Candidates Showing Posters Barred From Entering Jerusalem
Israeli troops blocked two Palestinian candidates from entering Jerusalem in cars plastered with campaign posters Sunday and detained two Palestinians after a scuffle.
Hanan Mikhail-Ashrawi, who gained prominence as spokeswoman for Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, said her driver and a bodyguard were beaten and arrested after she insisted on her right to enter Jerusalem to campaign for the first Palestinian elections.
“It is our right to have democratic elections,” Ashrawi said. “This behavior was unacceptable, brutal and illegal.”
A second candidate, Samir Krish, was stopped by police at another checkpoint and barred from entering the city in a car that also displayed posters.
Both Ashrawi and Krish are seeking election to the 88-member autonomy council to be chosen Saturday to govern areas that Israel has turned over.
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