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Hamas leaders in West Bank warn of Israeli intimidation ahead of elections

Israeli intelligence warned a prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank against running in the Palestinian elections.
Members of the Palestinian security forces stand guard outside the  Legislative Council building in the occupied-West Bank town of Ramallah, on January 16, 202. - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced yesterday dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote. 
Abbas's Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, and the Hamas Islamists, who hold power in Gaza, have for years

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli intelligence summoned Jan. 24 Omar al-Barghouti, a 67-year-old leader in the Hamas movement, from the village of Kober, north of Ramallah, and warned him against running in the upcoming Palestinian elections.

Fifteen years since elections were last held in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree Jan. 15 setting the dates for general elections, beginning with the legislative elections on May 22.

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