Object Lesson

This is what fixing elections looks like. You want to fix an election, the Palestinians have it down pat. From intimidating people into not showing up to torching the ballot boxes themselves, the Palestinians have perfected the routine.

Voting in a primary election for the ruling Fatah faction was halted in a Palestinian town near the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday after ballot boxes were set on fire, election officials said.

Voting was called off in the town of Salfit "because of problems and divisions", said Ahmed al-Deek, a senior Fatah official. Election officials said some ballot boxes had been torched but there was no immediate word on who was behind it.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended voting in the Gaza Strip and at several West Bank voting stations earlier in the week due to widespread fraud and violence.

In an attempt to salvage the primary vote which has highlighted widening internal rifts in Fatah, Abbas set up a review board to finalize a list of the party's candidates for a January 25 parliamentary election.

Elections in the Palestinian controlled areas has always been a joke since the PA has always controlled things tightly - to the benefit of the PA (which is really Fatah and the PLO). Hamas doesn't like this monopoly on the ballot boxes, so they have tried to outdo the Fatah/PLO terrorists at their own game.