POTENTIAL MINISTERIAL CANDIDATES: ZIAD ABU AMR AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000385 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG PBTS IS KPAL KDEM SUBJECT: POTENTIAL MINISTERIAL CANDIDATES: ZIAD ABU AMR AND MUSTAFA BARGHOUTHI Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Two possible compromise candidates that Hamas may offer in upcoming consultations over government formation with President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) are Ziad Abu Amr, a re-elected independent PLC member from Gaza City and Mustafa Bargouthi, the head of the "Independent Palestine" party which, with 41 candidates on its national list, succeeded in getting two of them elected to the new PLC. Amr's re-election was enabled in this campaign by his association with Hamas, and all 8 district seats in Gaza City were won by Hamas or Hamas-associated independents. Mustafa Bargouthi's ties with Hamas do not extend as deeply. Instead, Bargouthi's possible candidacy as a senior minister in a Hamas government seem more rooted in Bargouthi's legendary opportunism, and possibly as a way to secure Independent Palestine's 2 PLC votes, thereby bringing Hamas within 2 votes of the 87 it would need to amend the Basic Law. -------------- Ziad Abu Amr -------------- ¶2. (C) Ziad Abu Amr is a prominent Gaza politician, and was first elected to the PLC in 1996. He served as the Minister of Culture in the cabinet headed by then-PM Abu Mazen in 2003. Amr holds a PhD in political science from the United States and also taught at Bir Zeit university for many years. He runs a think-tank in Gaza, and has held seminars over the last several years that featured meetings between Israelis and prominent Hamas figures. Ziad Abu Amr's successful candidacy was anchored in his relationship with Hamas during the campaign, and it appears that Hamas regards him as someone they think would be an acceptable interlocutor to the outside world and a possible front-man Prime Minister or Foreign Minister. -------------- Mustafa Bargouthi -------------- ¶4. (C) Mustafa Bargouthi a distant relative of jailed Fatah party leader Marwan Bargouthi was elected on January 25 at the head of the Independent Palestine list. Bargouthi's most salient political feature is his opportunism. A former Communist and member of the Palestinian People's Party (the former Palestinian Communist Party),he was originally educated in the former Soviet Union and graduated as a doctor. In the 1980s, he also received a PhD from the United States. He returned back to Palestine and the established a network of medical relief committees in the early 1990s, which provided medical care throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Bargouthi made effective use of his clients to form an effective political base. ¶5. (C) Bargouthi broke with the People's party and established his own political movement, the "National Initiative," in 2002. His movement received some recognition among the Palestinian political class and allowed him to build political connections throughout the West Bank and Gaza. The National Initiative attempted to be recognized as a member of the PLO, but the request was turned down. ¶6. (C) While Bargouthi is not a natural Hamas ally, he would by all accounts be likely to join its government if he were offered a position as Prime Minister or Foreign Minister. The 2 seats of Independent Palestine, added to the 76 seats of Hamas, 4 seats of Hamas-associated independents, and 3 seats of the PLFP (also expected to ally with Hamas) would bring Hamas to within 2 seats of the 87 it would need to amend the Basic Law. WALLES