Hamas victory and the rush to judgment

Today we woke up and the sky was a different color. We have entered a new era - Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, of Fatah.

While many Palestinians who have been disillusioned with a Fatah weakened by divisions and corruption allegations and yearning for change are celebrating the landslide victory, the blogosphere and the mainstream media seem to be in a rush to judgment over the win by Hamas in the Palestinian elections.

The Ottawa Citizen published an article today headed Hamas won't change its spots, by Barry Rubin... "Why should we believe that Hamas will do anything other than murdering thousands of people and installing a terrible dictatorship over Palestinians? Well, there's always naive wishful thinking."

The Blogger News Network was frankly horrified:

If you've ever said that it's not the Palestinian people that hate Israel, just their government...

...if you've ever said that the Palestinians just want to live in peace with the Jewish state...

... if you've ever had any illusions about what it would take to get peace between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East...

...this is your wake-up call.

Palestine Blogs was slightly hopeful... "I believe that since Palestinians are all alone facing their destiny with no one ever being able to stop their suffering, then it�s only Palestinians who have the right to choose their representatives. Let�s give Hamas a chance, and hope that things will become better� I know I sound extremely optimistic, but let�s wait and see!"

Beshara Doumani from the Department of History at Berkeley, writing in the hikm: an attempt at wisdom blog sees that ... "On the regional level, Hamas� victory is part of a larger trend of the ascendance of political Islam via the iconic vehicle of the secular liberal political order of the Enlightenment: the ballot box. The incredible scenes of women supporters of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt scaling walls in order to reach polling stations sealed off by police sent in to prevent a certain electoral defeat of the ruling government party, reveals a great deal about the determination of Islamist political parties that have swept to victories in many other countries, including Iraq and the limited municipal elections in Saudi Arabia."

Ed Lasky writing in The American Thinker says that Hamas will not moderate when in power: "When Hezbollah became part of the Lebanese government it only emboldened them. Now Hamas looks set to become the leading Parliamentary party in the Palestinian areas and will likely assume control of the region."

In a well-reasoned piece Sabbah ( Back to Nowhere ) points out that Hamas has no experience in running a government. Fatah, he says "...must have learned by now that they need a new blood to run the field. They failed miserably in all what they did in the past few years". He also draws attention to the fact that "While this is the situation in Palestine, we have to keep in mind that this elections represent ONLY Palestinians inside Palestine. Not a single vote was cast by millions of Palestinian living in the Diaspora. This is another lesson Fateh should learn".

The Israelis and Americans appear horrified by the outcome of a democratic vote, yet there are other voices in the Arab world who appear to be taking a more cautious "wait and see" approach.


Queen Rania of Jordan (who is of Palestinian origin):

"It remains to be seen how Hamas will step up to the plate now they're in a position of responsibility: Whether they will pursue a peaceful track and change their course or whether they will remain focused on the ideology they've propagated in the past."



Afghan President Hamid Karzai:

"If the people of Palestine have expressed their will by voting for Hamas, we should respect that will, and give Hamas a chance to prove itself while in government." He also urged Hamas to have what he called "the courage" to treat Israel as a nation which has an equal right to exist as the Palestinians do. And he called on Israel to treat the Palestinians as a nation, and to try to live with them as well.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf:

"Let's give Hamas a chance. If Hamas was the organization obstructing peace previously, they may be the organization to have the power to reach for peace also."
He also stated that previous politicians who had been considered warmongers by Muslims, notably Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, had transformed themselves into peacemakers.


Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi:

"The Islamic Republic of Iran congratulates Hamas and all the Palestinian soldiers and the great Islamic people. The Palestinians have voted for the resistance and have shown their loyalty. The allies of the Zionist regime must closely examine the evolution of the region and open their eyes to the undisputable realities of the Middle East. The result of these elections will reinforce the unity of the Palestinian people in defending their rights. The massive participation of the Palestinians shows their will to continue the struggle and resistance against occupation."

The reaction from the European Union has been more guarded, though not openly dismissive. The EU, the biggest provider of aid to the Palestinian Authority, said it would work with any Palestinian government that is committed to peace.

"We are happy to work with any government if that government is prepared to work by peaceful means," said external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner in a statement.

"In holding competitive and credible elections the Palestinians have shown their commitment to determine their political future via democratic means," she added.



TIME FOR CAUTION.

There is no doubt that the Hamas landslide has shifted the balance of power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip away from the Fatah Party that has dominated Palestinian life for four decades. Yet the transition will not be without incident.

Across Gaza and the West Bank, thousands of Hamas supporters, marched, danced and sang in the streets, firing guns in the air in celebration. Streets in Hamas strongholds were awash in the group's hallmark green banner. Within hours of the victory Fatah official, Abu Ali Shaheen, was predicting heightened friction between Fatah and Hamas. Hamas' members "do not accept the other," he said. "If they don't dominate him and oppress him, then they think of pushing him aside."

Hamas official Naji al-Serhi dismissed such worries.

"We want to reassure all the brothers in the police and the security forces that we will not fire anyone unless they break the law," he said. "We are a disciplined movement...that does not settle scores."

But some trouble was immediate. Fatah loyalists clashed with triumphant Hamas supporters who briefly raised their green flags at the entrance to the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah. Fatah activists trampled on one of the banners when it was lowered. Shots were fired nearby.

We give the last sobering word to Karim Elsahy from the One Arab World blog:

"The terrorist organization has become the government. They can no longer hide under the pretence of splinter guerrilla factions. The next attack will be a formal declaration of war between two nations. Any advantage Hamas may have had under those pretences are now gone. Their old methods don�t stand a chance in this new paradigm shift."

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