Hamas Cleric Sandbags Hamas, Says "Don't Vote"

For months, Hamas has been conducting propaganda to explain why it decided to participate in the January 25 elections and bring supporters to the polls. Nimer's statement, which broke the Hamas taboo of not airing internal controversies in public, was immediately snatched by Fatah, and used by its election candidates and radio stations to mock and deride the organization.

More: Hamas: Extremists at the Ballot Box

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister, voiced his dismay. “Can you imagine any European country or the United States allowing a terrorist organisation to take part in elections?”

Israeli Intel: Abbas Losing Power, Marbles

Maariv newspaper reports today, and Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reported on January 4, that the PA Chairman, whose real name is Mahmoud Abbas, appears to be in a difficult emotional state. European and American representatives who recently met with Abbas confirm the reports.

The current diagnosis is that Abbas has lost control, as well as the confidence of those close to him, cancels meetings, and falls into depression from time to time. The Palestinian Authority, at least in Gaza, is close to total governmental collapse, the reports say.

Abbas: I'm Just Tired