Hamas sweeps Gaza elections.

[African Herbsman]

Hamas Sweeps Gaza Elections in Show of Strength

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas swept seven out of 10 councils in the Gaza Strip 's first local elections, seen as a test of strength between the Islamic militant group and new President Mahmoud Abbas, final results showed on Friday.

The Islamists, sworn to Israel's destruction, had boycotted the Jan. 9 presidential election, won by Abbas on a platform of ending violence to allow talks with the Jewish state on Palestinian statehood.

"Hamas's victory proves Islam is the solution," blared a slogan from loudspeakers as thousands of supporters celebrated in the streets beneath fluttering green Hamas flags.

Abbas has been trying to win a cease-fire from Hamas and other militants spearheading a 4-year-old revolt to allow the resumption of talks with Israel and to avoid chaos in Gaza ahead of an Israeli plan to abandon the occupied territory.

"Our people have a consensus on the choice of jihad and resistance and the election has underscored that concept," Hamas spokesman Muhir al-Masri told reporters.

Hamas candidates won 75 of the 118 council seats compared to 39 for members of Abbas's Fatah (news - web sites) movement and their allies, final figures from the electoral commission showed.

But while the results were a blow to Fatah, they also raise the prospect that Hamas will join parliamentary elections in July and thereby shift closer to the political mainstream.

"The results showed that our people are insisting Hamas take part in the upcoming ballot," said spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

HIGH TURNOUT

Voter turnout topped 80 percent -- much higher than at the presidential election for a successor to Yasser Arafat .

Local Government Minister Jamal al-Shobaki, a Fatah member, said the high turnout showed that "Palestinian people understand that democracy and elections are the start to the end of occupation."

Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, has won many hearts in Gaza not only for its role in the fighting but also for its charity work for the needy in the absence of welfare support from the crumbling Palestinian Authority .

Political analysts say that by taking part in the municipal elections, Hamas is also demonstrating its claim t a share of power ahead of Israel's planned withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Gaza.

Palestinian analyst Hani Habib said that Hamas's show of power could make the group more eager to join Abbas's political agenda, including a militant truce with Israel, in order to try to boost its political status among the Palestinians.

"Hamas's landslide victory will encourage it more because now it feels stronger and it will (be encouraged) to make difficult decisions while it is strong," he said. "Hamas will be involved in (Abbas's) plan from a position of strength."

Senior Hamas leader Mohammed al-Zahar told reporters in Gaza that the group would still not accept a cease-fire until Israel agreed to carry out more of their demands. Israel has already said it would reduce military raids and assassinations of militant leaders in response to Abbas's efforts to end attacks.

Hamas made a strong showing in municipal elections in the West Bank last month and the group had been expected to do even better in Gaza, where 1.4 million Palestinians live in often dire poverty.

 

[QueEx]

<font size="4"><center>"Hamas has been the most powerful force in the current
Palestinian uprising - reviled by Israelis for its suicide bomb
attacks on them ... But in an important development,
Hamas is now intent on becoming more deeply
involved in mainstream politics."</font size></center>

.


<iframe name="cwindow" style="border:5px red" width=700 height=700 <iframe name="cwindow" style="border:5px red" width=700 height=700 src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4238453.stm"></iframe>

 

[Greed]

Palestinian armed group Hamas faces ballot box test

Palestinian armed group Hamas faces ballot box test
2 hours, 48 minutes ago

BIR ZEIT, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinians voted in more than 100 West Bank municipalities in a contest pitting the ruling Fatah faction against Hamas Islamists who are refusing to renounce their armed campaign while embracing the political process.

Organisers reported no incidents of Israeli authorities hampering the voting in the occupied territory despite their threats to disrupt legislative elections in January if Hamas participates as planned.

The poll comes amid a fresh wave of violence in the now five-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Israeli forces carrying out multiple bombing sorties in Gaza and killing three militants in the West Bank overnight.

