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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0257/01 0201617
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201617Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9814
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000257 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016 
TAGS: PREL KWBG PGOV PINS PTER KPAL IS PBTS KDEM
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS SITREP 
#9: JANUARY 20, 2006: JERUSALEM VOTING PROCEDURES 
FINALIZED; GUNMEN DISRUPT CAMPAIGN IN NABLUS 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 00238 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  The Central Elections Committee (CEC) 
published the finalized procedures for East Jerusalem voting 
on January 19.  President Abbas signed a decree advancing the 
voting period for members of the PASF by one day to begin on 
January 21.  Dozens of East Jerusalem residents clashed with 
Israeli security forces attempting to arrest two unidentified 
individuals who were posting election materials in Sur Baher. 
 In Khuzaa' village near Khan Younis, a standoff between 
hundreds of Hamas and Fatah activists nearly erupted into 
serious clashes.  In other election related violence, Fatah 
gunmen attacked the magistrate court and attempted to force a 
print shop to close in Nablus.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CEC Publishes Finalized Voting 
Procedures for Jerusalem 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Central Elections Committee (CEC) published the 
procedures for East Jerusalem voting.  A total of 6,300 
Jerusalem ID holders will be allowed to vote at six East 
Jerusalem post offices in the following numbers: Salahedin 
Street (3,550 voters), Beit Hanina (550 voters), al-Tur (550 
voters), Sur Baher (550 voters), Jaffa Gate (550 voters), 
Shufat (550 voters).  Special voting tickets will be handed 
out to the public on a first-come, first-served basis between 
January 21 and 23.  The tickets will be handed out at three 
East Jerusalem private schools.  A total of 16 polling 
outside municipality will also receive Jerusalem ID holders 
on Election Day in the villages of Bit Nabala, Anata, al-Ram, 
al-Ziayem, Ezariya, Abu Dis and Sheikh Saad. 
 
PASF Voting Advanced One Day 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) President Abbas signed a decree advancing the voting 
period for members of the PASF by one day, from January 
21-23.  The vote counting of the roughly 60,000 security 
personnel will be conducted along with the general public 
vote on January 25.  MOI officials expressed optimism to 
Poloff during a January 19 telcon that the adjustment in 
dates would help relieve the logistical difficulties of 
security personnel having to return home to cast ballots. 
 
Sur Baher Clashes with 
Israeli Police 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Dozens of East Jerusalem residents clashed with 
Israeli security forces as they attempted to arrest two 
unidentified individuals posting election materials in Sur 
Baher.  Israeli police officers fired stun grenades to 
disperse the crowd.  The Israeli police also closed an office 
in Sur Baher on suspicion that it was being used to conduct 
Hamas campaign activities and arrested two campaign 
activists. 
 
Anti-American Hamas 
Election Proganda 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hamas activists placed a large poster at the 
entrance to Ramallah saying, &Israel and US said No to 
Hamas! What do you say?  Vote for Hamas slate number 6."  The 
board also carries the picture of Sheikh Yassin -- Hamas,s 
spiritual leader who was killed by Israeli rockets two years 
ago. 
 
Armed Factions Pledge to 
Protect Elections 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) The military wings of several factions including the 
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB), Qassam, Ahmad Abu al-Rish 
armed factions published a statement vowing to protect the 
Palestinian elections.  In Jenin, AMB held a demonstration on 
January 19 and urged people to vote in the elections and 
declared that AMB would cooperate with the PASF. 
 
Fatah Candidate Arrested 
------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Israeli police detained Ahmad 'Abd al-Rahman, a 
Fatah candidate, for holding an elections rally in Shufat. 
 
 
Hamas-Fatah Tensions in Gaza 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) In Khuzaa' village near Khan Younis, a standoff 
between hundreds of Hamas and Fatah activists nearly erupted 
into serious clashes.  Local sources said that during a Hamas 
election rally, individuals affiliated with Fatah cut the 
power supply.  Dozens of Fatah activists started chanting 
anti-Hamas slogans and blocked the road preventing Hamas 
leader Mahmud al-Zahar from leaving the area.  The situation 
was eventually resolved without clashes.  This comes as the 
first incident between the two movements signed an agreement 
on January 18 agreeing to abide by the democratic process. 
Subsequently, senior officials of the two movements met to 
defuse further tensions. 
 
Gunmen Disrupt 
Campaigning in Nablus 
--------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Fatah national list candidate and AMB chief for Balata 
Camp, Jamal al-Tirawi, sent gunmen to disrupt the Main Court 
(Magistrate) in Nablus on January 19 and ordered the court to 
close until further notice, according to Fatah contacts in 
the Nablus governor's office.  An armed faction reportedly 
affiliated with al-Tirawi attacked the court on January 19, 
placing graffiti on the walls declaring that elections have 
been canceled.  Al-Tirawi is disgruntled with his inability 
to gain a higher place on the Fatah national list and the 
court's refusal to intervene in an internal Fatah matter.  In 
a separate incident, gunmen in Nablus attempted to shutdown a 
print shop to prevent the production of posters for Fatah 
district candidate Ghassan al-Shakaa. 
 
Main Press Stories 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds led with coverage of the 
legislative elections and reported that Palestinian security 
forces will start voting tomorrow.  Reports added that the PA 
will deploy approximately 13,000 police to patrol and provide 
security in the Palestinian Territories in the three days 
leading up to elections. 
 
-- Al-Quds highlighted a January 19 meeting in Ramallah, in 
which PA President Abbas provided an update on preparations 
for the elections to the head of the EU Observation Mission 
for the Palestinian elections. 
 
-- Al-Quds also carried front-page coverage of a press 
briefing with U.S. NEA/PPD Director Alberto Fernandez, who 
told Palestinian journalists that it is necessary for 
Palestinians to choose able leadership to move the peace 
process forward.  The article also quoted Fernandez, who 
described a &smart8 Palestinian as one who can envision 
appropriate means to achieve Palestinian strategic 
aspirations. 
 
-- Al-Hayat Al-Jadida reported that Israeli forces arrested 
Jerusalem Fatah candidates Ahmad Abdul Rahman and Khalil Abu 
Zayyad yesterday while they were campaigning, and closed down 
a Hamas office in Jerusalem. 
 
Op-eds 
------ 
 
-- Samih Shubaib commented in Al-Ayyam that since the next 
legislative council will include different factions -- Fatah, 
Hamas, left wing and other parties, a new political system 
will arise that dissolves political unilateralism and 
replaces it with pluralism. 
 
-- Referring to the January 19 Palestinian Islamic Jihad 
suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and how it and other similar 
operations reflect negatively on the elections process, 
Ashraf Ajrami opined in Al-Ayyam that Palestinians must not 
fail to remember that in addition to being very badly timed, 
this bombing occurred at a time when the Palestinian people 
&are in desperate need of real calm to complete the 
democratic process successfully.8 
 
WALLES