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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0338/01 0250933
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 250933Z JAN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9910
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000338 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG PBTS IS KPAL KDEM
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS: ELECTION DAY 
SITREP # 1 AS OF 11:00 AM, JANUARY 25, 2006, 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 00324 
 
Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) Con Gen election observers report elections proceeding 
smoothly in Jerusalem and Ramallah in the first hours of 
voting.  PA President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), speaking to 
the media, commended the ongoing polling and described the 
events as "an election festival."  Three polling stations in 
Nablus have been relocated in response to violence on January 
¶24.   Hamas is well represented outside polling centers. 
Palestinian Police arrested eight people for alleged 
involvement in the January 24 assassination of senior Fatah 
activist in Nablus.  Meanwhile, preparations for the 
elections have resulted in a mini-economic boom for the West 
Bank services industry. 
 
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Jerusalem and Ramallah: Smooth Going 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C)  Poloff covering Jerusalem reported that elections 
were proceeding smoothly in Jerusalem polling stations, and 
reports high voter turnout in the Jerusalem sites visited. 
In Shu'fat, north of Jerusalem, approximately 36,000 voters 
had participated by 10:15 am, with 26,000 of those votes 
going to Fatah according to exit polls. 
 
¶3.  (C) ConGen Pol FSN and Poloff reported from Ramallah that 
elections are running smoothly.  Poloff reported that 
Palestinian Security Forces (PASF) were stationed outside the 
polling stations and that general intelligence personnel in 
plain-clothes are milling around, but not harassing the 
voters.  Poloff estimated that ten to fifteen percent of 
eligible voters had participated in the Ramallah polling 
stations he had visited by 10:15 am. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Nablus: 3 Polling Stations Relocated 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (C) The Palestinian Central Elections Commission 
relocated three polling stations in Nablus from the 
neighborhood where senior Fatah activist Ahmad Hasouneh was 
killed on January 24 (reftel) to an-Najah University.  During 
the night of January 24-25, Palestinian Police arrested eight 
members of a rival group in Fatah for involvement in the 
assassination. 
 
-------------- 
Hamas Presence 
-------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Poloff covering Jerusalem said that there is a strong 
contingent of Hamas supporters at the polling stations and 
that there is a Hamas representative standing at the entrance 
of the polling station checking off names of supporters. 
PDOff reported that there has been a large voter turnout at 
the Shu'fat Post Office.  She counted ten cars with Hamas 
flags and many people wearing green Hamas hats, waiting to 
vote.  She said that, as of 9:35 AM, the situation is tense 
within the polling station because Fatah is upset over Hamas 
presence at Shu'fat and that there have already been verbal 
altercations between Fatah and Hamas supporters at the 
polling station. Poloff in Ramallah reported that Hamas is 
running a well-organized campaign and that they are 
transporting voters to the polling station. 
 
-------------------- 
Some Voting Problems 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.    (C) PDOff reporting from north Jerusalem reported that, 
as expected, Palestinian voters from 
Jerusalem are worried about lack of access to the polling 
station because of ID card problems and uncertainty of their 
status in Jerusalem. ConGen Pol FSN said that as of 9:30 AM, 
there had been complaints that the GOI is denying candidates 
entrance into polling stations inside Jerusalem (specifically 
at the Salah Ed-din and Beit Hanina Post Offices).  He also 
said that, earlier in the morning Palestinian monitors had 
trouble reaching the Jerusalem polling stations, but the 
problem has been resolved. RSO reported that as of 9:30 AM, 
Palestinians have been complaining about a flying checkpoint 
 
located near Road 417 near Maaleh Adumim settlement and 
El-Eizariya, to the east of Jerusalem. 
 
---------------- 
Security Reports 
---------------- 
 
¶7.    (C) RSO reported that two members of the Knesset, Efi 
Eitan and Arieh Eldad, plan to protest against 
elections at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem at 9:30 AM.  He added 
that the Jewish extremist Kahane Chai terrorist organization 
is threatening to disrupt elections inside Jerusalem.  The 
RSO also noted that molotov cocktails and stones were thrown 
near a tunnel on Route 60 south of Jerusalem. 
 
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Media Reports 
------------- 
 
¶8.    (SBU)  Early morning monitoring of Palestinian and 
pan-Arab TV stations reveals that PBC, Al-Hurra, 
al-Jazeera and others are airing extensive coverage of the 
election.  According to reports, most polling stations in the 
West Bank and Gaza saw a rush of early voters, some lining up 
before the polls opened at 7:00 AM.  However, according to 
PBC, this has not been the case in East Jerusalem, and the 
voting process has so far been slow.  The station attributed 
this to the large presence of Israeli forces in the city, as 
well as the fact that many East Jerusalem residents are 
already at work. 
 
--  All stations featured on-site interviews with candidates, 
election officials and voters as well as 
call-in commentary.  Al-Hurra interviewed CEC executive 
director Ammar Dweik in Ramallah, while al-Jazeera aired an 
interview with Minister of Information (and Deputy Prime 
Minister) Nabil Shaath. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Elections -- boon to West Bank services industry 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported January 25 on 
the strong economic activity in the West Bank due to the 
elections.  Hotels and restaurants are filled to capacity in 
and around Ramallah catering to the 17,000 observers and the 
large foreign press corps in the area for the legislative 
elections.  The daily quoted Ibrahim al-Hafi, Director 
General in the Ministry of Tourism, that the economic surge 
will likely continue for several days after the elections. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The economic surge surrounding the elections has 
extended to other segments of the services industry.  Al-Quds 
noted the increased movement of people between cities and 
villages in the West Bank with voters returning to where they 
are registered, thereby benefitting transport companies since 
most of the Palestinian population uses buses and taxis to 
move between areas of the West Bank.  Vehicle rental 
companies are also experiencing a surge of business with 
political parties and independents renting vehicles to 
transport voters to the polls, especially in the Jerusalem 
area where most voters will vote outside of East Jerusalem. 
Operators of celebration halls saw an upswing in business 
with most rented out to party lists and independent 
candidates for campaign events and press events. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The proliferation of campaign posters, banners, 
and other materials attest to the economic boom experienced 
by advertising agencies, Israeli suppliers of paper and ink, 
and print shops.  Amal Masri, owner of the Ougarit 
advertising agency and printing house, told EconChief that 
work for Fatah, Hamas, and Moustafa Barghouti's "Independent 
Palestine" all went to print shops related to those parties. 
However, independent businesses still have more than enough 
work.  Since campaign materials must be distributed or pasted 
up, the young and unemployed have also benefitted with 
campaigns paying on average NIS 50-100 (USD 11-22) per day to 
those pasting its posters to any and every vertical surface. 
 
 
WALLES