PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS: ELECTION DAY

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
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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.

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Nablus: 3 Polling Stations Relocated
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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.

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Hamas Presence
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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.

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Some Voting Problems
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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.

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Security Reports
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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
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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.

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Elections -- boon to West Bank services industry
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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