PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS SITREP

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000114

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG PBTS IS KPAL KDEM
SUBJECT: PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS SITREP
#4: JANUARY 9, 2006: CEC OFFICIALS RECEIVE CONFLICTING
MESSAGES ON ELECTION DAY SECURITY


Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Central Elections Commission (CEC)
officials January 9 reported to the Consul General that the
Ministry of Interior (MOI) has provided conflicting messages
on its ability to provide Election Day security. The MOI has
agreed to abide by CEC procedures for early voting for the
Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF). Al-Aqsa
militants in the West Bank city of Jenin have warned
international observers to leave the city. European Union
observers have remained, but are restricting their activity.
Palestinian media reports indicated that Israel would allow
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) candidates, with the
exception of Hamas and other militant groups, to campaign in
East Jerusalem. End summary.

CEC Chairman Hanna Nasir:
"It's Abu Mazen's Call"
--------------


2. (C) In a January 9 discussion with the Consul General,
CEC Chairman Dr. Hanna Nasir said the CEC was receiving
conflicting messages from the PA. On the one hand, the
Minister of Interior informed PA President Abbas (Abu Mazen)
and Prime Minister Quraya' (Abu Ala'a) that the MOI cannot
provide security for the election. On the other, MOI
officials have told the CEC they developed an elections
security plan. Despite these conflicting messages, Nasir
said the CEC would continue to plan for elections as
scheduled on January 25. Any delay would require a decision
by Abu Mazen. Nasir also expressed to the Consul General his
concerns that time was running out on arranging voting
modalities for East Jerusalem. He said that the officials
from the CEC Jerusalem district office would meet with
Israeli officials on January 9. (Note: The meeting was
reportedly to work out arrangements for campaign activities
in East Jerusalem. End note.)

MOI Agrees to
CEC Voting Procedures
--------------


3. (C) Regarding voting arrangements for PA Security
Forces (PASF),Nasir said that the MOI has agreed to CEC
procedures for the PASF and that its forces would comply "in
a fairly acceptable way." Despite these assurances, Nasir
expressed lingering concerns over how the vote will proceed
for the PASF commencing January 22.

Fatah/PA Still
Unsure About Elections
--------------


4. (C) In the meeting with the Consul General, CEC Chief
Electoral Officer Ammar Dweik said that holding elections on
January 25 appeared riskier than implementing a delay. Nasir
said the root of the PA's security problems was meshed in
domestic Palestinian politics. The Fatah leadership had yet
to agree on the desirability of holding elections. Nasir
opined that the Fatah leadership would need to publicly rally
behind idea of elections if they are to occur as scheduled.

Al-Aqsa Warns International
Monitors to Leave Jenin
--------------


5. (C) Jenin-based al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader
Zakaria Zubaydah issued a statement over the weekend
demanding that international election observers leave Jenin
immediately on January 7, stating that elections will not be
held in Jenin until the IDF withdraws from the municipality
and an agreement is reached regarding Jerusalem's
participation in the PLC elections. A mid-level contact at
the PA Ministry of Interior told ConGen Poloff during a
January 9 telecon that al-Aqsa militants were looking for a
way to use the presence of the election monitors to pressure
the PASF into giving them jobs. The gunmen were also worried
about Fatah's prospects vis--vis Hamas in Jenin. CEC
officials reported that the Jenin district office would
remain open, but at a heightened state of alert. EU election
monitors in Jenin are also operating under tighter security
precautions.

Summary of Local
Press Coverage
--------------


6. (SBU) The Palestinian dailies January 9 ran front-page


reports that Israel would allow PLC candidates to campaign in
East Jerusalem. Fatah PLC candidate Hatem 'Abd al-Qader
reported that the Israeli Police informed him that candidates
from Jerusalem were authorized to campaign in the city
commencing January 9.

-- Al-Ayyam quoted a senior PASF commander in the Jenin area
who issued a warning for those considering attacks against
international election observers. The commander urged
international observers not to leave the Jenin area, adding
that the PA was determined to safeguard their presence.

-- Ma'an News Agency quoted the General Secretary of the
Palestinian Popular Committees, Azmi Shioki, who called on
PLC candidates to "think about impoverished families" as they
spend money on their election campaigns.

Op-eds:

-- 'Abd al-Rahman Abu Arafeh, head of the Arab Thought Forum,
wrote January 9 in al-Quds that the January 25 date for PLC
elections must be upheld, adding that there should be a
unified national Palestinian position that would leave no
doubt as to when the legislative elections should be held.

-- Al-Ayyam columnist Hasan al-Batal criticized Hamas for its
"contradictory positions," the first concerning its
"hard-line" stance about negotiating with Israel, and the
other related to its "practical" position related to the
issue of voting in Jerusalem.

-- Al-Quds ran a political cartoon January 9 depicting a
candidate trying to give money to potential voters as he
says, "It is not a bribe; just consider it an Eid gift."

January 7-8 Summary
of Local Press Coverage
--------------


7. (SBU) The Palestinian dailies led with reports that six
national lists, including Fatah, Reform and Change (Hamas),
Salam Fayyad's "Third Way," Mustafa Barghouthi's "Independent
Palestine," the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa (PFLP),and "The
Alternative" (DFLP, PPP, FIDA, and independents) have called
for an immediate meeting with Abu Mazen to reach to a
"strict, clear and unified" decision concerning the holding
of the forthcoming elections.

-- Al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted reports that
Israel continued its "oppressive practices" against
parliamentary candidates in Jerusalem.

-- Al-Quds and al-Hayat al-Jadida ran front-page reports that
the European Union demanded that Israel come to a decision
regarding voting in East Jerusalem. Al-Hayat al-Jadida cited
an AFP report that quoted a spokesperson for the European
Observers Mission stating that it was imperative that a final
decision on the elections be taken by Israel.

-- Al-Quds and al-Ayyam carried reports that the National
Democratic Institute and the Carter Center suggested three
alternatives for voting in East Jerusalem, including
balloting in mobile convoys.

WALLES