Solana: Israel did not fulfill its commitment to facilitate Palestinian Elections

Tuesday January 11, 2005 01:00 by

On Monday, European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Officer Javier Solana criticized Israel for obstructing the Palestinian Presidential elections held on Sunday.

Solana told reporters during his visit to the information center of the Central Election Committee that he was expecting more easing of restrictions and military occupation to facilitate the elections, however, "Israel did not fulfill its commitment as it should have."

Israel previously promised to make the mobility of the Palestinians easier, and stated that it would withdraw from certain areas until after the elections. However, Israel did not act accordingly.

In Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops fired at one of the voting stations in the city with heavy machine gun fire.

In Jerusalem, Israeli post office workers tried to obstruct the voting process by telling voters that their names did not exist in the election registry, when in many cases, they did.

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