VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0190/01 0171718
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 171718Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9703
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG PBTS IS KPAL KDEM
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS SITREP 
#7: JANUARY 17, 2006: ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS 
TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF JERUSALEM VOTING 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.    (C) Summary.  Palestinian and Israeli officials met 
January 16 to work on technical issues relating to voting in 
East Jerusalem.  Officials discussed the possibility of 
issuing 6,000 tickets to East Jerusalem residents to allow 
them to vote at designated post offices.  Both sides are 
scheduled to meet January 17 for additional talks.  There is 
no resolution yet to an Israeli demand that Hamas not appear 
on ballots in Jerusalem.  Palestinian Authority (PA) 
President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) January 15 reportedly 
ordered PA Security Chiefs to defend polling stations with 
force, if necessary.  Israeli Police arrested Hamas 
candidates January 15 who attempted to hold a press 
conference in Jerusalem's Old City.  End summary. 
 
Technical Discussions Held 
Over Jerusalem Voting Modalities 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.    (C) Representatives from the Central Elections 
Commission (CEC) and the PLO Negotiations Support Unit 
January 16 met in Jerusalem with officials from the Jerusalem 
Police, the Israeli Postal Service, the IDF, and the Ministry 
of Justice to discuss modalities for Palestinian voting in 
East Jerusalem.  According to Palestinian contacts, 
discussions focused on the need for an "open" voter list 
since no registration was conducted for East Jerusalem 
residents.  The representatives considered a plan whereby 
6,000 tickets would be distributed to Jerusalem residents on 
a first-come, first-serve basis to vote in one of six post 
offices.  The majority of tickets (3,500) would be issued for 
the Salah al-Din Post office, with remaining 2,500 tickets 
dispersed evenly (500 apiece) for the other five post 
offices.  Tickets would be issued in advance of Election Day 
at special CEC offices set up for this purpose.  (Note: The 
proposed ticketing system is designed to avoid the confusion 
faced by Jerusalem voters during the January 2005 PA 
Presidential elections.  End note.) 
 
¶3.    (C) Jerusalem Police Chief Major General Franco, who 
attended the January 16 meeting, informed the Palestinian 
side that he would consider easing movement restrictions 
across checkpoints on Election Day to allow access for East 
Jerusalem residents who cannot vote at the post offices to 
polling centers outside of Jerusalem.  Franco added that he 
would raise these issues with senior Israeli Government 
officials and provide responses during a scheduled January 17 
meeting.  (Note: The representatives agreed to defer 
discussion of the Israeli demand that Hamas not be listed on 
the ballots in Jerusalem.  End note.) 
 
¶4.    (C) PA Minister of State Hind Khoury complained to the 
Consul General on January 17 that Israeli restrictions on 
campaigning and voting were discouraging voters in Jerusalem. 
 The continued uncertainty about election modalities has 
confused voters and delayed the CEC's voter education 
program.  Khoury commented that the Israelis are not even 
allowing the "1996 arrangements" to be used, noting that 
Jerusalem municipal employees are removing campaign posters 
as quickly as activists post them.  Factions have been fined 
for using billboards set aside by the municipality for the 
election because they don't obtain the required permits in 
advance. 
 
Abu Mazen Tells Security 
Chiefs "To Defend Elections" 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.    (C) During a January 15 meeting with PA security 
chiefs, Abu Mazen reportedly gave instructions that security 
forces secure the PLC elections by force, if necessary.  Abu 
Mazen said that he knew of groups and individuals who would 
attempt to sabotage the election process, but he nonetheless 
expected the PASF to be prepared for any eventuality.  He 
indicated that he had accepted the security plan submitted to 
him by PA Minister of Interior Nasser Yusif.  (Note: 
Palestinian factions rejected a MOI proposal to put aside 
their weapons in the run-up to and during the PLC elections. 
End note.) 
 
Hamas Candidates 
Detained In Jerusalem 
--------------------- 
 
¶6.    (C) Israeli Police January 15 arrested Hamas 
candidates, running on the "Change and Reform" list, who 
attempted to conduct a press conference near an entrance to 
 
 
the Old City.  The candidates were released from custody on 
January 16.  Elsewhere in Jerusalem, Israeli Police raided 
the campaign offices of the al-Badil national list ("The 
Alternative", a coalition of the DFLP, Palestinian People's 
Party, FIDA, and independents), confiscating documents and 
arresting five activists.  In the West Bank, the IDF arrested 
approximately 49 Palestinians January 14-16 in several 
localities, including Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Jenin, and Hebron. 
Hamas claimed that 15 of its activists arrested in Tulkarm 
and Qalqilya included several involved in campaign activity 
in the Northern West Bank. 
 
Fatah Ramps Up 
Campaign Activity 
----------------- 
 
¶7.    (C) According to Palestinian contacts, Fatah campaign 
activity increased in recent days, with candidates organizing 
rallies and town-hall style meetings.  Fatah candidates 
running in the district races have begun to appear at 
meetings together.  Fatah activists have also been observed 
affixing posters, tickers, and photos of Fatah candidates 
running on the national list and in the districts.  At least 
29 Fatah-affiliated independent candidates have indicated 
their intention to withdraw from the district races, a move 
that could improve prospects of the "official" Fatah 
candidates.  (Note: There are more than 100 Fatah-affiliated 
independents remaining in the district races.  End note.) 
 
Summary of Local 
Press Coverage 
---------------- 
 
¶8.    (SBU) Al-Quds January 17 led with a report that 
European officials were unhappy with Israeli attempts to 
prevent Hamas from participating in the PLC elections.  A 
statement issued by the European Commission January 16 
announced that such actions threatened the democratic process 
in the Palestinian territories.  All three Palestinian 
dailies reported that Secretary Rice recently said that 
Hamas' participation in any new government might harm 
Washington attempts to support the establishment of an 
independent Palestinian state.  Rice was also quoted that any 
new Palestinian government must respect the spirit and rules 
of the Quartet Roadmap. 
 
-- Al-Quds reported that Gaza Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar 
said that Hamas has not made a decision yet on its 
participation in a Palestinian government following the 
legislative elections. 
 
-- Al-Quds reported that the Israeli authorities prohibited 
Palestinians from holding a meeting January 16 in the Old 
City of Jerusalem to support candidates, despite Israel's 
decision to allow campaigning in Jerusalem. 
 
-- Ma'an News reported that Shaykh Nafiz Azzam, an Islamic 
Jihad leader, reiterated the movement's boycott of the PLC 
elections, clarifying that members of Islamic Jihad will not 
participate in the elections either as candidates or as 
voters. 
 
-- Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that three Jerusalem 
candidates and some of their supporters were assaulted and 
arrested by Israeli security forces on January 15 as they 
were campaigning in the Old City of Jerusalem. 
 
Op-eds: 
 
-- Al-Quds ran an op-ed by Anwar Khaled Badr, who wrote that 
Hamas members are planning to drastically change their 
ideology and tactics after the elections. 
 
-- Al-Quds ran a political cartoon depicting a balloting box 
as a tomb, with the word "Jerusalemites", and surrounded by 
cactus plants and barbed wire along with a Palestinian flag 
on the side. 
 
January 13-16 Summary 
of Local Press Coverage 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.    (SBU) In a January 15 press interview reported in 
al-Quds, al-Ayyam, and al-Hayat al-Jadida on January 16, PA 
President Abbas expressed happiness that Palestinian 
democracy is moving forward and growing.  Abbas told the 
three dailies that the Palestinian security forces have 
developed a plan to protect ballot boxes and that he 
 
 
personally informed security forces not to allow any armed 
persons, including body guards, to stand close to these 
boxes.  Abbas also said that he would not run for a second 
term as president. 
 
-- Al-Quds reported January 16 that, despite an Israeli 
decision to allow campaigning in Jerusalem, Israeli police 
closed down Hamas campaign offices in Jerusalem on January 15 
and arrested four Hamas candidates. 
 
-- Al-Quds January 15 reported that President Abbas rejected 
any external intervention in the PLC elections and expressed 
his opposition to threats launched by the U.S. in severing 
assistance to the PA should Hamas participate in a future 
government. 
 
-- Al-Quds carried a front page interview with Sa'ed Siam, a 
Hamas candidate in the Gaza Strip, who indicated that the 
Hamas electoral program centers on change and reform in the 
political, economic, social, health, and education areas.  In 
a related report, Hamas leader and PLC candidate Isma'il 
Hanniyah announced to the press that a major European country 
is willing to deal with Hamas should it win in the elections. 
 
WALLES