Two prominent Palestinian politicians have been prevented from electioneering in east Jerusalem on the first day of campaigning in the Palestinian legislative elections. The candidates, Hanan Ashrawi and Mustafa Barghouti, were told no Palestinian political activity was allowed in east Jerusalem under Israeli law.It is still unclear whether Israel will carry out its threat to ban Palestinians from voting in Arab east Jerusalem in protest against the participation of candidates from the militant group Hamas. Dr Ashwari has said Israeli police immediately intervened when she arrived in the area carrying election posters. "The police came and the border guards, the Israeli police and the Israeli border guards, and they tried to prevent me and I told them, 'No, we have the full right to address our constituents, and they have the full right to hear us'," she said. "The police then attacked to take away our banners, so there was a scuffle, and they forcibly and repeatedly tried to take it. Finally they did succeed, of course - they're much stronger than I am."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir says Palestinians have no right to be campaigning in east Jerusalem. "There is an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which was signed for the 1996 elections, as part of the Oslo agreement," he said. "Jerusalem is the undivided capital of the state of Israel - it's not part of any Palestinian territory because the only thing they can do there is vote in the post offices."