Tensions high in Nablus

Ynet
The Palestinian elections in Nablus may be in danger after a Fatah election activist was murdered in the city Monday night, Palestinian Authority officials said Tuesday.

Yusuf Hassouna, 25, was shot during a quarrel with other Fatah members. His family announced that he will not be buried until his death is avenged, or until the murderers turn themselves in.

"The murder of a Fatah member by other Fatah members will lead to tension and violence," a member of the Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades told Ynet.

Elections rally (Photo: AP)
"Hamas will take advantage of it, and therefore it is possible that our people will try and disrupt the elections in order to prevent a Hamas victory," he said.

Ironically, a short while later and separately from the incident, various Palestinian groups signed a declaration of honor and pledged to undertake all necessary efforts in order to maintain calm and allow the elections to go ahead without violence.

Following the incident, PA and Fatah officials attempted to calm the situation. Local activists even called on senior PA officials from Ramallah to get involved in order to prevent tensions from boiling over one day before the elections.

The latest incident threatens to turn the elections into an insignificant matter in Nablus, particularly after Hassouna's family threatened to "inflame" the city if his murder was not avenged.

In the hours after the murder, a large number of gunmen gathered outside Hassouna's family home and a passerby promised that "these gunmen will be present near the voting stations tomorrow, and then God forbid."

Fatah candidate: Incident plays into rivals' hands
Nasser Joumaa, a Fatah candidate who was until recently considered to be the commander of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Nablus, claimed that Tuesday's murder caused a lot of damage to Fatah ahead of the elections."Instead of taking care of the final arrangements for tomorrow in order to guarantee our victory, we are forced to deal with this painful incident. God willing, we will manage to handle things, because if we don’t – it may harm the movement in the elections tomorrow," he said.

Joumaa spent the morning hours making phone calls and trying to mediate between Fatah members.

"Before this incident we hoped that the elections would mark Fatah's return, following the defeat in the local elections," he said.

"I attended four mass rallies and dozens of gatherings. We told people that the game tomorrow is different and that it is not about the question of who gives better service at the city council. It is about important political matters," he added.

"The atmosphere was optimistic," he said. "We even thought that we would win four out of the six spots in the direct elections, but now it is uncertain whether this will happen. This morning's incident plays into the hands of the rivals."

The rivals he was referring to are Hamas. Although the movement's members in Nablus did not rejoice following the murder, one activist said "this proves that what we are saying is true."

"The security anarchy is not created by resistance organizations in the PA, but the anarchy is between Fatah's armed groups. The people are fed up with this situation of corruption, disorder, embezzlements and bribe," he said.

"The people have understood today that Islam is the solution and that Hamas is order, discipline, faith in God, operating according to the Lord's ways and a real representation of the Palestinian people's interests. God willing, just like in the local elections, tomorrow night we will celebrate another victory for Islam," he added.

Change in atmosphere
Tayseer Nasrallah, member of the Palestinian National Council and the Refugee Committee, seemed very concerned over Tuesday's incident. He wanted to talk to people about the elections, but it appeared the atmosphere in the city had changed following the murder.

PA police brace for trouble (Photo: AP)
"It is not certain that the elections will take place tomorrow in light of this incident, and it is not even certain that they will take place at all," he said.

"What is certain is that today's incident will hurt Fatah. It reinforces the people's feeling that Fatah and its members are the ones most responsible for the security anarchy in the city, and in the PA in general," he added.

Fatah members have been speaking in the past few days about the movement's revival, but judging by the amount of green flags in the cities, it seems that Hamas' well-oiled machine has won at least in terms of dominating the streets.

Now, apart from winning the battle over the streets, Fatah officials fear that they have single-handedly handed the victory in the elections to Hamas.