More than 127,000 voters are entitled to cast their vote in the latest phase of council elections, which have already taken place elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza.

Organisers said the turnout had appeared high in early voting after the polls opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT).

"Turnout has been very good in the time after the polls opened," the head of the higher commission for local elections (HCLE), Fira Yaghi, told AFP.

Voting in the town of Bir Zeit, the site of the main Palestinian university, was brisk, according to an AFP correspondent.

Although the voting is taking place in the West Bank, Israel's recent withdrawal from Gaza was likely to have a big bearing on the outcome, with more Palestinians crediting Hamas for bringing about the pullout rather than Fatah.

In previous phases of the elections, candidates have been identified only by their names but Thursday's ballot papers will state the party affiliation.

Palestinian deputy prime minister Nabil Shaath, who is from Fatah, defended Hamas's involvement in the electoral process, saying it was "a good sign that they become more involved in the political process."

Hamas "cannot be marginalised. We want them in the political process... Those who want to be in government should go through the ballot box, and not through shooting", he added at a conference in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

However Israel's foreign ministry reiterated its argument that Hamas should not be allowed to take part in elections as its refusal to respect the Jewish state's right to exist was in contravention of the now largely defunct 1993 Oslo autonomy accords.

"The participation of Hamas in the PA ( Palestinian Authority) elections would be nothing more than a bid by this group of Islamist extremists to seize power from moderate Palestinians who are interested in coexistence with Israel," said a statement.

Israel's resolve against Hamas has been hardened by a recent spate of rocket attacks on its territory from the movement's Gaza stronghold as well as the kidnap and murder of an Israeli in the West Bank.

"Hamas must be made to decide whether it is a political party or a terrorist organization. It cannot be both," the foreign ministry said.

A number of Hamas election candidates have been arrested since the start of a mass Israeli arrest operation at the weekend.

But a source close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon played down the idea that Israel would seek to sabotage the voting Thursday.

"All the people who have not been arrested can participate," Sharon's aide said.

The vote also comes three weeks before Palestinian leader Abbas holds talks in Washington with US President George W. Bush, who has been reluctant to be dragged into the dispute over Hamas and the elections.

Abbas has urged Hamas to lay down its weapons after the pullout from Gaza but the movement says it will continue its armed campaign until Israel has left all Palestinian land.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005092...m6FOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

 

[Greed]

Fatah beats Hamas, Israel kills two Palestinians

Fatah beats Hamas, Israel kills two Palestinians
2 hours, 1 minute ago

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - The ruling Palestinian movement Fatah held off a challenge from the radical Islamists of Hamas in a fresh round of elections in the West Bank where more deadly violence flared.

Hamas, looking to break into the political mainstream while still pursuing its armed campaign against Israel, failed to make significant inroads during elections which were held in 104 municipalities on Thursday.

Preliminary results, announced Friday by elections chief Jamal Shobaki, showed Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's Fatah faction had won 51 of the councils while Hamas had gained control of only 13 in an 81-percent turnout.

The results will be a disappointment for Hamas, robbing it of some of the momentum that it had built up during its strong showing in previous rounds of local elections.

Hamas is planning to field candidates in January's legislative elections for the first time despite threats from Israel to hamper the polls in the occupied West Bank if the movement, which does not recognize the Jewish state's right to exist, participates.

Commentators however played down the wider implications of the results of the latest elections which were largely held in villages, saying local issues and tribal affiliations were the main factor in determining how people voted.

"The tribal factor played a primary role. The main factor was the municipal services being promised by different candidates and the political dimension did not really feature in the minds of the electorate," political analyst Zakaria al-Qaq told AFP.

"The results cannot serve as an indicator for the outcome of the legislative elections."

Instead, the fourth and final phase of the municipal elections in December, which will see voters cast their ballots in the main cities of the West Bank and Gaza, will be a "more important political radar", the analyst added.

Organisers reported no incidents of Israeli authorities hampering the voting on Thursday but Israel is still trying to whip up international opposition to Hamas's right to stand in the January elections.

