.3 million Palestinians - this alone is more than the Palestinian Authority has ever done for the Palestinian people.

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Dr. Barghouthi is also a human rights activist, involved in grassroots efforts for freedom, democracy, national unity, and social justice in Palestine.  He has advocated for the Palestinian cause for more than 25 years, giving eloquent and convincing talks all over the world, presenting the Palestinian situation in terms of human rights and international law.  And throughout these efforts, he has been beaten, arrested, and shot at by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

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www.alaqsaintifada.org