#1 Hamas Sweeps Palistinian Election
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:56 pm
Dressing thy links is goodHamas sweeps to victory in Palestinian election
AFP
Friday, January 27, 2006
RAMALLAH, West Bank, (AFP) - Hamas triggered a political earthquake yesterday with a sweeping victory in the Palestinian election, a result that has raised widespread alarm about the prospects for Middle East peace.
The Islamic Resistance Movement won a massive 76 of 132 seats in the Ramallah-based parliament, while the long-dominant Fatah faction won just 43, election commission head Hanna Nasser said at a press conference.
Prime minister Ahmed Qorei resigned immediately after conceding the Fatah faction, founded by the late Yasser Arafat decades ago, had been defeated by a movement contesting its first ever parliamentary election.
Jubilant Hamas supporters broke into the Ramallah-based parliament and hauled down the Palestinian flag from the roof, replacing it with a green Islamist banner as thousands of other followers took to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza in seas of green.
Israel struggled to take in the implications of the shock result, but made it clear it would have nothing to do with a government that included Hamas -- a movement that has killed scores of Israelis over the past two decades.
As Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas urged all parties to respect the result of only the second ever general election Wednesday, international players such as the United States and Europe made clear their unease at the outcome.
US President George W. Bush said Hamas must renounce its call to destroy Israel and that he would like to see Abbas remain in power.
"Peace is never dead, because people want peace," he told reporters.
"On the other hand, I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform. And I know you can't be a partner in peace if your party has got an armed wing," he said.
Hamas's chief candidate Ismail Haniya said the movement would hold talks with Abbas, insisting it did not want to go it alone.
"Hamas is not going to work alone, but with the other groups who represent the Palestinian people," he said.
Abbas himself said in a statement that the results had to be respected as the election had been conducted freely and fairly.
"I urge all the parties to respect the law and accept the will of the people," he added.
Now, who wants to place bets on what percentage of their GDP will be funneled into terrorist operations or a flat out attack on israel?