BREAKING NEWS!
Fatah Party: HAMAS WINS Palestinian Vote
AP – 3 minutes ago
JERUSALEM – The Hamas militant group captured a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, according to officials in Hamas and the ruling Fatah Party, a shocking victory that could throw Mideast peace prospects into turmoil.
Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats In 132 Member Parliament
GAZA (Irish Examiner/AP) Jan. 26 — The Islamic militant Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian parliament elections, winning 76 seats in the 132-member parliament, election officials announced today.
The rival Fatah Party, which controlled Palestinian politics for four decades, won 43 seats.
Palestinian leaders, stunned by the militant group’s sweeping victory, huddled to determine the shape of a new government as world leaders insisted Hamas renounce violence and recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Palestinian supporters of Islamic Hamas wave flags during a rally in support of candidates for the Palestinian parliamentary elections in the West Bank town of Hebron. Despite no immediate public displays of celebration, Hamas on claimed victory, saying that based on partial results it won a solid majority of seats, a dramatic upset confirmed by senior officials in the rival Fatah Party. AP Photo/Kevin Frayer
Israeli politicians from across the political spectrum said there could be no relations with a group that has been responsible for scores of deadly attacks against Israelis and is listed as a terror organisation by the US and the European Union.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and his Cabinet resigned this morning, even before the official results were announced, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was to ask Hamas to form the next government.
The top Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, told Abbas his group is ready for a political partnership, Hamas said.
In a first sign of pragmatism, Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official, said the group would extend its year-old truce if Israel reciprocates. “If not, then I think we will have no option but to protect our people and our land,” he said.
By Ronen Bergman
Ex-Mossad officer took part in failed 1996 assassination attempt on Hamas leader, gave antidote that saved his life.
A former senior mossad official has told the Yedioth Ahronoth weekend magazine “7 Days” he was instructed to save the life of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal following an Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan in 1996.
Mishka Ben David says he had just finished a stint as head of the Mossad ‘s intelligence wing in Jordan, when the plan to kill Mashaal was hatched. Ben David was about to take a partial study leave of absence when he was asked to play a part in a mission that was to cause one of the deepest Israeli-Jordanian political crises ever.
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GAZA (Reuters) — The Islamic militant group Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah faction in the Palestinian parliamentary election, a political earthquake that could bury chances for peacemaking with Israel.
The shock outcome, acknowledged by Fatah ahead of official results, would not automatically unseat President Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected last year. But he has said he might resign if unable to pursue a peace policy.
Hamas’s win could lead to further unilateral moves by Israel, following a Gaza pullout last year, to shape its final border on occupied land Palestinians want for a state. Peace talks have been stalled for five years.
Palestinian election workers begin counting ballots
at a polling station in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Loay Abu Haykel/Reuters
“Hamas has won more than 70 seats in Gaza and the West Bank, which gives it more than 50 percent of the vote,” said Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the group. Within hours of the statement, which Haniyeh based on results supplied by Hamas representatives at polling stations, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie of Fatah and his cabinet quit.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev declined comment on what one Fatah official described as a tsunami.
Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said Israel would not negotiate peace under a U.S.-backed “road map” with a Palestinian government that does not “fight terror” and disarm militants.
A member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, hands his pistol to a Palestinian policeman as he enters a polling station in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus. Amid tight security, Palestinians cast ballots in their first parliament election in a decade, an historic vote integrating Islamic militants into Palestinian politics and determining the future of peacemaking with Israel. AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh
Swiss Support Palestinian Election
Speaking after casting his vote in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas praised his people for overcoming great obstacles to carry out the vote. “We are so happy with this election festival. So far, it’s going very well and we hope it will keep going well until the end without any troubles.”
President Mahmoud Abbas said arranging permission for Palestinians to vote in disputed Jerusalem had been difficult, though the matter had been resolved with the Israelis.
The Swiss foreign ministry welcomed Israel’s decision to allow the vote to go ahead in East Jerusalem. “The foreign ministry is pleased that the Palestinian elections are taking place despite the difficult security situation. It welcomes the fact that president did not give in to internal pressure to postpone the elections,” the ministry told swissinfo.
GAZA (CS Monitor) Jan. 23 — Hamas was founded in the Gaza Strip in late 1987, at the start of the first intifada, as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its secretive military wing, as Hamas describes it, carried out attacks on Israelis. But while its political wing rejected the Oslo Accords, it opened a dialogue with the Palestinian authors of the peace process in Fatah.
Meanwhile, Hamas runs preschools, youth clubs, and health clinics. It provides needy people with assistance, and even holds free weddings. It is that face of Hamas that many Palestinians see first.
“People think of Hamas as only killing people, but no, this is only one side of the picture. We are also doing a lot of social work,” says Yaish, who studied at Liverpool University in England and is a father of six. He believes that Hamas will come to be accepted internationally as an interlocutor. “I think the Americans and the Israelis have to deal with anyone the people choose,” he says.
TEL AVIV (Haaretz) Jan. 24 — Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert opened his speech at the sixth annual Herzliya Conference by saying Israel would have to withdraw from parts of the West Bank.
Israel’s 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank was a “turning point for the state of Israel,” said Olmert, who was standing in for ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Olmert presented his political plan ahead of the elections, as his rivals – Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz – also did this week.
Olmert said that the main challenge facing Israel now is setting the permanent borders of the state of Israel to ensure a Jewish majority. He said Israel must move quickly to set a border that is in line with the demographic reality on the ground.
“The choice between allowing Jews to live in all parts of the land of Israel and living in a state with a Jewish majority mandates giving up parts of the Land of Israel,” he said. “We cannot continue to control parts of the territories where most of the Palestinians live.”
A Peace Stalemate?
After 38 years of occupation by Israeli IDF troops, assassination of it’s leaders, daily humiliation of women, school age kids, friends and relatives; the first chance in a decade to express the opinion of the Palestinian people, is an echec for the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli and U.S. Government.
A large representation in the legislature by Hamas was expected, the largest majority no one dared to imagine and surpasses the chance for restarting the flawed peace process. The election result is black & white, the anger and desparation is made visible by the ordinary people.
The people want the corruption by its leaders stopped and just be able to provide the basic needs for one’s family: food, education, healthcare, jobs and security. The bare essentials to live each life with aspiration for a better future of the next generation.
With a high birth rate, the demographic balans is an important issue to gain independence and their own Palestinian State. Will the political leaders in West-Jerusalem and the White House hear their call?
Ten years ago, the assassination of PM Yitzhak Rabin stopped the peace process, caused by hate and extremism from both sides. The hospitalization of PM Ariel Sharon could do the same, unless the hands of peace are extended by a wiser generation.
STOP ALL WAR – there is no need to destroy a nation when a solution for peace is within reach.
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On the chess board called Middle-East both players have their Queen removed.
I see great promise for the near future, especially since Israel returned the Gaza strip to Palestinian authority.
See my diary today, and the remarks of PM Olmert on Israeli policy in regards to the West Bank and settlements.
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Very important post. Thanks.
Not well known that Hamas has always been the defacto government, delivering essential services to Palestinians.
In a 132 seat parliament, late reports in Israeli media, Ha’aretz, attribute Hamas 53 seats, Fatah 58. Fatah will need a coalition. This leaves US and Israel in a hard place. First they (US) helped to (illegally) fund Fatah’s campaign thru USAID and has declared they will not deal with Hamas.
Interesting times a coming. Yesterday’s terrorists -freedom fighters are tomorrow’s politicians. IRA.
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Exit polls suggest that the ruling Fatah party has won a narrow victory in the first Palestinian parliamentary elections for a decade.
The first official exit poll suggests Fatah took more than 46%, compared to 39.5% for Islamic militant group Hamas.
The official results may not be announced for several more days.
Fatah supporters chanting slogansand waving party flags in Gaza. (AP)
The BBC’s James Reynolds in Ramallah says whatever the final outcome, it is clear Fatah is no longer the single dominant force in Palestinian politics. That is because Hamas has now managed to convert its own long-standing popular support into a formal political voice.
Correspondents say Fatah may find it hard to gain the support of smaller parties to form a majority, and may be forced to invite Hamas into a governing coalition. Both parties said they would consider a coalition if there was no clear winner.
Haaretz Frontpage – Palestinian Election
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that the US always manages to back the most corrupt when interfering in other countries affairs.
So, let’s get this straight.
Mossad supports Hamas early on in order to provide a counter to the PLO/Fatah.
Fatah’s inability to “control” Hamas terror means a negotiated peace is impossible, therefore unilateral Israeli action is justified.
People around the world are making noise again about a Palestinian state; Fatah is publicly challenged to be up to the job.
USAID to Fatah is leaked before “elections.”
Hamas wins.
There is no viable, “responsible” Palestinian leadership for the Israelis to engage, justifying furher occupation, repression & unilateral action.
Sounds like The Plan is proceeding is proceeding as desired.
The pity is that this Historic moment could present a true opportunity to establish conditions for a negotiated peace, if only both parties were up to the task. . .
Bringing democracy to the Middle East hasn’t exactly gone as Bush planned. Yesterday I read a fascinating article at Common Dreams entitled The Rise of Political Islam: The Palestinian Election and Democracy in the Middle East. It takes a look at the rise of political Islam as a result of elections in Iraq, Egypt and Palestine. Seems as if Saddam’s Iraq was secular, but in 2004 polls:
“Seven out of ten respondents said that the Sharia, or Islamic law, should be the “sole basis” of Iraqi laws, and the same proportion — 70% — preferred to live in a “religious state”; only 23% opted for a secular one. The two elections since then have only underlined the accuracy of this poll.”
This coming year will certainly be interesting.
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Was true during WWII with the German V2 rocket bombing of London and Coventry in Wales, the allied bombing of Berlin, Dresden and the U.S. B-52 bombing campaign above North Vietnam.
It did work for the two atom bombs dropped on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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There shouldn’t be too much objection from obstructionists in Tel Aviv, all the politicians have bunkers.
While the relations with Israel are the key ones in the Palestinian policy, the ordinary Palestinians have ordinary needs that are often denied by the Israeli authorities and ignored by the Fatah government. When the dissatisfaction of the people reaches critical point the extremists win. They preach heavy-handed policies and give populist promises. I believe both the Fatah party and Israel are responsible for the election victory of Hamas. You cannot blame the people for choosing the nationalism/extremism, no matter how “bad” that is, when this is the only option.
This is exactly thepoint both the US and Israel have missed. They forgot their policies hurt the ordinary Palestians most and in repeatedly labelling Hamas as a terrorist organization forgot that Hamas as far more than this and was in fact the group doing anything for the people.
No surprise they won.
The policies haven’t done a whole lot for ordinary Americans and ordinary Israelis either. In the case of Palestinians, as with Iraqis, part of the strategy is to cause great suffering among the population.
As for Hamas, someone else has already pointed out that it is hardly a monolith. It was actually created by Israel to make trouble for what was then the PLO, and to this day the military wing is lousy with plants and moles and assorted vermin.
On the other hand, the social service wing is very effective and contains lots of conscientious, help-oriented people, and the news wing is very professional, whether you agree with every single editorial or not.
I have had Hamas news on my blog for years, they have such an easy copy and paste script that anybody can make it work.
The political wing is like any political wing of anything, there are people who are sincere and there are people who want to be politicians. And because it’s Palestine, don’t rule out the possibility of some plant-mole scum here and there.
Naturally, the leadership that would have been most likely to sit down at a negotiating table, if one had ever been offered, as opposed to a list of dictated terms, have been murdered by US-funded Israeli gunmen.
In any event, it is unlikely that there will be any change in the situation there until the US is removed.
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GAZA (Reuters) 20 minutes ago — Hundreds of gunmen from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas‘s Fatah movement, angry at a legislative election victory by Hamas Islamists, marched in Gaza City late today and called on him and party officials to resign.
A Palestinian man removes an election poster of assassinated Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, in the West Bank city of RamallahAbout 500 gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of Fatah, fired rifles in the air. Hamas ordered its members to evacuate the streets to try to avoid clashing with the militants, a source within the armed group said.
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GAZA Jan. 24, 2006 — While the US and the EU reportedly promised Israel they will not recognize any Palestinian government in which Hamas participates, top Fatah candidate Marwan Barghouthi, called from his Israeli prison for a national cabinet with the Islamic Resistance Movement, but his chief campaigner Nabil Shaath set conditions for Hamas participation.
Ismail Haniyeh, top of Hamas list, issued a statement saying Hamas won “about 70 seats,” enough for a majority in the 132-seat parliament. “In the shadow of the result, Hamas is going to consult with President (bbas) Abu Mazen about the shape of the political partnership in the future along with the other factions.”
Prime Minister Qurei said that Fatah is ready to “stand behind” Hamas if the Islamic group wins the parliamentary election. “I hope that the minority will accept the decisions of them majority,” Qurei said after voting in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis. “If Hamas wins, they will win and we will stand behind them. This is democracy and we accept the results of the elections,” he added.
However outgoing PLC Speaker Rawhi Fattuh said the PLC had limited influence on the decision-making process, pointing out that matters, such as peace negotiations, were dealt with by departments of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
“The PLC as an institution has no role in the decision-making process,” he told AFP.
President Mahmoud Abbas insists on talks with Israel after Hamas win
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Hamas’ Victory, by Gilad Atzmon:
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Such a sweeping victory for Hamas, founded in 1987 after twenty years of Israeli occupation and humiliatian, is the Palestinians vote for change against Fatah corruption and cronyism.
