January 26, 2006

Hamas Becomes Player in Palestinian Government

A positive to the Palestinian elections was the lack of violence. People spoke with their ballots instead of bombs. It's hard to take that taste of freedom away. But as Glenn Reynolds says, "Democracy is a process." I want to be more hopeful about peace between Israel and Palestine, but Hamas won a considerable amount of seats in the parliment. They might have enough to force Fatah to let them into the cabinet.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that has violently struck Israel many times. They would like nothing more than to push the Jews into the sea. I hope being part of a representative government will soothe their savagery. But it's just that, hope. They campaigned like any other political party. More important, Hamas has to prove to the world they can live in civilized society. We need to see actions, not words.

The Christian Science Monitor has a telling instance of the divided proto-nation:

Hadija Jadour and Samah Jarah passed out campaign cards to voters who made their way up the dirt road into a girls' school in Obediyeh, a West Bank municipality east of Bethlehem.

The women describe themselves as friends, but the black-and-white keffiyeh-style sash that Ms. Jadour wears stands in contrast to the green one around Ms. Jarah's veil. That seems to say it all: Palestinians are deeply divided over who should lead and how.

The keffiyah marks Jadour's support for Fatah, while Jarah's green ribbon shows the world, as she puts it, "I love Hamas."

Explains Jarah: "Hamas has always been the center of the resistance, and they are working on giving assistance to people and developing our society."

"It's not true," argues Jadour, smiling wryly at her friend's comment. "Fatah is the one who established the Palestinian Authority in the first place. Fatah wants to solve things in a diplomatic way, not by violence."

Asked if they discuss these issues often, the women grin and look in different directions. "We don't go into politics," says Jarah, "or it might ruin the good relationship we have."

OxBlog's Patrick Belton has some reports from Palestine (also here and here).

"Palestinians Cast Historic Vote"

"Palestinians Vote Today, Jimmy Carter Observes"