GAZA CITY (AFP) - Hamas announced it would boycott the election of a successor to Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, further clearing the path for PLO leader Mahmud Abbas in January`s contest.
"The presidential election is illegal," the radical Islamic group`s leader in Gaza, Mahmud Zahar, told reporters as he entered talks here with Abbas.
"This election is a continuation of the Oslo process which has already failed and is finished."
The announcement had been widely expected as Hamas has consistently rejected the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords, which paved the way for the creation of the Palestinian Authority.
The smaller Islamist movement Islamic Jihad had confirmed on Monday that it would not contest the election slated for January 9.
The decision by Hamas is a major boost to Abbas` hopes of being elected to replace Arafat, who won the first and only presidential election in 1996.
The dominant Fatah faction is understood to have agreed on Abbas as its candidate. But while polls show that Fatah remains the most popular of the Palestinian parties, its support has been eroded in recent years amid growing disillusionment at the performance of Arafat`s administration.
Some polls have shown that Hamas now enjoys more popularity than Fatah in its Gaza stronghold.
Ismail Haniya, another senior member of the organisation in Gaza, said no firm decision had yet been made over whether to participate in separate municipal and parliamentary elections which are expected in the spring.
"We will confer later about whether we will participate in the general elections," he said.
Ahead of the talks with Abbas, Zahur repeated his desire for unity among the Palestinian factions in the light of Arafat`s death.
"We must have a mechanism so that we can arrive at a united position between us and Abu Mazen (Abbas) in order that we can create a national leadership," he said.
Abbas` candidacy received a further boost with the endorsement of Mohammed Dahlan, who is the key powerbroker in Gaza, and served as security minister last year.
"Only Abu Mazen (Abbas) can act as a bridge between the past, present and future," Dahlan said in an interview.
Dahlan vowed that a gunfight inside a mourning tent for Arafat in Gaza on Sunday, which broke out shortly after he and Abbas arrived, would act as a spur to address the fraught security crisis in the territory.
"The incident ... will push the Palestinian leadership to take measures as soon as possible to enforce the law. But we cannot bring about a solution just by pressing a button," he said.
Confronting fears that security may disintegrate following the death of Arafat, outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed that he was to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank next Monday and Tuesday.
It will be one of the last missions for Powell, who is quitting after four years and was replaced Tuesday by one of US President George W. Bush`s closest aides, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.
On Monday, Powell welcomed the "responsible manner (in) which Palestinian leaders have started to come together". Bush described Arafat`s death last week as a chance to open a new chapter in the elusive Middle East peace process.
But Powell stressed that the White House would only resume peace initiatives when "the Palestinian leadership is in place and when they have made clear what their commitments are and have started to act on those commitments."
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who is on an official visit to Washington, said Powell`s visit would "promote the electoral process, which will enable the emergence of a moderate and responsible Palestinian leadership".
Despite paying tribute to Powell, Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat called on his replacement to toe a more balanced line.
"We hope that in the future, the United States and President Bush will exercise balance with its policies in our region," he told AFP.
Washington and Israel see Abbas as a relative moderate, unlike Arafat who was branded a terrorist and cold-shouldered for four years.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon extended an olive branch to Abbas Tuesday by saying he would consider coordinating his unilateral plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip with the Palestinians if the new leadership shows a willingness to fight "terror".
"If, with time, we see a Palestinian leadership which is ready to fight terror, we might be able to reach security coordination and an agreement regarding the area to be evacuated," Sharon told reporters in Jerusalem.

11/16/2004 - 18:06 GMT - AFP