Hamas could make the gains because there is no U.S. route towards peace, only support for the Likud policy of Ariel Sharon, expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory for security reasons, separation barrier weaving through Palestinian landscape, targeted assassinations of dozens leaders of PLO, Hamas and Al Aqsa by F-16 or Apache helicopters.
The election as Palestinian President Abu Abbas and the new chance for peace after Arafat’s death was met by more Israeli unilateral steps to strengthen its hold on Palestinian West Jerusalem and surroundings. Abu Abbas was strangled by the U.S. and Israel, the people suffering daily from the IDF road blocks and harassment from right-wing extremist settlers as their new neighbors. See agreement with Bush at Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
● View of extremist Israeli former PM Bibi Netanyahu
● Arutz Sheva – Israel National News
● Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee
The Mitchell Plan – April 30, 2001
≈ Cross-posted from BooMan’s diary — Thoughts on Hamas ≈
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The enemies of Israel during the Cold War period were allies of the Soviet Union: Egypt, Libya, Syria and Iraq.
The wrong choices of friends of America in the 20th Century —
Both Democrats and Republicans have made major mistakes, even today with united voices on Iraq War, invasion and occupation. The Israelis have provided a blueprint with occupation of Palestinian land, what the U.S. should have avoided instead of duplicatimg the Israeli mistakes of invasion and occupation of a people and nation.
≈ Cross-posted from BooMan’s diary — Thoughts on Hamas ≈
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First Reflections on the Electoral Victory of Hamas
by Gilbert Achcar – January 27, 2006
§6. Ariel Sharon played skillfully on the dialectics between himself and his Palestinian true opposite number, Hamas. His calculation was simple: in order to be able to carry through unilaterally his own hard-line version of the Zionist interpretation of a “settlement” with the Palestinians, he needed two conditions, to
a. minimize international pressure upon him — or rather U.S. pressure, the only one that really matters to Israel, and
b. to demonstrate that there is no Palestinian leadership with which Israel could “do business”.
For this, he needed to emphasize the weakness and unreliability of the PA by fanning the expansion of the Islamic fundamentalist movement, knowing that the latter was anathema to the Western States. Thus every time there was some kind of truce, negotiated by the PA with the Islamic organizations, Sharon’s government would resort to an “extrajudicial execution ” — in plain language, an assassination — in order to provoke these organizations into retaliation by the means they specialized in: suicide attacks. Their “F-16s” as they say. This had the double advantage of stressing the PA inability to control the Palestinian population, and enhancing Sharon’s own popularity in Israel. The truth of the matter is that the electoral victory of Hamas is the outcome that Sharon’s strategy was very obviously seeking, as many astute observers did not fail to point out.
Gilbert Achcar is author of Eastern Cauldron (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004) and The Clash of Barbarisms, new expanded edition coming out soon from Saqi Books (London) and Paradigm Publishers (Boulder, CO).
● Juan Cole’s Visit to Amsterdam University
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In 1987, the Arabs living in the territories occupied by Israeli in the 6-Day war began a series of riots and violent confrontations known as the Intifadeh, a movement quite independent from PLO leadership. Soon thereafter, Islamic militants founded the Hamas movement, which was at first given some encouragement by Israel, as a means of countering the influence of the PLO. And perhaps because the opposition of the Hamas to an international conference that would adjudicate the problem of Palestine, coincided with the policies of the Shamir government.
The Hamas has a ‘military’ wing or wings that engages in terrorist acts and a ‘civilian’ wing that supposedly confines itself to education and ‘good works,’ under the leadership at present (1999) of the aging and ailing Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Click here for details of Hamas history.
Hamas means zeal. It is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawima al-Islamiyya, Islamic Resistance Movement/ It was created as the armed wing of the religious revivalist Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan al-Muslimin) in Gaza, in 1987 or 1988. The Hamas Charter is virulently anti-Semitic and uncompromising in its goal of riding Palestine of the Jews.
The principles of the Hamas are stated in their Covenant or Charter, given in full below …
JERUSALEM (Reuters) Jan. 27 — Almost half of Israelis think Israel should talk to a Palestinian government dominated by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which won a parliamentary majority in elections, an opinion poll showed on Friday.
The opinion poll in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper showed 48 percent of Israelis favored talking to a Hamas-led Palestinian government, while 43 percent were opposed.
Official election result shows a change of 2 seats: Hamas 74 and Fatah 45. In a parliament of 132 members, Fatah can now block a constitutional change because it has one-third of the seats.
Haaretz Newspaper
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