Mideast quartet pushes for East Jerusalem voting

Wed Dec 28, 5:53 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major-power mediators for the Middle East conflict urged Israel on Wednesday to work with the Palestinian Authority to ensure Palestinians in East Jerusalem can vote in next month's parliamentary elections.

The quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations also urged the Palestinian Authority to assure the security of polling stations and employees of its Central Election Committee.

The statement was issued a day after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan conferred on its text by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.N. officials said.

Israel said last week it would not allow East Jerusalem residents to vote in the January 25 election because the Islamic militant group Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, was taking part in the campaign. A senior Israeli official said on Monday that Israel was considering dropping the threatened ban.

Palestinians living in East Jerusalem carry Israeli identity cards but see themselves as citizens of a future Palestinian state. They were allowed to vote in a Palestinian presidential ballot this year.

The quartet statement issued on Wednesday said it was essential the Israeli and Palestinian authorities begin immediately to coordinate election preparations.

"Both parties should work to put in place a mechanism to allow Palestinians resident in Jerusalem to exercise their legitimate democratic rights, in conformity with existing precedent," the statement said.

It also urged the Palestinian Authority to prohibit political parties from pursuing their goals through violence.

The quartet believes a future Palestinian Cabinet "should include no member who has not committed to the principles of Israel's right to exist in peace and security and an unequivocal end to violence and terrorism," it said.

Palestinian infighting has worsened before the elections. Employees at the Central Election Committee office in Gaza City had to dive for cover on Wednesday as Palestinian gunmen briefly exchanged fire with police outside their office in the Gaza Strip.

It took several minutes until police restored order and the gunmen, from President Mahmoud Abbas' mainstream Fatah faction, left. There were no reports of casualties.

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