US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV3205

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 003205 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2010 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KWBG, GZ, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS 
SUBJECT: COURT RULING FAVORS FATAH IN GAZA ELECTION DISPUTE 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Norm Olsen for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: In response to Fatah allegations of Hamas 
fraud, a PA appeals court in Khan Yunis invalidated in 
rulings May 18 and 20 results from the May 5 municipal 
elections affecting some 46,000 voters in Rafah, al-Bureij, 
and Bayt Lahiya, and ordered new elections in the affected 
polling stations.  The Higher Committee for Local Elections 
(HCLE) announced that the new polling would take place on 
June 1.  In a preliminary assessment, an international 
observer from NDI found the appeals process to be sound, but 
noted that the basis on which many of the results were 
annulled -- the use of the flawed civil registry -- seemed 
dubious, since the law allows use of this registry and it was 
in fact employed in all municipalities, and not only those 
where Fatah had lost and subsequently lodged appeals. 
Muhammad al-Zahar, the most visible Hamas leader in Gaza, 
accused Fatah of influencing the court to decide in Fatah's 
favor and threatened that Hamas would boycott the new voting. 
 Subsequent statements by other Hamas members lead most 
observers to believe that Hamas will nonetheless participate 
in the re-runs.  A leading Fatah official in Gaza, Abdullah 
Efrangi, told Poloff that he ascribed the mortar barrages 
raining down on Gaza settlements May 19-21 to two motives: to 
Hamas anger at Fatah's successful legal challenge to what he 
termed "widespread fraud," and an attempt to disrupt the 
Washington visit of PA President Mahmud Abbas.  Hamas 
officials told the press, however, that the attacks were in 
direct response to "Israeli aggression" that led to the 
deaths of two Hamas militants May 18-19.  Although few 
observers expect the re-run to yield significantly different 
polling results in either Rafah or al-Bureij, control of Bayt 
Lahiya, where Hamas reportedly holds a majority by one seat, 
could shift to Fatah.  End Summary. 
 
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PA Courts Annul Election Results in Three Gaza Towns 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Following the May 5 municipal elections in eight 
Gaza Strip locales, Fatah petitioned the Election Appeals 
Court in Khan Yunis to invalidate results in Rafah, Bayt 
Lahiya, al-Bureij, and al-Mughragha, in all of which races 
Hamas won majorities of municipal council seats.  Fatah 
charged that Hamas supporters had manipulated the civil 
registry lists -- used to supplement the voter registration 
lists developed by the Central Election Committee (CEC) for 
the January presidential elections -- and rigged the vote 
counting in a number of polling stations in favor of Hamas. 
The court upheld Fatah's charges and annulled results from a 
number of Rafah polling stations on May 18, and annulled 
results from al-Bureij and Bayt Lahiya on May 20.  The court 
found that the challenge in al-Mughragha was unfounded and 
upheld the election results there.  Some 20 other appeals 
contesting Fatah losses in the West Bank were also largely 
dismissed by the courts. 
 
3.  (SBU) According to a local observer of the court 
proceedings interviewed by a USAID staff member, the court 
determined that the Higher Committee for Local Elections 
(HCLE) had behaved in a manner "biased towards one party" and 
"did not administer elections in a fair manner."  Fatah 
Central Committee member and Head of Fatah's Office of 
Mobilization and Organization in the Gaza Strip Abdullah 
Efrangi claimed that these decisions will affect some 29,000 
voters in Rafah, 15,000 voters (almost half of the 
electorate) in al-Bureij, and some 2,600 voters in Bayt 
Lahiya.  The HCLE met May 23 and announced that re-runs of 
elections in the affected polling stations will be held on 
June 1. 
 
----------- 
The Charges 
----------- 
 
4.  (C) An NDI election observer present when the Rafah 
decision was handed down May 18 reported that the court 
decision in Rafah was based, at least in part, on the fact 
that the HCLE managed to verify the right of some 600-1,000 
individuals to vote at civil registry stations only at 1830 
hours on election day, when most of those affected had 
already given up and gone home.  While the full, detailed 
account of the court decision has not been made public, he 
said, the crux of the complaints were problems with the civil 
registry voting lists.  Anecdotally, observers and voters 
alike noted the presence in some polling stations of what 
have been termed the "burkha brigades," or large numbers of 
veiled women who were reportedly allowed to vote (some claim 
multiple times) without removing their veils to allow 
confirmation of their identities. 
 
