European foreign ministers have given a green light for European monitors to have contacts with Hamas during the upcoming legislative elections in the Palestinian Authority, slated for January 25, 2006.
The EU designates Hamas a terror organization, but in a Monday meeting in Brussels the ministers decided that contacts with Hamas are necessary for the observers to carry out their task.
Meanwhile, Hamas has announced that it has finalized its candidate list for the elections, but it has declined to specify names.
The European Commission has announced it will send a 172-member delegation to the P.A. ahead of the vote, to monitor the elections.
According to the Palestinian Al-Ayyam, 44 of the monitors will arrive in December, and the rest will arrive shortly before the vote.
January’s poll will be the first legislative election since the death of former Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat in November 2004. Israel has strongly opposed the participation of Hamas in the elections, as the organization has taken credit for many deadly terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Hamas also participated in the Palestinian municipal elections for the first time this year, making considerable gains. Both Israel and the ruling Fatah party fear they will repeat their success in the upcoming elections.
The EU is keen to see free and fair elections in the P.A. as a step toward a Palestinian state.
The EU, together with the United States, Russia and the United Nations, constitute the Quartet, which devised the Road Map for peace for getting the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians back on track.