Talal Sider, one of the advisers of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on religious affairs,announced Thursday he would run for the presidential elections dueon Jan. 9.

He told reporters that he was one of the people close to Arafat,adding "I have adequate capabilities to lead this nation and I amq ualified to do so."

Sider was one of the founders of Islamic resistance movement Hamas and a former Hamas leader in the southern West Bank town of Hebron.

Sider said he was arrested and deported to southern Lebanon in 1992 and stayed there for one year.

He joined the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1997.He ever acted as minister of youth and sports and minister ofstate in the PNA cabinet before being appointed as Arafat's adviseron religious affairs.

Sider was born in 1953 in Hebron. He got his secondary certificate from a vocational school, and ran free business for 20 years in housing projects.

He is married and has 10 children. Enditem