Nearly all the Palestinians are under self-rule…

Nearly all the Palestinians are under self-rule by early 1996; Israeli forces, though withdrawn from the major towns except Hebron, still control most of the occupied territories.

Elections are held in PA-administered areas on January 20, 1996, in which about three-fourths of Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza strip vote.

Palestinian voters overwhelmingly support 'Arafat's bid to become president of the self-ruling Palestine National Authority.

Arafat's only rival, Samiha Khalil, garners only 9.3% of the vote.

Arafat hails the election as "the foundation for our Palestinian state."

Officials estimate that seventy-five percent of eligible voters had gone to the polls, a clear rejection of the boycott called by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP.