A New Palestinian Legislature

by Patrick Lang

The latest surveys show HAMAS, which obtained major success in the local elections against the group, al-Fatah, lead by President Mahmoud Abbas, will get more than one third of the votes in this election and become an important political power.

According to the latest public survey conducted by Ramallah-based Palestine Politics and Research Center, 42 percent of voters intend to vote for the Fatah and 35 percent for HAMAS.

It is also claimed the Islamic Resistance Movement emerge victorious in the elections.

Authorities said the election is like a test that forces the Movement, a body that has previously supported the use of force against Israel, to make a choice between “politics and weapons.” Zaman Online

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” was the title of an earlier post on the rise to political power of Islamist groups across the Middle East. Today we see another instance of this coming to pass. Hizballah in Lebanon was said to be in a “state of transition” from armed struggle to political participation… Well, they have effectively walked away from their role in Lebanon’s government rather than even discuss seriously the idea of giving up their weapons. They stand on the sidelines of the US “Greater Middle East” project ensuring that Syria and Iran know that they have friends and allies in south Lebanon backing up their decisions.

Tomorrow the Palestinians will elect a legislature. There will be a large role in that body for HAMAS. Will Israel deal directly with HAMAS cabinet ministers? They say no, they will not. Will HAMAS government officials deal sirectly with Israeli government officials? They say no, but they might communicate with them through intermediaries.

Not very promising. — Pat Lang
Additional Ref: Hamas/Wikipedia

Col. Patrick W. Lang (Ret.), a highly decorated retired senior officer of U.S. Military Intelligence and U.S. Army Special Forces, served as “Defense Intelligence Officer for the Middle East, South Asia and Terrorism” for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was later the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. Col. Lang was the first Professor of the Arabic Language at the United States Military Academy at West Point. For his service in the DIA, he was awarded the “Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive.” He is a frequent commentator on television and radio, including MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann (interview), CNN and Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room (interview), PBS’s Newshour, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” (interview), and more .

Personal Blog: Sic Semper Tyrannis 2005 || Bio || CV
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“Drinking the Kool-Aid,” Middle East Policy Council Journal, Vol. XI, Summer 2004, No. 2