Despite its embrace of the political process, Hamas has snubbed Abbas's demands to lay down its weapons in the aftermath of the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip which was completed on September 12.

The Israeli army has arrested more than 500 suspected militants in the West Bank, including a number of Hamas election candidates, since the weekend after dozens of rockets were fired into Israel from the movement's Gaza stronghold.

During an operation to arrest 16 activists in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank, Israeli troops shot dead two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Fatah, while a third was seriously wounded.

A 13-year-old boy, Uday Tantawi, was also killed in a refugee camp in the same region by Israeli soldiers. Military sources said a patrol had returned fire after being targeted by Palestinian gunmen.

Speaking to reporters in Gaza City, Abbas deplored the latest bloodshed, warning that it threatened the already shaky truce being adhered to by militant groups.

"This endangers the quiet that we are trying to implement," he said. "There is nothing happening in Gaza and I am sure there is also nothing happening in the West Bank... Israel is following these gunmen without any reason," he said.

The White House, meanwhile, said US President George W. Bush will host Abbas on October 20 for talks expected to focus on efforts to crack down on anti-Israel extremists.

"The president looks forward to discussing with President Abbas Palestinian efforts to improve governance, revive their economy, institute security reform, and fight terror," the president's spokesman Scott McClellan said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2005093...auFOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

 

[Greed]

Hamas shock win leaves Mideast peace in turmoil

Hamas shock win leaves Mideast peace in turmoil
10 minutes ago

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was set to ask Hamas to form a new government after its stunning election victory plunged the stalled Middle East peace process into fresh turmoil.

Prime minister Ahmed Qorei resigned immediately Thursday after conceding that the long-ruling secular Fatah faction had been defeated by the Islamist movement which was contesting its first ever parliamentary election.

Hamas said that it would open negotiations with Abbas about forming "a political partnership" with Fatah and other parties, as Israel made clear it would have nothing to do with a government that included Hamas.

As Abbas urged all parties to respect the result of only the second ever Palestinian general election Wednesday, international players such as the United States and Europe made clear their unease at the outcome.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that Hamas, which refuses to acknowledge Israel's right to exist and has been behind the majority of attacks in a five-year uprising, must now assume full responsibility.

"President Abbas will give Hamas the task of forming the government, in which Fatah will not participate," Erakat, a leading member of the previously dominant faction, told AFP.

"The victors must assume their responsibilities towards our people in every field -- political, security, economic and national," he added.

Hamas's campaign traded heavily on disillusionment with Fatah over the stalled peace process, corruption and by claiming its fighters forced Israel to pull out of the Gaza Strip last summer.

However its leaders issued contradictory statements about how it intended to deal, if at all, with Israel if it came to power.

Hamas's chief candidate Ismail Haniya said the movement would hold talks with Abbas, insisting that it did not want to go it alone.

"We will meet Abu Mazen and the other groups and doubtless we will reach a satisfactory formula for all the Palestian people," he said. "Hamas is not going to work alone, but with the other groups who represent the Palestinian people."

Although the final results were not to be announced until Thursday evening, Qorei was one of a string of Fatah officials who conceded that the game was up.

"It is true that Hamas has obtained a majority and I have resigned to enable president Abbas to choose a new prime minister," said the Fatah veteran.

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.

The result left the Israeli government in a near state of shock, with ministers ordered to keep quiet until after final results had been announced.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was late Thursday to chair a special meeting of top military brass, senior security officials and close aides such as Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to discuss the ramifications of the Hamas win.

The prospect of a Palestinian government led by the radical Islamist faction is the biggest crisis to face the Olmert since he assumed power when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke on January 4.

Speaking on Wednesday, Olmert had said Israel would never do business with Hamas, at least while it remained committed to the Jewish state's destruction and advocated the use of violence.

"Israel cannot allow Hamas to become part of the Palestinian Authority in its current form," he said.

