VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0240/01 0191758
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 191758Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9781
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000240 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL KWBG PGOV PINS PTER KPAL IS PBTS KDEM
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS 
SITREP #8: JANUARY 19, 2006 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 00238 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.    (C) SUMMARY.  Fatah and Hamas candidates in Gaza signed 
an agreement pledging to refrain from displaying weaponry and 
abide by the democratic process.  Israeli and Palestinian 
negotiators met January 18 for additional discussions 
regarding Jerusalem voting.  During a January 18 meeting at 
CEC headquarters in Ramallah, CEC Chairman Dr. Hana Nasir 
indicated that the Ministry of Interior had provided the CEC 
the PASF,s security plan for the January 25 PLC elections. 
Fatah candidates have stepped up their campaign activities in 
the West Bank.  A total of 45 Fatah independent candidates 
have withdrawn from the district races.  Hamas officials 
published accusations claiming that PLC candidate Muhammad 
Dahlan is corrupt and collaborates with Israeli security 
officials.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Election Day Security 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) During a January 18 meeting at CEC headquarters in 
Ramallah with Consul General, CEC Chairman Dr. Hana Nasir 
indicated that the Ministry of Interior had provided the CEC 
the PASF,s security plan for the January 25 PLC elections 
(details of plan in reftel).  Nasir expressed concern, 
however, about the effectiveness of the PASF on Election Day. 
 
 He worried in particular about a breakdown in communication 
between the security personnel in the field and their 
commanders.  The Consul General responded that USG officials 
relayed messages to Abu Mazen, Nasir Yusif and all security 
chiefs that everything must be done to secure the elections. 
Nasir urged that this message be repeated to the PA through 
Election Day. 
 
¶3. (C) Nasir also indicated that the CEC was requesting that 
the PA move PASF voting forward one day to begin on January 
21, in order to allow for PASF enough time to return to their 
posts on January 24.  CEC Chief Electoral Officer Ammar Dweik 
said the GOI needed to facilitate the movement of the PASF in 
the West Bank.  Dweik indicated that there were several 
hundred West Bank PASF personnel who should return to the 
Gaza Strip to vote.  The Consul General encouraged Dweik to 
coordinate that movement of those required to vote in Gaza. 
 
Progress on Jerusalem 
Voting Modalities 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met January 18 for 
additional discussions regarding Jerusalem voting.  According 
to ConGen contacts, both sides have reached consensus on most 
of the modalities for voting in six East Jerusalem post 
offices.  According to the agreed arrangements, the CEC will 
open three offices in East Jerusalem to issue 6,000 
&tickets8 to potential voters using the same eligibility 
standards required of East Jerusalem residents who would 
otherwise vote outside the municipal boundaries of the city. 
The tickets would be color-coded for one of the six post 
offices.  On Election Day, the voter will present the ticket 
at the post office, which will then be able to match the 
ticket to information provided by the CEC.  Indelible ink 
placed on the finger of each voter to prevent double voting. 
In addition, Israel agreed to return all material. 
 
¶5. (C) Israel has also agreed to refrain from entering the 
three CEC offices, except in an emergency.  The offices 
distributing the tickets will display no PA or CEC signs. 
The Israeli representatives agreed to provide answers to 
additional requests, including a letter of assurance that 
there would be no retribution against voters and a CEC 
request that postal clerks comply with PA law and stamp 
ballots when issued.  (Note: Neither side raised the issue of 
Hamas participation.  Dr. Hana Nasir told the Consul General 
that the CEC would not make an issue of it, but warned that 
he would cancel the PLC elections if Israel attempted to 
tamper with the ballots on Election Day.  End note. 
 
Fatah and Hamas Agree not to 
Display Weapons 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Fatah and Hamas agreed to refrain from displaying 
weapons on Election Day.  PLC candidates Said Siyam (Hamas) 
and Samir Mashhari (Fatah) signed a document on January 18 in 
Gaza stipulating that both sides will abide by the Elections 
Law, compete democratically and respect the results.  The 
document also states that the two sides will cooperate with 
 
the PASF to secure polling stations and form joint committees 
to oversee the election process. 
 
Fatah Increasing 
Campaign Activity 
----------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Fatah has noticeably increased campaign activities 
ahead of the January 25 PLC elections.  Fatah activists in 
the West Bank and Gaza have been reaching out to 
disillusioned Fatah members and the general public through 
text messaging and other media communications.  In the 
northern West Bank districts of Jenin and Tulkarem, Fatah 
activists are conducting a door-to-door mobilization 
campaign.  Al-Aqsa Brigades in Nablus released a statement 
backing down on its threat to attack polling stations in the 
city.  Senior PA security officials and Fatah leaders have 
been in contact with potentially problematic elements of 
al-Aqsa Brigades in various areas to ensure security on 
Election Day. 
 
