Palestinian presidential election kicks off

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Palestinian presidential election frontrunner Mahmoud Abbas continues his election campaigns on Dec. 28, 2004. He vowed on Wednesday to follow the steps the late leader Yasser Arafat to realize Palestinian national rights. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

    BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas cancelled a campaign stop in Jerusalem on Friday. The reason is Israeli security arrangements may have proved embarrassing.

    Instead, he went to a West Bank village on the edge of East Jerusalem. Abbas, the overwhelming favorite in Sunday's vote, was tentatively scheduled to travel to Jerusalem to pray at the al-Aqsa mosque on the final day of campaigning. According to one official, Israel wanted heavy security to protect from Jewish extremists. But Abbas reportedly found the prospect "embarrassing".

   (Source: cctv.com)