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OPT: Israel lets some Palestinians campaign in E.Jerusalem

By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Israel is allowing candidates for Palestinian legislative elections on Jan. 25 to campaign in Arab East Jerusalem as long as they do not belong to militant groups, Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra said on Monday.

Palestinians demand political rights in East Jerusalem, which they want as capital of a future state. Israel calls all the city its capital -- a status not recognised abroad -- and barred Palestinian candidates when campaigning began last week.

The dispute led to a call by the United States, sponsor of a Middle East peace "road map", for Israel to allow Jerusalem Palestinians to have access to the parliamentary ballot.

"It has been decided to allow electioneering in Jerusalem by candidates who do not represent groups still carrying arms, such as Hamas," Ezra told Israel Radio, referring to an Islamic militant group spearheading a 5-year-old Palestinian uprising.

"All those who want to campaign will submit requests in advance to the Jerusalem police, and only those who don't represent extremist groups will receive permission," Ezra said. There was no immediate word, however, on whether Israel, which captured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war, would allow voting in the city.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the United States was "playing a major role" to try to persuade Israel to enable Palestinians to cast ballots in East Jerusalem.

Israel Radio said Israeli and Palestinian officials would meet later in the day to discuss the Israeli decision.

VOTE IN DOUBT

Israel has said it may block voting in East Jerusalem because of the participation in the election of Hamas, a militant group dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state.

However, after expectations of a voting ban in East Jerusalem strengthened calls from some Palestinians for the poll to be postponed, Israeli officials said they may allow balloting to take place rather than be blamed for causing a delay.

Hatem Abdel-Qader, a candidate for the dominant Palestinian faction Fatah, said a senior Israeli police official told him candidates from the city "could start their election campaign in East Jerusalem in restricted areas" on Monday.

Some leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas's divided Fatah movement want a delay, but Hamas is riding a surge of popularity and wants the election to go ahead on time.

Hamas vowed to defy the Israeli ban.

"We will carry out our electioneering campaign whether the occupation agrees or not. We have the means and the ways to do so despite of the Israeli decision," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Hamas boycotted the last Palestinian legislative election, in 1996, when voting was allowed in East Jerusalem. But Israel says interim accords do not guarantee Palestinian political rights in Jerusalem. Palestinians dispute this.

Western countries are keen for the vote to take place as scheduled as a way of strengthening Palestinian democracy. But they are wary of a strong showing by Hamas, which has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings during a Palestinian uprising.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have Israeli identity cards but many see themselves as citizens of a future Palestinian state.

(Additional reporting by Wafa Amr and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)