5.  (C) Fatah also charged that, in some instances, such as 
in Rafah, the majority of the HCLE members were at least 
sympathetic to Hamas, and invalidated ballots for no reason 
other than they were for Fatah.  (Note: A large number of 
electoral workers are drawn from the Ministry of Education, 
which, in many areas of Gaza is dominated by Hamas members 
and supporters.  End Note).  The appeal also charged that 
votes had been cast in the names of people known to be 
deceased, abroad or in prison, although there is no 
indication from the summary court decision released to date 
of how widespread these activities may have been.  Election 
day observers, including those from NDI, did not, however, 
indicate large-scale problems that would have invalidated the 
election results.  Efrangi said he had instructed Fatah's 
legal team to prepare a detailed account of the alleged 
fraudulent activities that would be released soon. 
 
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Court Decisions Appear to Be Sound, But... 
------------------------------------------ 
 
6.  (C) The same NDI observer said in a preliminary 
assessment that the appeal process itself appeared to be 
sound.  Palestinian lawyer Ahmad Mughanni, representing Fatah 
before the appellate court, reported that the court had 
listened to 27 witnesses over three days before deciding the 
case.  The case is weakened, however, by the fact that the 
Palestinian Legislative Council approved use of the civil 
registry to supplement voter registration lists compiled by 
the CEC in order to ensure the widest possible 
enfranchisement -- despite the fact that the civil registry 
is known to contain outdated information.  This, at least in 
theory, calls into question election results elsewhere, a 
point made in a statement by the Palestinian Center for Human 
Rights.  The courts ruled, however, only on the specific 
complaints brought before them, all of which were brought by 
Fatah and all of which were in municipalities where Fatah had 
not won majorities.  A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu 
Zuhri, accused Fatah and the PA of pressuring the court to 
annul the election results in an attempt to besmirch Hamas' 
reputation, and a Hamas representative on the HCLE announced 
that Hamas may boycott the election re-runs. 
 
7.  (C) After a meeting May 23 to implement the court 
decision, the HCLE charged its local members in Gaza to form 
new local committees and to prepare for the new elections. 
NGO monitors remain concerned that the same flawed civil 
registry lists will again be used to supplement the voter 
registration lists, although a spokesman for Minister of 
Interior Naser Yusuf announced May 23 that the Ministry would 
undertake to update the civil registry by removing the names 
of dead and imprisoned individuals. 
 
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"Hamas Is Making a Big Mistake" 
------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Efrangi told Poloff May 20 that "Hamas is making a 
big mistake,... thinking the PA could do nothing," in the 
face of Hamas' dirty tactics.  Fatah, Efrangi continued, had 
answered the Hamas fraud with the language of law.  Hamas, he 
said, responded in turn with the deluge of rockets and 
violence directed at Gaza settlements and IDF soldiers May 
19-21, which he characterized as an attempt to disrupt 
President Abbas's visit to the U.S.  Hamas officials claim, 
however, that the violence of the past week is a response to 
"Israeli aggression" that left two Hamas militants dead in 
Gaza, one of whom died in the first Israeli air strike in 
Gaza since the period of calm was declared. 
 
9.  (C) Efrangi said that "no trust remains" between Fatah 
and Hamas, which is, he charged, trying to usurp PA authority 
via fraudulent elections, while at the same time maintaining 
the faction's "clean" reputation.  What Fatah will not do, 
Efrangi declared, is back down from its electoral challenge 
in order to quiet the situation.  Taking what he clearly 
viewed as the high ground, Efrangi stressed that Hamas needs 
to come to Fatah to resolve the issue peacefully, rather than 
address it via media statements and rocket fire.  Continuing 
his screed against Hamas in general and Hamas leader al-Zahar 
in particular, Efrangi denied that the May 19-20 Hamas attack 
against Kfar Darom settlement from an unused UNRWA school 
building was a joint operation including a Fatah-affiliated 
al-Aqsa militant.  Hamas stands alone, Efrangi said, adding 
that Hamas was behind the entire operation by supporting 
"independent" militant operatives in Gaza. 
 
10.  (C) Comment: Efrangi's stand and other public statements 
by Fatah officials indicate that Fatah feels it has the moral 
high ground with its successful resort to the courts, in 
contrast to Hamas' rejection of the court decision. 
International observers on election day did not report 
widespread problems in Gaza, although both they -- and Hamas 
-- warned before earlier rounds of elections against use of 
the outdated civil registry.  Although few expect the 
overwhelming majorities won by Hamas in Rafah and al-Bureij 
to change significantly, Bayt Lahiya is a closer race that 
may shift control of the council into Fatah hands.  The 
HCLE's decision to re-form the local commissions to supervise 
the new polling is a welcome improvement to the process, as 
it addresses the inadvertent domination of these bodies by 
Hamas supporters through over-reliance on Ministry of 
Education officials. 
 
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