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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0256/01 0201453
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201453Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9812
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000256 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR WELCH/DIBBLE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016 
TAGS: PREL KWBG PGOV PINS PTER KPAL IS
SUBJECT: HAMAS MUNICIPAL COUNCILS HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL 
CHALLENGES FOR MOVEMENT IN PLC 
 
REF: A. 2005 JERUSALEM 05865 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 00113 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In the course of the 2005 local elections, 
Hamas assumed leadership for several municipal councils in 
the West Bank and Gaza.  Hamas's political priorities and 
strategies at the municipal level are a strong indicator of 
the movement's likely priorities after the Palestinian 
Legislative Council (PLC) elections because many of the 
municipal leaders hail from the same social organizations 
that top the Hamas district and national lists.  Hamas 
municipal leaders have focused on financial transparency and 
efficient delivery of services, while emphasizing )- at 
least publicly -- a separation with the military wing of the 
movement.  Hamas has been highly effective at using the 
Palestinian municipal system, in which mayors are chosen by 
the majority vote of municipal councils, to magnify its 
political influence by allying with other political factions. 
 At the municipal level, Hamas has been weakened by reduced 
PA funding of municipalities and has sometimes been forced to 
make unpopular choices such as raising utility bills and 
local taxes.  Attempts to implement a cultural or religious 
agenda have been limited.  Tensions with Fatah have detracted 
from Hamas's ability to govern effectively in some 
municipalities.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------- 
Working with Other Factions 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Hamas has proven remarkably adept at building 
political alliances at the municipal level.  While Hamas 
gained a majority on four municipal councils in the West Bank 
in the 2005 series of municipal elections -- Qalqilya, Jenin, 
Nablus and al-Bireh, the movement has also succeeded in 
establishing effective political alliances in Ramallah and 
Bethlehem.  In Bethlehem and Ramallah, Hamas municipal 
council members allied with PFLP and independents to gain a 
majority on the city councils, joining blocs led by Christian 
politicians.  In the more radicalized enclave of Jenin, Hamas 
wrested control of the municipal council from Fatah by 
convincing local Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders to 
back Hamas instead of putting forward their own list of 
candidates. 
 
--------------- 
Focus on Fiscal 
Transparency 
--------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Initially, local observers and some European diplomats 
informally lauded Hamas's focus on fiscal responsibility at 
the municipal level, but the reduction in municipality 
funding from the central PA budget has forced the movement to 
implement creative and sometimes unpopular means to generate 
municipal revenues.  In Qalqiliya, the initially popular 
Deputy Mayor Hashim al-Masri (NOTE: Mayor Wajih Qawais was 
elected from prison and remains under Israeli administrative 
detention. END NOTE) faced a public backlash after he doubled 
utility fees and took steps to enforce revenue collection in 
an unsuccessful attempt to settle outstanding balances with 
Israeli owned public utilities.  Al-Masri also instructed 
municipal employees to vacate a building in the center of 
town so that it could be leased.  In an attempt to limit the 
use of municipal vehicles for personal use, al-Masri placed 
placards on all of the municipal vehicles so that locals 
could observe if employees were using the vehicles outside of 
working hours.  The move reportedly reduced the 
municipality's gasoline bill substantially.  (NOTE: The 
Qalqilya governor told Econoffs in July that the PA was 
funneling assistance through the governor's office and not 
through the municipality because of Hamas's majority there. 
END NOTE) 
 
¶4. (C) In Deir al-Balah, Mayor Ahmad al-Kurd faced similar 
criticism for his attempts to improve utility fee 
collections, but combined the effort with a partial amnesty 
for overdue balances mitigating some of the opposition.  In 
all of the municipalities, attempts to raise local taxes or 
improve collection have been largely met with opposition and 
the lack of revenue has prevented the Hamas leadership from 
implementing major municipal projects. 
 
----------------- 
Limited Focus on 
Religious Agenda 
----------------- 
 
 
¶5. (C) Notably, attempts by Hamas municipal leaders to 
implement a cultural agenda have been limited and met with 
criticism.  The Qalqiliya municipal council's August 2005 
decision to cancel a planned cultural festival and concert by 
Middle East "Superstar" runner-up Ammar Hassan by banning 
"outdoor music" and other events that encourage "mingling of 
the sexes" was met with widespread criticism in the West 
Bank.  While the Qalqiliya municipal council did close a park 
area near the city zoo that had become a "lover's lane" and 
center of drug use, the municipal council has not moved to 
close any of establishments in the city that discreetly sell 
alcohol in violation of municipal law.  (COMMENT: Qalqiliya 
is a conservative area even by Palestinian standards and most 
of these steps are probably in line with mainstream community 
values. END COMMENT).  In Bethlehem, municipal council member 
Hassam al-Masalmeh's election pledge to push for the 
implementation of Shari'a, or Islamic law, has been largely 
muted by his alliance Christian and secular politicians. 
 
------------------------ 
Social Activists and 
Technocrats in the Lead 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Nearly, all of the Hamas municipal leaders are 
associated with the social, rather than the military wing of 
the movement, and have emphasized this separation in their 
dealings with reporters, NGO workers and UN observers.  In 
Nablus the municipal council members are closely linked to 
the Scholars of Palestine, a Hamas affiliated think tank and 
charitable organization.  In Deir al-Balah, Ahmad al-Kurd 
campaigned on his track record as head of the Salah Welfare 
Organization, a large charitable organization with a 
multi-million dollar budget.  (NOTE: The Hamas district and 
national list includes many individuals from these two 
organizations (ref A) END NOTE. )  As mayor, al-Kurd has 
implemented a campaign to beautify the city, improve roads, 
plant trees and improve trash pick-up.  Most local observers 
point to Deir al-Balah as the most successful experiment in 
Hamas-led municipal government. 
 
------------------- 
Troubles with Fatah 
------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Hamas's inability to coordinate with armed Fatah 
factions or the Fatah dominated PASF have been a persistent 
problem in some municipal districts.  In Qalqiliya, PASF 
leaders have complained of tensions with the Hamas-led 
municipal council, especially in the lead up to the PLC 
elections, and the lack of coordination between the two 
governmental bodies has contributed to a general sense of 
lawlessness in the municipality.  In Beit Hanoun, 
Fatah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB) gunmen 
attacked the municipal building on January 7, invading the 
municipal compound and starting fires on the grounds(ref B). 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (C) Hamas's strength in the run up to the PLC elections 
masks a short track record in governance and mixed success at 
delivering on election pledges to improve the lives of 
citizens.  At the municipal level, Hamas has shown itself a 
savvy political party capable of working with a variety of 
factions to maximize its influence and willing to mute its 
religious agenda for political reasons.  Hamas efforts to 
tackle crippling fiscal problems while confronting the 
reduction of funding from the PA budget, due to the PA's dire 
financial situation and specific decisions to funnel more 
local funding through governorate offices.  Tensions between 
Hamas and the PASF could play out on a grander scale once the 
movement gains a voice in deciding national issues that 
directly affect powerful security chiefs and confronts 
possible demands from the PA to dismantle or silence its 
armed wing. 
 
WALLES