HAMAS REPLACES THREE GAZA MAYORS, PRESSURES OTHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001524

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2017
TAGS: PGOV KWBG EAID PTER KDEM PREL
SUBJECT: HAMAS REPLACES THREE GAZA MAYORS, PRESSURES OTHER
MUNICIPALITIES


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


1. (C) Summary. Hamas has taken control of three Gaza
municipalities, replacing Fatah mayors and city council
members. Gaza's other Fatah mayors report limited Hamas
interference, but express concern about the agenda of Hamas'
former Minister of Local Government. Gaza City's mayor
described electrical shutdowns and brownouts that threaten
pumping of drinking water and sewage, which could lead to
serious public health problems. He said crime has increased
since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Gaza's five
governorates continue to operate, but Hamas raids/harassment
put the governors in a tenuous position. End summary.

Hamas Takes Over Rafah,
al-Burayj, Bayt Lahiya
--------------


2. (SBU) Gaza political contacts and Palestinian newspapers
report that Hamas officials took control of three
municipalities (Rafah, al-Burayj Camp and Bayt Lahiya) July
18-19. Hamas claims to have won disputed municipal elections
in these locations in May 2005. ConGen contacts report that
Hamas official Issa al-Nashar (the Hamas candidate in the
2005 elections) has assumed office as Mayor of Rafah.
Palestinian newspapers report that Hamas member Taha Abu
Ayman has replaced Fatah mayor Samir Mattar in al-Burayj, and
Hamas official Izz al-Din Dahnun has replaced Fayz Abu 'Aytah
in Bayt Lahiya.

Fatah Mayors Hold, But Hamas
Enforces Its Work Week
--------------


3. (SBU) Mustafa al-Shawaf, Mayor of Abasan al-Kabira, told
ConGen contacts and USAID employees that the town continues
normal operations and provision of municipal services. He
said Hamas Executive Force gunmen forcefully occupied a
portion of the municipal building as a security headquarters,
and refuse to leave, but do not otherwise interfere with city
operations. Abasan al-Jadida Mayor Ra'uf Asfur told USAID
employees that operations continue normally except for the
Executive Force's enforcement of Hamas' work week orders.
(Note: Hamas ordered a Saturday-Wednesday work week,
conflicting with the PA government's designation of
Sunday-Thursday. End note). He said the Executive Force
earlier had prevented municipal workers from entering the
Municipality on Thursdays angering city employees, who feared
they would not be paid if they adopted a work week contrary
to that ordered by the PA government.

Gaza City Mayor: "Walking a
Tightrope" with Hamas
--------------


4. (C) Gaza City Mayor Majid Abu Ramadan
(Presidentially-appointed, as are all city council members)
told PolOff on July 19 that he and all other non-Hamas mayors
recognize PM Fayyad's Cabinet as the national authority, and
do not report to the former Minister of Local Government
(MoLG). (Note: Hamas controls 8 of 25 municipalities in the
Gaza Strip. Most municipalities, including the two largest
cities, Gaza City and Khan Yunis, have Fatah mayors who were
appointed by Yasser Arafat and President Abbas and would
participate in the fifth round of municipal elections. End
note).


5. (C) Abu Ramadan said former MoLG Muhammad al-Barghuthi
claims to still be the MoLG under Ismayil Haniyah amd is a
Hamas extremist looking to expand his power and pressuring
mayors in smaller cities to resign. Abu Ramadan said Hamas
has generally not interfered with Gaza City's municipal
matters thus far, but the MoLG sent people to the Mayor's
office to get information about his policies and future
plans. Abu Ramadan said he and other Fatah mayors are
"walking a tightrope" and must be careful not to surrender to
Hamas control on one hand, but also to ensure essential
services for residents.

Several Crises Looming in Gaza City;
Poverty Endemic, Salaries Unpaid
--------------


6. (C) Municipal workers continue to provide services for
Gaza City's 600,000 residents, Abu Ramadan said, but unlike
PA employees, who recently received salary payments,
municipal workers have not received salaries for eight months
and absenteeism is increasing. He said the PA has ceased
revenue sharing and most Gaza City residents are too poor to

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pay their residential/commercial bills for essential
services, leaving the city unable to pay its USD 1 million
salary bill (he said this amount is equal to the combined
monthly salary liability for all of Gaza's other
municipalities). He identified salaries as the city's top
need, explaining that if city workers strike for lack of
salaries, garbage collection and infrastructure repairs will
largely cease, compounding severe existing sanitation,
sewage, water and electrical problems.


7. (C) Electrical shutdowns and brownouts have cut down on
operation of pumping stations for drinking water and sewage,
he said, requiring use of reserve heating oil supplies, which
are nearing exhaustion, to power the pumps. He said he fears
a serious outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera
and health problems from uncollected garbage and release of
untreated sewage if electrical and fuel shortages are not
corrected soon. He asked for continued USAID assistance to
avert a crisis and meet residents' needs. Abu Ramadan said
he is concerned about the Hamas Executive Force's recent
arrest of the director-general of Gaza Electrical Company
(whose largest shareholder is the Gaza City municipality),
fearing this could further complicate efforts to restore
normal power supplies.

Hamas Failing on Law/Order
--------------


8. (C) Contrary to media reports, Mayor Abu Ramadan said
crime has increased since Hamas took control of the Gaza
Strip. He said the Executive Force is the main law
enforcement body, because most of the police are not
reporting for work, but the Executive Force is failing to
prevent crime or apprehend perpetrators. He said there is
more looting and property crime than one month ago, and
poverty is leading many Gazans to petty theft. He said
thefts from government buildings have been especially common
in the past three weeks, but residential break-ins are also a
major problem.

Gaza Governors Tenuously Remain
--------------


9. (SBU) According to Gaza contacts and press reports, the
Executive Force has entered Gaza Governor Muhammad al-Qidwa's
Gaza City offices on multiple occasions, confiscating some
Governorate property and detaining staff for questioning.
Nevertheless, Gaza's five governors remain in office. These
governors were all appointed by President Abbas or Yassir
Arafat. ConGen contacts note that the governors are being
monitored closely by the Executive Force.
WALLES