Thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cast ballots yesterday for the final phase of local elections seen as a bellwether of rival factions’ clout ahead of a landmark parliamentary poll in January. The voting has been deferred indefinitely in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians also seek statehood, despite Israel’s removal of soldiers and settlers from the coastal territory this month. Elections officials blamed a lack of time to prepare. Unlike in the first phase of the municipal election in May, when candidates ran individually, this time more than 144,000 voters in the West Bank will choose among faction lists. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ dominant Fatah faces stiff competition from main Islamist rival Hamas, whose charity networks, lack of corruption, and suicide bombings have won many Palestinian hearts during five years of fighting with Israel.

“Particularly after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the run-up to legislative elections, the municipal results will have important political implications as they will form the basis of how the factions will perform,” Jamal al-Shobaki, head of the Higher Commission for Local Elections, told Reuters. Opinion polls suggest Hamas enjoys 30 percent public support, pointing to significant gains when it takes part in the Jan. 25 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Sworn to Israel’s destruction, Hamas boycotted the only previous parliamentary poll, in 1996, in protest against Palestinian peace talks with the Jewish state. The prospect of an Islamist legislative sweep has raised eyebrows in Israel and abroad. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel would not help the Palestinians in facilitating votes in the West Bank in January if Hamas runs without first disarming. Hamas has vowed to keep its weapons and launched rockets at Israel from Gaza over the weekend despite an eight-month truce. Israel has responded with air strikes and a West Bank dragnet, detaining hundreds of militant suspects.

Hamas accused Israel of hobbling its chances in the local elections. But Shobaki, who said 15 municipal candidates and dozens of election monitors and coordinators were among those now in Israeli custody, anticipated little impact on the voting. “The arrests will not affect the elections. Some 100 or 200 votes will not affect the entire voting process,” Shobaki said. Voting centres opened at 7 a.m. Elections official Faris Yaghi said the 142 stations would be closed in 12 hours.