Elections Israel

Israel's political picture was brought a little more into focus Monday, at least for the moment, as two of the main candidates for prime minister firmed up their positions and came out swinging. Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent, easily won a primary within his Likud Party and formally emerged as its candidate for prime minister, television projections indicated. In so doing, the embattled leader, whose government fell Dec.

The weather at Razi Elementary School was depressing -- a driving winter rain mixed with occasional hail that soaked prospective voters as soon as they stepped out of their cars. Inside the school, local politicians fretted about the possibility of a record low turnout here in Israel's second-largest Arab city, and among Arab voters nationwide. On the streets, a protest against a right-wing Israeli politician serving as an election supervisor here briefly turned violent.

HISTORY: Israel was founded in 1948 after the Holocaust as a haven for Jews on part of what was their biblical homeland. At the time, the area was British-ruled Palestine and inhabited largely by Arabs, many of whom opposed a Jewish state. The Palestinians hope to establish their own state in the West Bank and Gaza as a result of Arab-Israeli peacemaking. LAND DISPUTE: In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

Mahmoud Abbas, president-elect of the Palestinian Authority, didn't wait for election officials to formally announce his victory. Instead, he was on the job first thing Monday morning -- perhaps because he knows he has his work cut out for him. Abbas, the 69-year-old successor to the late Yasser Arafat, received a daylong procession of dignitaries offering congratulations for his win in Sunday's landmark elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Mayor Shlomo Lahat of Tel Aviv, a member of the rightist Likud Bloc, came out publicly the other day in favor of giving the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to Jordan's King Hussein, a position shared by the most dovish wing of the rival Labor Alignment.

Mahmoud Abbas, president-elect of the Palestinian Authority, didn't wait for election officials to formally announce his victory. Instead, he was on the job first thing Monday morning -- perhaps because he knows he has his work cut out for him. Abbas, the 69-year-old successor to the late Yasser Arafat, received a daylong procession of dignitaries offering congratulations for his win in Sunday's landmark elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in mourning over his slain predecessor, took up the reins of government Tuesday, restating his commitment to peace and pushing ahead with the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the occupied West Bank. In meetings with world leaders and in public statements, Peres said he will not seek early elections. He said he is determined to press forward with the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace accord in the remaining year of the Labor-led government's term.

It seemed like a clear-cut choice for the 15,000 Israeli residents of the strategic Golan Heights: Labor Party candidate Shimon Peres talked of returning the Golan to Syria in exchange for a permanent peace treaty, while Likud Party hopeful Benjamin Netanyahu labeled any return of the green and wind-swept highlands "impossible." But to hear residents tell it Wednesday, it was a false choice. For them, the handwriting is already on the wall.

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization are trading angry accusations about who is to blame for the delay in holding West Bank and Gaza Strip elections called for in their peace accord. Both sides agree on one thing: It is growing increasingly unlikely that Palestinian elections will be held before the end of this year.

Duki Dror had already cast his ballot, marking his choices on the yellow and blue forms at the Aharon Katzir High School polling place in this breezy seaside city. But he lingered Wednesday in the morning sunlight, agonizing about issues of peace and security, about the hope and fear that loomed, as always, over the Israeli elections. "Here in this place, in the Middle East, we cannot take a chance and not succeed in it," said Dror, a documentary filmmaker.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, looking haggard and grim, tossed his second bombshell in 12 days into the political arena Saturday night, announcing at a hastily called news conference that he will resign today and face a new election in 60 days.

Israel's political picture was brought a little more into focus Monday, at least for the moment, as two of the main candidates for prime minister firmed up their positions and came out swinging. Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent, easily won a primary within his Likud Party and formally emerged as its candidate for prime minister, television projections indicated. In so doing, the embattled leader, whose government fell Dec.

HISTORY: Israel was founded in 1948 after the Holocaust as a haven for Jews on part of what was their biblical homeland. At the time, the area was British-ruled Palestine and inhabited largely by Arabs, many of whom opposed a Jewish state. The Palestinians hope to establish their own state in the West Bank and Gaza as a result of Arab-Israeli peacemaking. LAND DISPUTE: In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

Duki Dror had already cast his ballot, marking his choices on the yellow and blue forms at the Aharon Katzir High School polling place in this breezy seaside city. But he lingered Wednesday in the morning sunlight, agonizing about issues of peace and security, about the hope and fear that loomed, as always, over the Israeli elections. "Here in this place, in the Middle East, we cannot take a chance and not succeed in it," said Dror, a documentary filmmaker.

It seemed like a clear-cut choice for the 15,000 Israeli residents of the strategic Golan Heights: Labor Party candidate Shimon Peres talked of returning the Golan to Syria in exchange for a permanent peace treaty, while Likud Party hopeful Benjamin Netanyahu labeled any return of the green and wind-swept highlands "impossible." But to hear residents tell it Wednesday, it was a false choice. For them, the handwriting is already on the wall.

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in mourning over his slain predecessor, took up the reins of government Tuesday, restating his commitment to peace and pushing ahead with the expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the occupied West Bank. In meetings with world leaders and in public statements, Peres said he will not seek early elections. He said he is determined to press forward with the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace accord in the remaining year of the Labor-led government's term.

The weather at Razi Elementary School was depressing -- a driving winter rain mixed with occasional hail that soaked prospective voters as soon as they stepped out of their cars. Inside the school, local politicians fretted about the possibility of a record low turnout here in Israel's second-largest Arab city, and among Arab voters nationwide. On the streets, a protest against a right-wing Israeli politician serving as an election supervisor here briefly turned violent.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, looking haggard and grim, tossed his second bombshell in 12 days into the political arena Saturday night, announcing at a hastily called news conference that he will resign today and face a new election in 60 days.

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization are trading angry accusations about who is to blame for the delay in holding West Bank and Gaza Strip elections called for in their peace accord. Both sides agree on one thing: It is growing increasingly unlikely that Palestinian elections will be held before the end of this year.

Mayor Shlomo Lahat of Tel Aviv, a member of the rightist Likud Bloc, came out publicly the other day in favor of giving the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to Jordan's King Hussein, a position shared by the most dovish wing of the rival Labor Alignment.