In spite of many, many difficulties, Palestinian legislative elections will be held on schedule today. This is quite an achievement. The elections are being held under the severest of conditions imposed by the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank. Restrictions on movement in particular are as draconian as ever. Of all the factors that will make these elections necessarily imperfect, the inability of people, candidates and election workers to move freely from one place to another, from town to town and from village to village, must count as the biggest.

In fact, the combination of restrictive Israeli practices and discontented Palestinian groups nearly succeeded in bringing about a cancellation of the elections. Using Israeli closures and restrictions as an excuse, groups that were worried they would find themselves disenfranchised after elections maintained that voting should not go ahead. Using the chaos that was created by some armed elements associated with these Palestinian groups, Israel only further tightened its restrictions.

Indeed, the closing of access to Jerusalem almost served the purpose of those in the Palestinian areas who, only a few weeks ago, seemed determined to prevent elections. Certainly, the performance of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas must be commended in this regard. Facing a Fatah leadership that was swinging between hesitancy and determination to postpone elections, Abbas made it clear that voting was a sine qua non for future progress and would take place regardless.

Abbas has shown unprecedented steadfastness and should be considered the champion of this election. Israel, however, certainly hasn't been supportive. It has no interest in allowing the Palestinians to be seen as the most prominent Arab democracy and a real competitor with Israel in this particular image contest. That's why, especially in the last few weeks, Israel tightened restrictions on Palestinian life, including on movement essential so that free and democratic elections could take place. Recent reports by relevant United Nations agencies and the periodical monitoring reports released by the Quartet envoy James Wolfensohn and his team show a dramatic increase in Israeli restrictions.

Abbas' absolute insistence on holding elections on time came from his strategic understanding of how to proceed. When he was elected, the president promised to end the chaos and lawlessness that prevailed on the Palestinian street, and also end Palestinian-Israeli violence. He made it clear that the best way to do so was to be inclusive. Elections are the most crucial step in this strategy, because it is through elections that the different Palestinian political groups will take their proper place in the system. By so doing, the factions are automatically binding themselves to the rule of the majority and the rule of law.

In the context of the Israeli occupation, Abbas has consistently maintained that violence will serve no purpose and the only way forward is through peaceful, political negotiations. His efforts with the opposition factions to negotiate and maintain a ceasefire were also predicated on the holding of free and fair elections open to all parties.

Indeed, Abbas has been remarkably successful in turning violent opposition into political opposition. And this is a victory for the peace camp that very few analysts have noticed. Abbas has succeeded in having all political groups and factions compete politically to win the support of the public, within the parameters of the Oslo Agreement and the laws and regulations of the Palestinian Authority that was created by Oslo and on the basis of its dictates. This is a significant and positive development, compared with the previous elections in 1996, in which almost half the population and political groups were unwilling to take part.

Ghassan Khatib is the Palestinian Authority minister of planning and has been a political analyst and media contact for many years. This commentary first appeared on bitterlemons.org, an online newsletter that publishes contending views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.