US program tries to boost Fatah

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Bush administration is spending foreign aid money to increase the popularity of the Palestinian Authority on the eve of crucial elections in which the governing party faces a serious challenge from the radical Islamic group Hamas.

The approximately $2 million program is being led by a division of the US Agency for International Development. But no US government logos appear with the projects or events being undertaken as part of the campaign, which bears no evidence of American involvement and does not fall within the definitions of traditional development work.

US officials say their low profile is meant to ensure that the Palestinian Authority receives public credit for a collection of small, popular projects and events to be unveiled before Palestinians select their first parliament in a decade. Internal documents outlining the program, designed with the help of a former US Army Special Forces officer who worked in postwar Afghanistan on democracy-building projects, describe the effort as ''a temporary paradigm shift" in the way the aid agency operates.

US and Palestinian officials say they fear the election, scheduled for Wednesday, will result in a large Hamas presence in the 132-seat legislature.

Hamas, formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, is at war with Israel and is classified by the US government as a terrorist organization. But its reputation for competence and accountability in providing social services has made it a stiff rival of the secular Fatah movement, which runs the Palestinian Authority and has long been the largest party in the Palestinian territories.

The plan's $2 million budget, although a tiny fraction of USAID's work here, is likely more than any Palestinian party will have spent by election day. A media consultant for Hamas said the organization would likely spend less than $1 million on its campaign.

Elements of the US-funded program include a street-cleaning campaign, distributing free food and water to Palestinians at border crossings, donating computers to community centers, and sponsoring a national youth soccer tournament. US officials are coordinating the program through Rafiq Husseini, chief of staff to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and Fatah leader.

In recent days, Arabic-language papers have been filled with US-funded advertisements announcing the events in the name of the Palestinian Authority, which the public closely identifies with Fatah. Some of the events, like a US-financed tree-planting ceremony here in Ramallah that Abbas attended last week, have resembled Fatah rallies, with participants wearing the trademark black-and-white kaffiyehs emblazoned with the party logo.

''Public outreach is integrated into the design of each project to highlight the role of the PA in meeting citizens needs," said a progress report distributed this month to USAID and State Department officials.

US officials and consultants involved in the program acknowledge it generated debate inside the aid agency and the two firms hired to manage the project. But US officials said the goal of limiting Hamas's influence in the next Palestinian government overshadowed concerns about the decision not to disclose the US government's role in the campaign.

''We are not favoring any particular party," said James Bever, the USAID mission director for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. ''But we do not support parties that are on the terrorism list. We are here to support the democratic process."