Hamas Has Strong Election Showing

[gilliam]

The radical Hamas movement made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results obtained Friday, signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah movement ahead of next month’s presidential poll.

Elections for local councils were held Thursday in 26 communities perceived as Fatah strongholds, with some 150,000 eligible voters choosing from among more than 800 candidates. Sixteen percent of the 360 local council seats were reserved for women.

According to preliminary results obtained by The Associated Press, Fatah won a majority of council seats in 14 towns, while Hamas, participating for the first time in Palestinian elections, took control in nine communities.

In two towns, a joint Hamas-Fatah slate won, indicating that local issues and clan loyalties blunted the rivalry at times. The outcome of the vote in one community, Yabed, was not immediately available. “This is an outstanding result for Hamas,” said Palestinian analyst, Ali Jerbawi, a former head of the Palestinian Election Commission. “The 26 localities were selected from the beginning (as) strongholds of Fatah. So the results should have been more for Fatah than Hamas.”

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com …

 

[mlchance]

gilliam:

The radical Hamas movement made a surprisingly strong showing in local Palestinian elections, according to preliminary results obtained Friday, signaling a drop in popularity for the ruling Fatah movement ahead of next month’s presidential poll*.*

Given that there is no substantive difference between Hamas and Fatah, I’m not sure what the surprise is. The Fatah is little more than a public relations team for a terrorist organization. Both Fatah and Hamas have the same ultimate goal: The establishment of a Palestinian state in place of and on the blood of the state of Israel.

– Mark L. Chance.