Palestinian Candidates Focus on Jerusalem

In the final countdown to a vote that is already being hailed as a historic step toward democracy for the Palestinian people, the two main presidential contenders ended their campaigns Friday by staking symbolic claims to Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

About 1.75 million Palestinians are eligible to cast ballots in Sunday’s election to replace Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, who died Nov. 11. Seven candidates are running, but the race is essentially a two-man contest between Mahmoud Abbas, the 69-year-old leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization who has served as interim leader since Arafat’s death, and Mustafa Barghouti, a 50-year-old physician and human rights campaigner.

Abbas, who has an overwhelming lead in most surveys, had planned to close his campaign in East Jerusalem, a visit that was to have included attending Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque complex in the walled Old City.

Saying he did not want to contend with a heavy Israeli security presence, and reportedly facing threats from a fundamentalist Islamic group as well, Abbas instead staged his final rally in the hilltop West Bank village of Bir Naballah on Jerusalem’s outskirts.

Sovereignty over traditionally Arab East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War, is one of the most incendiary issues for Israel and the Palestinians, both of whom claim the city as their capital.

And the Al Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine, is a touchstone for the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, now in its fifth year. One of the main Palestinian militant groups, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, takes its name from the shrine, where violence broke out at the end of September 2000 after a controversial visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was then a Cabinet minister.

Barghouti also sought to drive home a connection to Jerusalem, particularly to Al Aqsa. Trailed by a crowd of journalists he had urged to join him, he was detained by Israeli police at the entrance of the Old City after declaring his intention to enter the mosque compound.

It was Barghouti’s eighth encounter with Israeli security forces during his campaign. His supporters say his repeated checkpoint scuffles with Israeli troops have cast a necessary spotlight on the obstacle course of roadblocks that Palestinians face when trying to move about the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But detractors grumble that Barghouti deliberately courts the confrontations to boost his campaign.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said Barghouti had agreed to refrain from campaigning at the sprawling Al Aqsa mosque compound, a splendidly tiled plateau where thousands of worshipers converge for Friday prayers, the most important occasion of the Muslim week.

In Bir Naballah, Abbas’ rally illustrated the complexities of his dealings with young street toughs who have been a galvanizing element of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada.

Abbas has staked out a moderate, pragmatic approach to dealings with Israel, saying he wants to open negotiations with Sharon. But many of the young men associated with his Fatah movement still seem to be spoiling for a fight.

Young men in leather jackets and checkered kaffiyehs like the ones Arafat wore cheered the candidate, dressed in his customary business suit. But they also interrupted him repeatedly with prolonged chants of “Al Aqsa!” and “Abu Ammar!” -- Arafat’s nom de guerre.

The white-haired Abbas, his voice hoarse from weeks of campaigning, addressed the boisterous crowd from a high balcony.

“Today we did not go to Jerusalem, but tomorrow we will be in Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian people,” he said to roars of approval. “Let us go to Jerusalem as free people, in the millions!”

Because of Israeli restrictions on the number of polling places in East Jerusalem, only about 5,000 of the estimated 120,000 eligible Palestinian voters there would be allowed to cast their ballots in the city. Most will have to go to polling places in outlying areas.

Israel has pledged to halt military operations in the West Bank and Gaza beginning today, to avoid interfering with the voting. The army said late Friday that it would “do all it can to maximize the freedom of movement of Palestinians.”

But military officials said they would act in the event of intelligence warnings of any imminent attack. And Israeli authorities said the entry of Palestinian workers to Israel from today until Monday would be restricted as a precaution.

Voting will be monitored by about 800 foreign observers, among them former President Carter.

Carter, a respected veteran of far-flung election-watching, expressed hope for a peaceful vote.

“My hope is that the Palestinians establish a government that will be committed to the peace process and the abhorrence ... of any violence,” he said in a statement after meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav.

Nearly 20,000 representatives of local Palestinian organizations and the various campaigns also will be monitoring the vote. To prevent fraud, voters’ hands will be marked with indelible ink when they cast their ballots.

Abbas has been careful not to appear overly confident. But he did say Friday that if he won, he would ask Prime Minister Ahmed Korei to stay in his post and form a new government. Israeli news reports Friday also said that Sharon and Abbas were expected to meet soon after the election.