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Palestinians Approve 36 Candidate Groups to Run in May Vote

A picture taken with a drone shows the exterior of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Gaza City March 30, 2021. Picture taken March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
A picture taken with a drone shows the exterior of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Gaza City March 30, 2021. Picture taken March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
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Palestinians Approve 36 Candidate Groups to Run in May Vote

A picture taken with a drone shows the exterior of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Gaza City March 30, 2021. Picture taken March 30, 2021. (Reuters)
A picture taken with a drone shows the exterior of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in Gaza City March 30, 2021. Picture taken March 30, 2021. (Reuters)

Palestinian election officials announced Sunday that 36 candidate lists had been approved to run in legislative elections set for next month, the first Palestinian polls in 15 years.

The vote, which precedes a presidential election called for July 31, is part of an effort by the dominant Palestinian movements -- Fatah secularists and Hamas Islamists -- to boost international support for Palestinian governance, AFP reported.

Groups had until Wednesday to submit their lists of candidates to contest in the May 22 legislative polls.

Individual names on each list are due to be published Tuesday, but the Palestinian electoral commission announced on its website that it had approved all 36 applications.

President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is contesting the polls, as is Hamas, which has run the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip since 2007.

Fatah is facing challenges from dissident factions including the Freedom list, led by a nephew of the late Palestinian icon Yasser Arafat, Nasser al-Kidwa.

Freedom has been endorsed by Marwan Barghouti, a popular leader whom supporters have described as the Palestinian Mandela.

Barghouti is serving multiple life sentences in Israel for allegedly organizing deadly attacks during the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) from 2000-2005.

Abbas’s former Gaza security chief, Mohammed Dahlan, is also backing a list of challengers.

Former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, an ex-World Bank official with a track record of fighting corruption, is supporting another.

While Fatah and Hamas have reached an agreement for voting to take place in the West Bank and Gaza, the ability of Palestinians in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem to vote remains uncertain.

Israel bans all Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem, but Palestinian leaders insist voting be held in the city’s east, which they claim as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)

Judicial authorities in Egypt have issued an arrest and extradition warrant for Ahmad al-Mansour, who allegedly made threats against Egypt from Syria. He was reportedly apprehended by security forces in Damascus, an informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.
A source at the Syrian interior ministry told Reuters that Syria's new authorities have detained al-Mansour over threats he made to the government in Cairo.
The source said that al-Mansour has posted several videos threatening Egyptian authorities, and calling for protests.
Lately, al-Mansour had caused a huge controversy after appearing in a taped video of himself surrounded by masked fighters in a room decorated with a flag associated with the Egyptian monarchy before the 25 January revolution.
Al-Mansour's calls were rejected, even by Egyptian opponents, who said his speech harms the peacefulness of the January 25 revolution in 2011.
Research conducted by Asharq Al-Awsat found no judicial rulings recorded against al-Mansour, whether on terrorist or criminal charges.
The informed Egyptian source said the authorities issued an arrest warrant for al-Mansour on charges of joining armed terrorist groups, incitement to overthrow the regime by force of arms, and threatening Egyptian national security.
“Authorities are also preparing a file to request his extradition from Syria,” the source said.
Egypt's request to return al-Mansour does not require judicial rulings, the source added.
It is enough for Egyptian authorities to ask for his extradition on the grounds of questioning him, especially on criminal charges, the source said.
MP Mustafa Bakri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian authorities will not hand over Ahmad al-Mansour to Egypt. “They arrested al-Mansour only to prevent him from abusing authorities in Egypt and to avoid any clash with Cairo,” he said.
For his part, Syrian activist and journalist Abdul-Karim Omar, who is close to the new administration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the current Syrian authorities are careful not to turn the new Syria into a threat to any country. “They want to preserve Syria’s relationship with Egypt,” he said.
Omar said he does not know whether the administration in Syria plans to hand al-Mansour over to Egypt, but assured that the new administration is keen to get have closet ties with Cairo.