Palestinians Kick Off Campaign Amid Signs of 2nd Postponement

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian parliament, shouts as she and supporters scuffle with Israeli police outside Jerusalem's Old City. Ashrawi said one of her aides was detained briefly for obstructing a police officer. (By Kevin Frayer -- Associated Press)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 3 -- The leading Palestinian political parties kicked off campaigns for parliament on Tuesday, but there was a growing possibility that balloting would be postponed as two prominent candidates had confrontations with Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem, where Israel has prohibited election activities.

Mustafa Barghouti, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Independent Palestine movement, was detained by Israeli police while campaigning in Jerusalem's Old City and held for about five hours. Police said Barghouti had the proper permit to enter East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war.

Israeli police also dispersed a rally for the Third Way movement outside the Old City's Damascus Gate. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian parliament from the Jerusalem district, was speaking at the event when police intervened. Ashrawi said police briefly detained one of her aides for obstructing a police officer.

"I'm seriously concerned over how this campaign has begun, and not only because of the highhanded manner of the Israelis," Ashrawi said in a telephone interview. "I'm also worried about our own domestic realities and the breakdown of law and order. There appears to be an emerging anarchy."

Palestinians are scheduled to vote on Jan. 25 for a new 132-seat legislature. There was a festive atmosphere in many parts of the West Bank, but several candidates in East Jerusalem faced problems, including some members of the governing Fatah movement who were detained.

The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, suggested Monday that he might postpone the election because of Israel's ban on voting in East Jerusalem. It would be the second time Abbas has delayed the vote, which was initially scheduled for July.

The warning by Abbas angered candidates of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. Recent public opinion polls project that Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, would win between 30 and 40 percent of the vote, second only to Abbas's secular Fatah movement. Hamas has never competed in national elections, but was highly successful in municipal races over the past year and has been popular because of its social service programs.

"We have told them that postponing the election will lead to a vacuum and to a dark future," Ismael Haniyeh, a top Hamas candidate, told reporters in the Gaza Strip. "Postponing the election is not the solution."

The makeup of the new parliament will likely have little bearing on Palestinian policy, which will remain firmly in Abbas's control. But the results would help gauge both the popularity of Hamas, whose armed wing has carried out numerous attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians during the most recent uprising that began in September 2000, and Fatah's unity as it endures a divisive generational power struggle.

Israeli officials have banned voting and electioneering in East Jerusalem because of the participation of Hamas, saying a 1996 agreement with Palestinian leaders about the election process prohibited the involvement of groups that do not recognize Israel.

"This time Hamas, a terrorist group, is participating," said an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office. "Because of this we cannot cooperate with the elections. This is our policy not only in East Jerusalem but throughout the process." The official spoke on condition he not be further identified.

A number of Palestinian politicians have called on the Bush administration to pressure Israel into allowing the vote to take place in East Jerusalem, an important symbol for Israelis and Palestinians, each of whom claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Barghouti, who lost the presidential race to Abbas a year ago, echoed that demand after his arrest. "Israel is trying to obstruct free elections in Jerusalem, and by doing so obstructing the process everywhere," he said.