At least seven Palestinian refugees stranded at the Egypt-Rafah border crossing closed by Israel for the past six weeks have succumbed to various illnesses. The dead men were part of 7000 people stranded somewhere between Cairo and the Rafah border crossing - the only crossing they can use to travel in and out of Gaza - since an explosion in a tunnel beneath the border killed six Israeli occupation soldiers on 12 December. Medical sources in Gaza and security sources in Egypt have spoken of families waiting to bury their dead in their hometown of Gaza, but forced to resort to the Egyptian border town of al-Arish after being turned back at the crossing. Read more about Rafah crossing closure takes tragic toll 

On the rear windshield of an old Peugeot, a sticker with the faces of Abu Mazen and late President Yasser Arafat gleamed in the Jerusalem sun. “Vote … Abu Mazen for president” the sticker read. For a myriad of reasons, not nearly as many people as could heeded the call in East Jerusalem. According to official statistics provided by the Central Elections Commission on January 10, only 26,365 out of 120,000 eligible voters in the occupied eastern sector of Jerusalem cast their votes for the next president of the Palestinian Authority on January 9. Read more about Jerusalemites take to the polls, but not in scores 

Palestine has been in the headlines of the Western mainstream media again. The preparations leading up to the elections on January 9 have given everyone enough news to cover — or rather: they have given the media enough news to cover up what is actually developing on the ground. But it is this current situation on the ground that will, if it is not stopped in time, more effectively shape the future for the Palestinian people than any electoral process ever could. Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, comments. Read more about Trapped Like Mice: Palestinians under the New Israeli "Disengagement Plan" 

January 9, 2005 — Many friends and family in the US have asked me whether or not I thought the Palestinian elections would be conducted in a free and fair manner. Today was an eye-opener with respect to the meaning of ‘free and fair’. Take a deep breath, dear reader, and I will take you through the many twists and turns taken by Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who were trying to vote in the Palestinian Authority elections. Of the 124,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem only six thousand were eligible to vote within East Jerusalem itself due to Israeli imposed restrictions. Molly Picon reports from Jerusalem. Read more about The Election Labyrinth of East Jerusalem 

Perhaps you saw images of flag-waving youth in Ramallah. Or maybe you heard the optimistic words of George W Bush and other world leaders about new opportunities for peace. Yet from where I was sitting in the West Bank city of Nablus, one thing was clear: voting for a president in a state that does not actually exist will not change much in the lives of the people here. It is clear how much the Palestinians want peace and good government, but after hearing the glowing, yet often patronising, cliches about ‘Arab democracy’ that have been bandied about in the media recently, the fact remains that Palestine can never experience true democracy while it remains under occupation. Read more about "Democracy" under Occupation 

At around 5 P.M., the Central Elections Commission allowed Palestinians to vote solely based on their identity cards, without any need to check them against the electoral register or census list. This caused many Palestinians who were not registered to vote to enter polling centers. EI’s Arjan El Fassed witnessed confused voters and chaotic scenes. Adding to the confusion, Palestinian police allowed anyone to enter polling stations. These could have lead to voter fraud, since voters would be able to vote twice without being checked against the population registry. Read more about Election Irregularities: Confusion and chaos after change of election rules 

“It looks like Eid,” someone tells me. Indeed, it is a sunny day in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In the early morning at some of the polling centers Gazans slowly show up. Members of the Central Election Commission are ready for the day. Boxes are sealed in front of the very few international observers in this part of the Gaza Strip. Local observers, including volunteers from various human rights organizations and party affiliates, are waiting to see what is going to happen. Read more about Election day polls open in Gaza 

Arjan El Fassed talks to Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip on the eve of the election for president of the Palestinian Authority. El Fassed is a co-founder of the Electronic Intifada and a member of UCP’s election mission, accredited as international election observers. Read more about Gaza on the eve of the elections 

Many Palestinians are boasting that they will soon enjoy, again, the most free and democratic elections in the entire Arab World. The only problem is that electing a Palestinian president while still under the boot of the occupier is an oxymoron. Sovereignty and occupation are mutually exclusive. The world, including many well-informed readers, seem to think that the Palestinian people is actually practicing the ultimate form of sovereignty by freely choosing its own president. This is easily extrapolated in the heads of many to mean that Palestinians are in a way free. So what’s all this talk about occupation? Read more about Slave Sovereignty: Palestinian Presidential Elections Under Occupation