Success of Hamas in local vote puts militants on political map
QALQILIYA, West Bank -- The Islamic militants of Hamas won nearly a third of the West Bank and Gaza towns holding local elections, according to unofficial results yesterday, cementing the group as a significant political force as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas tries to make peace with Israel.
Abbas's corruption-tainted Fatah movement, which had feared defeat, did better than expected and held on to control over most of the area, winning in 45 of 84 communities. But he will no longer be able to ignore Hamas, which has long opposed negotiations with Israel.
Thousands of flag-waving Hamas supporters took to the streets, shooting off fireworks, handing out candy, and honking car horns. In Qalqiliya, a West Bank town of 45,000 on the frontier with Israel, the green Hamas banner was hoisted over city hall as the group swept all 15 local council seats.
Hamas candidates also won control of the two other biggest towns holding elections, Rafah and Beit Lahiya in Gaza.
The election -- the third round of local voting by Palestinians this year -- was the final test for Abbas before parliamentary elections in July that could add to pressures to bring Hamas into the Palestinian administration.
Abbas has an ambivalent view of Hamas and its political aspirations. He has encouraged Hamas to transform itself into a political party, hoping this will help him quiet extremists and shore up the truce with Israel.
But an increasingly strong Hamas as an opposition party could hinder peace talks. Hamas opposes the existence of the Jewish state and its members have targeted Israelis with dozens of suicide bombings, shellings, and shootings in recent years.
Supporters of bringing Hamas into politics, including some Hamas members, say it will force the group to moderate its approach.
Hamas leaders yesterday tried to allay concerns that they will impose hard-line religious views in the communities they will govern, saying the group will focus on providing better services in the municipalities. ''We are not Iran or the Taliban," said Mohammed Ghazal, a senior Hamas official in the West Bank. ''We believe that personal freedom is one of the foundations of Islam."
However, the rise of Hamas -- branded by Israel, the United States, and the European Union as a terrorist group -- poses challenges. Many basic municipal functions, such as electricity supply, telephones and trash collections are handled jointly with Israeli service providers.
The group is an avowed enemy of Israel, although it has agreed to suspend violence as part of a February truce arranged by Abbas.
An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that Hamas will emerge as the largest faction in this summer's parliamentary elections and begin influencing Palestinian policy. Hamas has not yet said whether it will seek posts in Abbas's Cabinet.
In the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, tensions between Hamas and Fatah supporters erupted into violence late yesterday. Thousands of supporters of each party took to the streets throwing stones at each other and gunmen on both sides fired into the air. Six people were wounded.
