Wednesday, January 25 2006 11:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ramallah: Palestinians began voting today (Jan 25,2006) in their first parliamentary election for a decade, with the ruling Fatah party facing an unprecedented challenge to its grip on power from Hamas.

Around 1.34 million residents of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and annexed east Jerusalem are entitled to cast their ballots in an election whose outcome promises to have a profound impact on the future course of the Middle East.

Massive security was in place across the Palestinian territories when polls opened at 7 am (1030 IST).

Members of Hamas could be seen welcoming voters into the polling stations as the doors opened in the radical Islamists' Gaza Strip stronghold.

In the West Bank, small queues had formed outside schools and other public buildings across the territory where voting was to take place.

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has told security forces to react with an iron fist to anyone who attempts to disrupt the vote, while the main armed factions have all pledged to ensure that the vote passes off peacefully.

In an election-eve message to the Palestinian people,Abbas said the vote would serve as a decisive step on the path to statehood and usher in a new era of political pluralism and democracy.

"This great day will be of historic significance, a decisive step on the road to freedom and independence," he said.

An election-eve poll by the Ramallah-based Near East Consulting institute, forecast Fatah would win only 59 out of the 132 seats, five more than Hamas, with the rest split between minor parties and independents.