Cambridge voters narrowly approved controversial Question 5 yesterday, becoming one of the first--if not the first city in the country--to oppose Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

With 100 percent of city precincts reporting, the tally of votes for the non-binding referendum was 19,173 votes, with 17,441 against.

Question 5 calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied territories and for eliminating U.S. aid to Israel that supports this occupation.

Harvard students and faculty campaigned strongly on the referendum, which "instructs" Cambridge's representative to vote for a resolution supporting these policies.

"This is the first time anything questioning Israel's politics has passed on the grass-roots level," said Trig Tarazi '89, president of the Society of Arab Students.

The "yes" vote on the referendum sends a "message to our elected officials that their policies are really not in line with what the voters believe in," said Kathryn Silver, coordinator of the Coalition for Palestinian Rights, the group that sponsored Question 5's appearance on the ballot. Congress' funds belong to the taxpayers, Silver said, and actions against Palestinians are "an improper use of those funds."

Question 5 "simplifies a very complex situation," said Ellen L. Chubin, Harvard coordinator of Americans for Peace in the Middle East, an organization that has campaigned heavily against the referendum, "and that can only lead to more confusion on the issues."

"I think the phrase `peace in the Middle East' was distorted in the question," Chubin said, explaining last night's results. She added that she thought that while most voters agreed with the question's intentions, "most people didn't go so far as to analyze the specific program that was proposed."

Supporters of Question 5 said they were surprised by the victory, adding that their campaign was designed to get people thinking about Israel's conduct toward the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories.

"Our point wasn't so much to win, but to raise consciousness [about the Middle East] in the community, to get it debated and discussed and to increase awareness of what has been going on in the occupied territories and how America's role...has only exacerbated the situation," Tarazi said.

"Obviously, we can't claim a complete victory," Tarazi said. "The numbers are far too close."

In other city results, Cambridge voters supported Questions 4, which called for the shutdown of Massachusetts' two nuclear power plants. City voters did not pass Questions 1, 2 and 3, however.

In Cambridge polling places, Gov. Michael Dukakis won the presidential race in a landslide over his rival Vice President George Bush, while incumbent Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 also won handily, as did Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II.

Vote Tallies

Question 4 passed with a total of 16,463 "yes" votes to 15,612 "no" in Cambridge's 11 wards. Question 1 was defeated by 24,991 opposing votes over 13,256 in favor of passage. Questions 2 and 3 were also defeated, 25,654 to 13,312 and 22,218 to 16,338, respectively.

Presidential candidate Gov. Michael Dukakis beat Vice President Bush by a margin of 31,492 votes to 8708 in Cambridge, approximately 77 percent to 21 percent. National election figures show that Bush beat Dukakis 54 percent to 46 percent, with Dukakis carrying his home state.

Cambridge supported the re-election effort of Senator Edward M. Kennedy '54 by a large margin, giving Kennedy 32,711 votes to 7077 for Joseph D. Malone '78.

Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II carried Cambridge in his bid to represent the state's Eighth Congressional District, gaining 33,482 votes as compared to 5906 votes for his Republican rival, Glenn W. Fiscus.