During his stay here, Rocard held talks with Palestinian PoliceChief General Saeb el Aajez on arrangements to ensure a smoothpresidential election due on Jan. 9.

He also met with Rajo Sorani, head of the Palestinian Center forHuman Rights, who is also involved in observing the election. Sorani briefed Rocard on the ongoing Israeli violations of itspromise to give the Palestinians free access to the pollingstations in the election.

Rocard's visit to Gaza focused on inspecting the situation inthe Gaza Strip, especially Israeli troops' continuous incursionsinto the region and checkpoints that block the Palestinians' freemovement.

Among obstacles the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are facinginclude the closure of the Rafah terminal on the borders betweenthe Gaza Strip and Egypt. The terminal, the only outlet for thePalestinians in Gaza to go abroad, has remained closed for 15 days.

"The Israeli occupation forces are obliged to guarantee thePalestinians to enjoy their legitimate rights of having free andfair elections," said Sorani.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli cabinet approved a series ofmeasures to ensure a smooth Palestinian presidential election. The measures include a gradual withdrawal of Israel DefenseForces (IDF) troops from the West Bank cities, grantingPalestinians freedom of movement and allowing candidates tocampaign in East Jerusalem.

Some 600 foreign observers will stay across the Palestinianterritories to monitor the upcoming election.