Candidates stake claim to Jerusalem

BIR NABALLAH, West Bank -- In the final countdown to a vote that is being hailed as a historic step toward democracy for the Palestinian people, the two main presidential contenders ended their campaigns yesterday 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 the election tomorrow to replace Yasser Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority 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, suggested to have an overwhelming lead in most surveys, had planned to close out 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, 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 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, then a Cabinet minister.

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

This marked Barghouti's eighth encounter with Israeli security forces in the course of his campaign. His supporters say his repeated checkpoint scuffles with Israeli troops have cast a needed spotlight on the obstacle course of roadblocks that Palestinians face when trying to move about the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But detractors contended that Barghouti deliberately courted the confrontations to boost his campaign.

Shmuel Ben-Ruby, Jerusalem police spokesman, said Barghouti previously had agreed to refrain from campaigning at the mosque compound, where thousands of worshipers converge for Friday prayers.

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

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 keffiyeh headdresses like the one Arafat wore cheered the candidate, but they also interrupted him repeatedly with prolonged chants of ''Al Aqsa!" and ''Abu Ammar!" -- Arafat's nom de guerre.

The white-haired Abbas, voice hoarsened by the 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!"

Israel has pledged to halt military operations in the West Bank and Gaza beginning today to avoid interfering with the voting. The army said in a statement late last night that it would ''do all it can to maximize the freedom of movement of Palestinians."

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