Jailed Fateh leader, and Palestinian Legislator, Marwan Barghouthi, said that the health condition of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, should not affect the Palestinian Legislative Council’s election date, slated for January 25, 23006.
Barghouthi, who tops the Fateh parliamentary list, is currently serving five life terms after an Israeli military court indicted him of supporting the Palestinian resistance; the Israeli prosecution charged that Barghouthi supported attacks against Israel.
In an official statement released by the Palestinian media, Barghouthi called the elections strictly "a national issue".
Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that Barghouthi called on the Palestinian leadership to cancel the elections should Israel forbid the residents of East Jerusalem to vote.
Several Palestinian figures called on the Palestinian Authority to delay the elections as a result of chaos in the Palestinian territories, and the continuous Israeli operations.
Veteran Fatah leaders, including Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, have been pressing for delaying the elections, Haaretz added.
It is worth mentioning that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, decided to participate in the elections for the first time. Hamas is poised to achieve significant results after it swept most of the municipalities and village councils in recent elections.