Fatah Independent Candidates 
Withdrawal From District Races 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Salah Shadid, a Brigadier General in the PA General 
Intelligence, pulled out of the Tulkarem district race.  Dr. 
'Abd al-Rahman al-Turk, a Fatah independent candidate and 
lecturer at al-Najah university pulled out from the race in 
Salfit district race.  A total of 45 Fatah independents have 
pulled out of the district races, bettering Fatah's chances 
in district races. 
 
Hamas and Dahlan 
Trade Insults 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Hamas has established a link on its website attacking 
PLC candidate Muhammad Dahlan.  The link displays pictures of 
Dahlan with Israeli officials and implies that he is an 
Israeli security agent.  The link also contains articles 
accusing Dahlan of assisting in the IDF missile strike that 
killed 'Abd al-Aziz Rantisi in Gaza two years ago, questions 
the origins of Dahlan's extensive wealth and alleges that 
Dahlan led a mutiny against Arafat in 2004.  Dahlan has 
attacked Hamas repeatedly during election speeches describing 
Hamas as a force of darkness lacking a coherent vision for 
the Palestinian national cause. 
 
PFLP Activists Arrested in 
East Jerusalem 
-------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) The Israeli police arrested seven PFLP activists on 
January 18, including one PLC candidate, at a hotel in East 
Jerusalem.  Some of the activists, who were arrested while 
conducting a rally at al-Dar hotel, resisted the police. 
Police officials said that they would continue to prevent any 
attempt to halt any campaigning by PFLP in the city.  Among 
those arrested were: 'Abd al-Latif Ghaith, Hani Issawi- 
independent supported by DFLP, Maha Nassar on the PFLP 
national list and Fadwa Khader a People Party ) running as 
independent in East Jerusalem district. 
 
Fatah Ahead of 
Hamas in Polls 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (C) A poll published by the Palestinian Center for Public 
Opinion on January 18 said that 36 percent of eligible voters 
intend to vote for the Fatah national list and 27 percent 
will vote for Hamas in the upcoming Palestinian parliament 
elections.  The poll also showed that approximately 80 
percent of Palestinians favor resuming negotiations with 
Israel. 
 
Press Coverage 
---------------- 
 
-- Al-Quds provided coverage of U.S. Senator John Kerry,s 
visit to Jericho, including a photograph of the Senator with 
PLO Chief Negotiator Sa,eb Erakat as he spoke to the press 
following their meeting.  Kerry spoke about the upcoming 
legislative elections. 
 
Op-eds: 
 
-- Ya,qoub Al-Atrash commented in Al-Quds that foreign 
intervention in the PLC elections was unacceptable, noting in 
 
particular that "U.S. Secretary of State Rice,s recent 
obligation that Palestinian candidates give up weapons and 
recognize Israel...seem very awkward.8 
 
-- Hasan Asfour wrote in Al-Ayyam that he was awaiting 
January 26 for the results of the PLC elections, adding that 
&admitting political facts is not a mishap or a taboo; on 
the contrary, overlooking the reality can be a political 
mistake.8  Asfour maintained that the next legislative 
council, through its role and action, will be a continuity to 
the first council, since the first council was the outcome of 
the Oslo Agreement. 
 
-- Al-Quds ran a political cartoon showing a man about to 
cast his vote in a balloting box with his face directed 
toward a cracked ceiling with the words: &Under the Oslo 
ceiling8 written underneath it. 
 
-- Al-Quds carried a front-page story was a denial by the 
"Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine" that any of its 
political or military members are running for legislative 
elections.  Nafeth Azzam, an active Islamic Jihad leader, 
re-affirmed the movement,s clear position of completely 
rejecting the legislative elections and requiring all Islamic 
Jihad affiliated groups and institutions to boycott them. 
 
-- Al-Quds also reported that during a meeting organized by 
the &Coalition for Jerusalem8 candidates on various 
electoral lists asked the PA and Palestinian negotiators to 
clarify the electoral procedures in Jerusalem. 
 
Op-eds: 
 
-- In its main editorial, Al-Quds opined that the next 
Palestinian cabinet should primarily consist of youth, for 
they are better experienced and more capable to lead. 
 
-- Khalid Al-Huroub commented in al-Quds that the forthcoming 
elections would be an element in the promotion of Palestinian 
legitimacy and a direct factor in stopping the ongoing state 
of anarchy in the Palestinian areas. 
 
-- Veteran columnist Talal Okal commented in al-Ayyam that 
over 90 percent of the new PLC will be controlled by partisan 
politics. 
 
-- Mohammad Yaghi maintained in al-Ayyam that Hamas, 
political platform does not greatly differ from that of 
Fatah, including the removal of the &destruction of Israel8 
objective from its electoral campaign. 
 
-- Al-Hayat al-Jadida,s editor in-chief, Hafez Barghouthi, 
wrote that the next PLC will better reflect &real 
parliamentary life8 and will be a much better 
counter-balance to the executive branch. 
 
WALLES