GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he would hold parliamentary elections on Jan. 25 as scheduled after he received U.S. assurances that Arab residents of east Jerusalem will be allowed to vote in the city.Abbas' announcement alleviated some fears that he was planning to call off the vote under pressure from members of his Fatah party concerned that the popular Hamas militant group would embarrass Fatah at the polls.
Abbas said Monday that the ongoing chaos in Gaza - much of it caused by Fatah-affliated militants - is aimed at scuttling the elections, and he told his security forces to protect that "democratic day even with force." However, Abbas' interior minister, Nasser Yousef, warned that he will not be able to secure polling stations from gunmen trying to disrupt the election.
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