Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday rejected appeals by the Palestinian
Authority to allow Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails to vote in the
upcoming presidential election.
"Israel will not be able to prepare for voting by prisoners in so short a
time," Chief Justice Aharon Barak said.
Hisham Abdel Razik, the Palestinian minister for prisoners' affairs, and two
prisoner representatives filed appeals with the Israeli Supreme Court earlier
this week, after an Israeli ministerial commission decided to ban the prisoners
from voting in the election.
The Palestinian presidential elections will be held on Jan. 9 to choose a
successor to Yasser Arafat, who died at a French military hospital in November
last year.
Among the seven candidates, Palestine Liberation Organization chairman
Mahmoud Abbas is widely regarded as a favorite to win the election.
