Israel bans Jerusalem Palestinian vote over Hamas

By Megan Goldin

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Wednesday it would ban
East Jerusalem Arabs from voting in a Palestinian election next
month if militant Islamic group Hamas takes part — a move
Palestinian officials said could delay the vote.

Israel allowed Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem to
vote in Palestinian Authority elections in 1996 and at the
start of the year when they elected Mahmoud Abbas president.

But a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel
will not allow voting in Jerusalem for the January 25 poll
because Hamas, which calls for Israel’s destruction and has
spearheaded a suicide bombing campaign, is running for the
first time.

“There is no reason whatsoever we should assist a terrorist
organization on the ballot to gain victory. This would be like
letting a Trojan horse into our city,” spokesman Raanan Gissin
said.

Palestinian officials said the election may be delayed if
Israel prevents voting by East Jerusalem residents.

“We cannot hold elections anywhere if the Palestinians in
Jerusalem are not allowed to vote,” said senior Palestinian
official Nabil Shaath.

Abbas denounced Israel’s decision saying “this is a very
dangerous situation,” adding that he would “study” the issue.

A Hamas spokesman said the group, which is expected to make
a strong showing in the poll, demanded it be held on time. He
would not specify whether that position would remain the same
if East Jerusalem Palestinians could not vote.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem carry Israeli
identity cards, but see themselves as the citizens of a future
Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

PRESSURE FOR DELAY

Abbas has repeatedly said he does not want to postpone the
vote, but has been under pressure for a delay from some
Palestinian officials due to a split in his ruling Fatah
movement that has strengthened Hamas.

Hamas’s corruption-free reputation and extensive charity
network mean its popularity is rising among Palestinians.

Its strong showing in the first three rounds of municipal
elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, winning in several
major cities including the Fatah stronghold of Nablus, has
prompted concern about a Hamas victory in Israel and abroad.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said on Wednesday that
Palestinian leaders, Israelis and the international community
were seeking a reason to postpone the election in order to
prevent a possible Hamas win. It said Israel’s policy on East
Jerusalem might serve that purpose.

“If Hamas gains victory, that would mean the end of the
political (peace) process,” Gissin, Sharon’s spokesman said.
“It would also, I’d regrettably say, be the end of the
Palestinian Authority as the sole sovereign power of the
Palestinians.”

Israel says all Palestinian political activity in East
Jerusalem was banned under the 1993 interim Oslo peace accords.
Palestinians dispute this and say Jerusalem residents should
play an active role in Palestinian affairs.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war
and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. It
sees the eastern part of the holy city as part of its “eternal
and indivisible capital.”

(Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem,
Wafa Amr in Ramallah and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)