RAMALLAH, Dec 23: Palestinians voted on Thursday in the first municipal elections in the West Bank in nearly three decades, a dress rehearsal for a presidential ballot next month to choose Yasser Arafat's successor.

The elections, which drew a heavy voter turnout, were expected to be a test of strength between the dominant Fatah movement and hard liners sworn to destroying Israel.

"This is democracy and freedom, and God willing we will choose the right people who will serve our needs," said Rahma Hamed, a school principal who voted in the village of Silwad, near Jerusalem.

In the West Bank, roughly 1,000 candidates were competing for about 300 seats on 26 local councils, mostly in villages, during the first phase of the elections. A similar poll in the Gaza Strip was delayed because violence prevented registration.

In the West Bank, long lines formed in front of polling stations in pleasant weather for what was also the first Palestinian ballot since Yasser Arafat was elected president in 1996.

To keep order at polling places, Israel allowed Palestinian police armed with pistols into some towns and villages that have been off-limits to them under interim peace accords signed in the early 1990s.

"This is the first step towards establishment of a Palestinian state," said Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, casting his vote in Abu Dis, near Jerusalem, where green flags of the Hamas movement were prominent.

"This is the start of the democratic process," he said. Firas Yaghi, head of the municipal election commission, said the council ballot "prepares the way for the presidential election" scheduled for Jan 9, when Palestinians will choose a successor to Mr Arafat.

Almost certain to win that election is Fatah candidate Mahmoud Abbas, a US-favoured moderate who opposes armed struggle and is expected to try and revive negotiations. -Reuters