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Palestinians can't fathom Richard Gere's latest incarnation as a cheerleader for their elections this weekend. Gere urged Palestinians in a television commercial broadcast ahead of Sunday's poll in the West Bank and Gaza to get out to vote for a new president to succeed Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), who died in November.
"Hi, I'm Richard Gere and I'm speaking for the entire world. We're with you during this election time. It's really important. Get out and vote," Gere said in the advertisement.
But many voters, already struggling with the labyrinthine politics of the West Bank and Gaza, say they have never heard of the actor and were even less interested when they were told he's an American.
"I don't even know who the candidates are other than Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), let alone this Gere," Gaza soap factory worker Manar an-Najar told Reuters on Wednesday.
"We don't need the Americans' intervention. We know who to elect. Not like them -- they elected a moron."