Peres Maintains Narrow Lead Israel Asks Hamas To Ban Terrorism Before Election

With only three days of active campaigning left before Israeli national elections, polls on Thursday showed Prime Minister Shimon Peres maintaining a slim but consistent edge over Benjamin Netanyahu.

Polls published on Thursday by the major Israeli newspapers gave Peres leads ranging from 4 to 7 percentage points, roughly the margin he has held for the last three weeks. And a televised debate set for Sunday - the only one in the campaign - appeared to be the last chance for the conservative challenger to try to make up the gap before the voting on Wednesday.

A poll by the daily Maariv showed that 38 percent of undecided voters said the debate could “possibly” influence their vote, while 58 percent said there was no chance it would.

A religious holiday that began on Thursday, Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses, means there will be no newspapers or television spots until Sunday.

Israel, in an extraordinary move, reportedly allowed officials from the political wing of Hamas to meet with their imprisoned leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, to ask that he call for a ban on terrorist attacks before the election.

A major terrorist attack would fire a rage that would not subside before the polls opened on Wednesday, and the common wisdom was that the anger would turn against the government, swinging the vote to the right.

Officials also said that Palestinians would be barred from entering Israel proper for two or three days before the election.

In anticipation of Sunday’s debate, the popular daily Yediot Ahronot published extensive interviews with both candidates. The questions centered largely on security, which has been at the heart of the campaign.

Netanyahu, who has sought to moderate his image as a hawk while rejecting the Labor government’s approach to negotiations with the Arabs, said that he would seek to reconvene the Madrid peace conference.

“The peace process with Syria is stuck,” Netanyahu said. “With the Palestinians as well, the process is stuck, and the peace with Jordan is tottering. I think that an act of ignition is needed to renew the process.”

Netanyahu also says that he would send troops into Palestinian-controlled cities to root out “terrorists,” and that he would “strengthen and develop” Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Peres dismissed the Likud charges on Jerusalem as “prattle,” and otherwise largely defended the government’s declared intentions to pursue peace talks with Syria and to continue “final settlement” talks with the Palestinians.

While their platforms broke little new ground, the battle of television images sharpened somewhat over the past week, and in the streets, tougher posters made their appearance. A poster that appeared in ultrareligious neighborhoods showed Peres and Arafat exchanging blood to become blood brothers. Underneath were the words “Peres suits me,” with the signatures of various militant Arab leaders.

Beyond the battle of the major candidates, this year, for the first time, Israelis are casting two ballots - one for the prime minister, and one for a Parliament.

Both major parties focused their energies on the prime minister’s race, and one result is that recent polls have shown an increasing number of voters expect to split their vote, making one choice for prime minister and choosing another for Parliament.