Low-key Israeli election campaign in final week

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A convoy of cars decorated with banners and blasting the music of Israel's right-wing Likud party drove through the streets of Arab East Jerusalem letting everyone know: Bibi is coming.

Minutes later, Benjamin Netanyahu, the opposition leader and frontrunner in Israel's February 10 election, arrived at an archaeological site known as the City of David just outside the walls of the Old City.

Surrounded by dozens of photographers -- a level of attention rival candidates have not enjoyed -- Netanyahu made his way through the crowd with a smile and a clear message.

"A Likud government will keep Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty," said Netanyahu, popularly known in Israel by his childhood nickname, "Bibi."

Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as the capital of the state they want to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 2000, a Palestinian uprising erupted after a visit by then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a holy site revered by Muslims and Jews in the Old City.

But on Monday, during Netanyahu's brief tour outside its walls, the only Palestinian protest was as low-key as the Israeli election campaign itself -- barely audible shouting from a lone heckler on a nearby rooftop.

Netanyahu and his main rivals in the race, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the ruling, centrist Kadima party, and Labor chairman Ehud Barak, the defense minister, suspended campaigning during the duration of Israel's 22-day Gaza offensive.

The campaign has gathered little speed since a ceasefire went into effect on January 18. Nightly party TV commercials and candidates' speeches to think tanks and business groups have largely taken the place of large street rallies.