Zakariye Zubeydi, a senior gunman from a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin, showed up with 15 armed militants from the pro-Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades to vote at a school. "I voted for Abu Mazen," he said.
An Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners -- a top priority for Abbas -- would give him a boost in his dealings with militants.
Israel holds an estimated 7,000 Palestinian prisoners. It released 159 prisoners last month, but Palestinians dismissed the gesture as insufficient.
Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said prisoners would be released after the vote but declined to say how many.
But they said progress would depend on Abbas' ability to stop Palestinian militants firing mortar fire and Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army eased travel restrictions and took other measures in Palestinian areas to facilitate yesterday's election. Hundreds of international observers from Europe, Japan and the US were also on hand, including former US President Jimmy Carter and former French premier Michel Rocard.
Only minor problems were reported in Gaza and the West Bank such as an Israeli failure to remove boulders from a road leading to a polling station near Nablus. But in Jerusalem, international observers complained the vote was disorganized, and Palestinians accused Israel of trying to intimidate them.
Only a fraction of the estimated 120,000 eligible Palestinian voters in Jerusalem were permitted to cast ballots in the city.
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