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DE RUEHJM #0114/01 0091833
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 091833Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9604
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG PBTS IS KPAL KDEM
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS SITREP 
#4: JANUARY 9, 2006: CEC OFFICIALS RECEIVE CONFLICTING 
MESSAGES ON ELECTION DAY SECURITY 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.    (C) Summary.  Central Elections Commission (CEC) 
officials January 9 reported to the Consul General that the 
Ministry of Interior (MOI) has provided conflicting messages 
on its ability to provide Election Day security.  The MOI has 
agreed to abide by CEC procedures for early voting for the 
Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF).  Al-Aqsa 
militants in the West Bank city of Jenin have warned 
international observers to leave the city.  European Union 
observers have remained, but are restricting their activity. 
Palestinian media reports indicated that Israel would allow 
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) candidates, with the 
exception of Hamas and other militant groups, to campaign in 
East Jerusalem.  End summary. 
 
CEC Chairman Hanna Nasir: 
"It's Abu Mazen's Call" 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.    (C) In a January 9 discussion with the Consul General, 
CEC Chairman Dr. Hanna Nasir said the CEC was receiving 
conflicting messages from the PA.  On the one hand, the 
Minister of Interior informed PA President Abbas (Abu Mazen) 
and Prime Minister Quraya' (Abu Ala'a) that the MOI cannot 
provide security for the election.  On the other, MOI 
officials have told the CEC they developed an elections 
security plan.  Despite these conflicting messages, Nasir 
said the CEC would continue to plan for elections as 
scheduled on January 25.  Any delay would require a decision 
by Abu Mazen.  Nasir also expressed to the Consul General his 
concerns that time was running out on arranging voting 
modalities for East Jerusalem.  He said that the officials 
from the CEC Jerusalem district office would meet with 
Israeli officials on January 9.  (Note: The meeting was 
reportedly to work out arrangements for campaign activities 
in East Jerusalem.  End note.) 
 
MOI Agrees to 
CEC Voting Procedures 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.    (C) Regarding voting arrangements for PA Security 
Forces (PASF), Nasir said that the MOI has agreed to CEC 
procedures for the PASF and that its forces would comply "in 
a fairly acceptable way."  Despite these assurances, Nasir 
expressed lingering concerns over how the vote will proceed 
for the PASF commencing January 22. 
 
Fatah/PA Still 
Unsure About Elections 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.    (C) In the meeting with the Consul General, CEC Chief 
Electoral Officer Ammar Dweik said that holding elections on 
January 25 appeared riskier than implementing a delay.  Nasir 
said the root of the PA's security problems was meshed in 
domestic Palestinian politics.  The Fatah leadership had yet 
to agree on the desirability of holding elections.  Nasir 
opined that the Fatah leadership would need to publicly rally 
behind idea of elections if they are to occur as scheduled. 
 
Al-Aqsa Warns International 
Monitors to Leave Jenin 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.    (C) Jenin-based al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader 
Zakaria Zubaydah issued a statement over the weekend 
demanding that international election observers leave Jenin 
immediately on January 7, stating that elections will not be 
held in Jenin until the IDF withdraws from the municipality 
and an agreement is reached regarding Jerusalem's 
participation in the PLC elections.  A mid-level contact at 
the PA Ministry of Interior told ConGen Poloff during a 
January 9 telecon that al-Aqsa militants were looking for a 
way to use the presence of the election monitors to pressure 
the PASF into giving them jobs.  The gunmen were also worried 
about Fatah's prospects vis--vis Hamas in Jenin.  CEC 
officials reported that the Jenin district office would 
remain open, but at a heightened state of alert.  EU election 
monitors in Jenin are also operating under tighter security 
precautions. 
 
Summary of Local 
Press Coverage 
---------------- 
 
¶6.    (SBU) The Palestinian dailies January 9 ran front-page 
 
 
reports that Israel would allow PLC candidates to campaign in 
East Jerusalem.  Fatah PLC candidate Hatem 'Abd al-Qader 
reported that the Israeli Police informed him that candidates 
from Jerusalem were authorized to campaign in the city 
commencing January 9. 
 
-- Al-Ayyam quoted a senior PASF commander in the Jenin area 
who issued a warning for those considering attacks against 
international election observers.  The commander urged 
international observers not to leave the Jenin area, adding 
that the PA was determined to safeguard their presence. 
 
-- Ma'an News Agency quoted the General Secretary of the 
Palestinian Popular Committees, Azmi Shioki, who called on 
PLC candidates to "think about impoverished families" as they 
spend money on their election campaigns. 
 
Op-eds: 
 
-- 'Abd al-Rahman Abu Arafeh, head of the Arab Thought Forum, 
wrote January 9 in al-Quds that the January 25 date for PLC 
elections must be upheld, adding that there should be a 
unified national Palestinian position that would leave no 
doubt as to when the legislative elections should be held. 
 
-- Al-Ayyam columnist Hasan al-Batal criticized Hamas for its 
"contradictory positions," the first concerning its 
"hard-line" stance about negotiating with Israel, and the 
other related to its "practical" position related to the 
issue of voting in Jerusalem. 
 
-- Al-Quds ran a political cartoon January 9 depicting a 
candidate trying to give money to potential voters as he 
says, "It is not a bribe; just consider it an Eid gift." 
 
January 7-8 Summary 
of Local Press Coverage 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.    (SBU) The Palestinian dailies led with reports that six 
national lists, including Fatah, Reform and Change (Hamas), 
Salam Fayyad's "Third Way," Mustafa Barghouthi's "Independent 
Palestine," the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa (PFLP), and "The 
Alternative" (DFLP, PPP, FIDA, and independents) have called 
for an immediate meeting with Abu Mazen to reach to a 
"strict, clear and unified" decision concerning the holding 
of the forthcoming elections. 
 
-- Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted reports that 
Israel continued its "oppressive practices" against 
parliamentary candidates in Jerusalem. 
 
-- Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida ran front-page reports that 
the European Union demanded that Israel come to a decision 
regarding voting in East Jerusalem.  Al-Hayat al-Jadida cited 
an AFP report that quoted a spokesperson for the European 
Observers Mission stating that it was imperative that a final 
decision on the elections be taken by Israel. 
 
-- Al-Quds and al-Ayyam carried reports that the National 
Democratic Institute and the Carter Center suggested three 
alternatives for voting in East Jerusalem, including 
balloting in mobile convoys. 
 
WALLES