(Angus Reid - CPOD) Dec. 14, 2004 - Former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah faction remains the candidate to beat in the Palestinian Authority's presidential election, according to a poll by the State Information Service (SIS). 53.4 per cent of respondents would vote for Abbas in the election.

Marwan Barghouti is in second place with 18.8 per cent. Barghouti was convicted in an Israeli court and sentenced to five life terms in prison for his alleged involvement in deadly attacks by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The poll was conducted before Dec. 12, when campaign manager Ahmed Ghnaim announced Barghouti's withdrawal from the election.

Barghouti's distant cousin Mustafa—the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative—was third with 8.9 per cent, followed by university professor Abdul Sattar Qassem and Tayssir Khaled of the socialist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The election was scheduled for Jan. 9, 2005 after the death of Yasser Arafat on Nov. 11. Former parliamentary speaker Rawhi Fattuh is the Palestinian Authority's interim president.

On Dec. 12, an explosion at a border-crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt killed five Israeli soldiers and wounded five more. Islamic groups Hamas took responsibility for the attack, and declared it was carried out with the participation of the radical Fatah Hawks branch.

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