Palestinians might vote after all

Israel may allow Palestinians who live in east Jerusalem to participate in Palestinian elections, an Israeli official said yesterday.

A senior Palestinian official welcomed the comments, but said that he was skeptical since the Palestinian Authority had not yet received an official response from Israel on the matter. The Palestinians had threatened not to hold the Jan. 25 parliamentary elections if Israel did not let Palestinians in east Jerusalem vote.

Israel had warned that it would not allow Palestinians to hold the elections in east Jerusalem since the Islamic group Hamas is participating. Control of Jerusalem is one of the central disputes in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Israel is now considering ways to allow thousands of Palestinians who live in east Jerusalem to vote, without infringing Israel's sovereignty in the sector of the city, a government official said on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak with the press.

Israel will probably allow the Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem to vote in post offices in the city, the official said. Palestinian top negotiator Saeb Erekat said a decision by Israel to allow Palestinians to vote in the city would answer a key Palestinian demand.

When asked if the Palestinians welcome Israel's tendency to let the east Jerusalem Palestinians vote, Erekat said "Absolutely, but we need to hear this from them officially."

Israel has not made a final decision on the matter, the Israeli official said.

The Palestinians claim predominantly Arab east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Israel, which captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, says the entire city is its eternal capital.

Israel wants to keep Hamas out of the election process since it has carried out several suicide bombings. Hamas' popularity among Palestinians has grown considerably in recent months and the party could take a large percentage of the seats in the elections.

Israel has warned that it will not negotiate with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.

Israel has allowed Arabs in east Jerusalem to participate in past Palestinian elections, letting them cast ballots at post offices.