 |
 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Israel votes under threat of violence
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israelis are voting for a new prime minister, facing a choice between two former generals, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. Palestinians have declared a day of rage to coincide with the poll and one Israeli soldier was killed on the election eve. About 15,000 security personnel are on duty across Israel trying to ensure the vote is not disrupted by the threatened violence. Opinion polls have consistently given Sharon a strong lead over the incumbent Barak, who called the election after his coalition government's lost its majority in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. As Barak cast his vote he said: "This is a choice between extremism ... and putting an end to the conflict (with the Palestinians)." Voting began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and were to close at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT). An initial outcome is expected close to 2.00 a.m. on Wednesday (0000 GMT). CNN correspondent Jerrold Kessel said people had been flocking to polling booths in Gilo, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in the first two hours of voting.
Sharon kept a low profile on Monday while his rival continued campaigning. Barak said: "We don't want to even speculate that he (Sharon) might win. "There has been a dramatic shift in the last 24 hours to the peace camp. People who were disappointed in me are realising what the alternative is. "They are coming back to me in their tens of thousands." But the latest opinion poll, by the Dahaf Institute, gave Sharon would a 56-37 percent lead over Barak, with seven percent of the electorate still undecided. The army said it had sealed off the West Bank and Gaza for election day, as it has done during past polling. About 15,000 security personnel were on duty during the day. Palestinians declared a day of rage to coincide with the ballot as the four-month-old violence continued overnight with Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen clashing in the West Bank and Gaza. In Gaza, a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier on the election eve. Barak was submitted to a grilling on Monday by Israeli television interviewers -- who repeatedly asked him where he had gone wrong. Raising his voice at times, Barak, 58, said a stronger Israeli response to the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, was no solution. "Separating from the Palestinians and putting a border between us is the true answer," he said, touting a plan he has pledged to put into motion should a peace treaty prove impossible to achieve. Sharon, long reviled by Arabs for military assaults that included Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, has tried to shake off his warlike image during the campaign, casting himself as a kindly grandfather. He has ruled out any peace talks until the violence stops. At least 318 Palestinians, 52 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since the Intifada erupted in September after Sharon visited a hotly contested Jerusalem shrine called al-Haram al-Sharif by Muslims and Temple Mount by Jews. Supporters of the two candidates each described their contender as best suited to maintain Israel's security and reach a peace deal with Palestinians. Azmi Bishara, a Barak supporter member of the Knesset, said: "I think the Israelis should decide what they want -- peace with Arabs or not." But Uzi Landau, an adviser to Sharon -- who has taken a hard-line approach to dealing with Palestinians throughout his career -- said the right-wing leader is better suited to bring an end to the violent clashes between the two sides. "If the Palestinians want to continue to negotiate with us, they have to stop terrorism," Landau said. Whichever candidate wins he will have to deal with a fractious parliament. Sharon has said his goal is to form a unity government that would include Barak's Labor Party. But Barak, 58, has said he would not be part of what he called an "extremist government." If Sharon cannot form a unity government, his option would be to form a coalition government made up of right-wing and ultra-religious parties. That coalition would have only a narrow majority, limiting his ability to govern and negotiate with the Palestinians. Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES:
Barak tries to coax Israeli Arabs to polls as vote nears RELATED SITES:
Israeli Prime Minister's Office |
|
|
WORLD
U.S. 'ready to talk' with N. Korea Death toll nears 1,000 in South Asia's cold spell IAEA: Year for Iraq inspections U.S. doubles forces in Persian Gulf Mugabe resignation offer proposed OPEC to raise daily oil output (MORE)
![[CNN.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/newsnet/cnnlogo.gray.gif){kind=small} TOP STORIESN. Y. plans to heal skyline Stocks rise on Case departure Lieberman's presidential announcement today New arrests may be linked to UK ricin scare (MORE)
![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo} SPORTSJordan says farewell for the third time Shaq could miss playoff game for child's birth Ex-USOC official says athletes bent drug rules (MORE)
 All Scoreboards
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back to the top | |
© 2003 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. |
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri: Israelis want security without the peace
Benny Elon, Knesset member, explains what the election means for Jewish settlers
Barak expresses hope after casting his vote
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
(