Palestinians threaten to cancel poll if Israel bars vote in East Jerusalem
BEN LYNFIELD IN JERUSALEM
The Palestinian Authority said yesterday it will cancel parliamentary elections planned for next month if Israel refuses to allow Palestinians in East Jerusalem to vote.
Riding on successes in recent council elections and exploiting division within president Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah party, the radical Hamas group expects to make major gains in the polling.
Raanan Gissin, the spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, confirmed yesterday that Israel's position is that no Palestinian voting should take place in East Jerusalem, which is under Israeli sovereignty after being occupied and then annexed in 1967.
Israel allowed voting under special arrangements in East Jerusalem during parliamentary elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1996 and also in last year's presidential election, but this year it opposes it because of the participation of Hamas, Mr Gissin said.
"Under the present conditions, I cannot see any reason to support or provide legitimacy to Hamas's participation in the democratic process that it will then destroy, putting us back to square one," he said.
Another Israeli official said Hamas would merely use the electoral system to gain more power, while remaining committed to the use of terrorist attacks with the ultimate aim of destroying Israel.
"It is like allowing al-Qaeda to open a polling station in London," he said.
Mr Gissin added that the only way Israel's stance could be reversed is if Hamas disarms and changes its covenant calling for Israel's destruction or if Mr Abbas excluded Hamas from the ballot.
While Israel has declared East Jerusalem part of its "eternal, undivided capital", the Palestinians consider it the capital of their future state.
Conducting a vote in the West Bank and Gaza Strip without East Jerusalem could impact on their claims to the city.
The Palestinian information minister, Nabil Shaath, said: "If the Israelis insist on not allowing us to conduct elections in Jerusalem, than there will be no election at all."
He said the Palestinian Authority (PA) would try to bring international pressure to bear to force Israel to back down.
"But if we don't succeed, this means there will be no elections. For us Jerusalem is more important than any other thing," Mr Shaath said.
Mr Abbas was more circumspect, saying: "This is a big responsibility that must be studied carefully."
Palestinian analysts said that the situation offered Mr Abbas an excuse for cancelling the voting in line with the wishes of the Fatah old guard which is afraid of losing its power and privileges as Hamas becomes increasingly popular.
"This is the way out for Abbas," said Hani Masri, a Ramallah-based analyst.
"Fatah is worried about losing power and the Israelis assisted Fatah this time. No-one can say they want elections without Jerusalem, including Hamas."
There are fears that if the elections are scrapped without Hamas' agreement, than the movement would return to rocket and bomb attacks which it suspended as part of an agreement with Mr Abbas that was to pave the way for the polling.
A Hamas spokesman said the movement expected to make a strong showing in the elections and demanded it be held as scheduled. He did not specify the movement's position if Palestinians are barred from voting in East Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that an army doctor who examined kidnapped Lebanese guerrilla leader Mustafa Dirani found physical evidence to back Mr Dirani's claim that he was raped by Israeli interrogators.
The doctor, identified as Lieutenant- Colonel Chen Kugel, wrote, "On the basis of my examination of Mr Dirani ... the results can substantiate the essence of the complaint."
Israel abducted Mr Dirani in 1994, hoping to use him as a bargaining chip for information on Ron Arad, an Israeli airman whose jet was downed over Lebanon in 1986. Israel claims Mr Dirani's Amal militia held Mr Arad at one point.
Mr Dirani was kept in Israel until 2004, when Israel swapped 435 Arab prisoners for a captive Israeli businessman and the remains of three soldiers captured in Lebanon. Before his release, Mr Dirani told a Tel Aviv court that his Israeli interrogators raped and systematically tortured him in a futile effort to get information about Mr Arad.
Middle East conflict
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