President George W. Bush made clear in a Wall Street Journal interview that the United States would continue to blacklist Hamas, regardless of the result.

"A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace," Bush said.

"And so you're getting a sense of how I'm going to deal with Hamas if they end up in positions of responsibility. And the answer is not until you renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you."

Javier Solana, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority, expressed his disquiet by acknowledging that "these results may confront us with an entirely new situation, which will need to be analyzed by (EU foreign ministers) next Monday."

In France, traditionally one of the Palestinians' closest diplomatic allies, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin expressed "concern" at the result.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060126/wl_afp/mideastpalestinianvote_060126121948

 

[African Herbsman]

Re: Hamas shock win leaves Mideast peace in turmoil

Democracy at work.

 

[QueEx]

Re: Hamas shock win leaves Mideast peace in turmoil

<font size="5"><center>Zawahiri urges Hamas not to recognise Israel</font size></center>

March 6, 2006

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Saturday urged Hamas to fight on and not to accept agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

Speaking in video footage broadcast on the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera, Zawahiri also called on Muslims to attack the West with strikes similar to those against New York, London and Madrid in recent years. He also called for boycott of Western countries that have published blasphemous cartoons.

Zawahiri described the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel (the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, as well as the current international "roadmap" peace plan) as "surrender accords" and called on Hamas, victors in the January 25 Palestinian election, "to continue the armed struggle."

"The surrender accords signed by the members of the Palestinian Authority must not be recognised. Your only alternative is to pursue the armed struggle until the liberation of Palestine and the building of an Islamic state," he told Hamas.

Zawahiri called on the Islamist movement not to take up their seats in parliament, the Palestinian Legislative Council, "with lay people who have sold out Palestine." He added: "Be aware that these secular people of the Palestinian Authority have sold Palestine and are considered by Islam as criminals. Just because you got 80 seats doesn’t mean you have to go along with the political game of the Americans."

Hamas quickly reacted to Zawahiri’s message, saying it was only his opinion in an effort to distance itself from Al-Qaeda. "This is his own opinion," Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas official, told AFP in Moscow, where a Hamas delegation met Russian officials.

"He has the right to it. But we are neutral. When Hamas wants to take a decision or take a stand it will be a step by the leadership of Hamas alone and will be in the interests of the Palestinian people."

It was not clear if the tape was made before the failed al-Qaeda attack last month on a major Saudi oil facility. "(Muslims have to) inflict losses on the crusader West, especially to its economic infrastructure with strikes that would make it bleed for years," said Zawahri. "The strikes on New York, Washington, Madrid and London are the best examples," he said. "We have to prevent the crusader West from stealing the Muslims’ oil which is being drained in the biggest robbery in history," he added.

As well as physical attacks on the West, Zawahri called for an economic boycott against several countries. "It is our duty to take part in a mass economic boycott of Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, and all countries that take part in this crusader attack against Islam," he said. He described the cartoons as part of a US-led "crusader" campaign.

Zawahri, who wore a black turban and a white robe, sat in front of a curtain. He did not appear to have a customary assault rifle next to him, in the tape, which carried the logo of al-Sahab, al Qaeda’s media arm.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/mar2006-daily/06-03-2006/main/main8.htm

 

[QueEx]

Re: Hamas shock win leaves Mideast peace in turmoil

<IFRAME SRC="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4776578.stm" WIDTH=780 HEIGHT=1500>
<A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4776578.stm">link</A>

</IFRAME>

 

[Fuckallyall]

What is the personal opinions of the folks here on the board. I find it VERY interesting when I consider the Apparent Catch-22 Israel and thier sponsor, for lack of a more accurate term, America. Would Black America deal with the Klan if the Klan were voted into power and not give up it's stated intention to keep black people from suceeding ? Or, should you deal with the winner, regardless of who they are because thier election does truly represent the will of the people ?

Alas, this may be the first occurance of two democracies going to war with one another. Holla.

 

[QueEx]

Bumping this thread Started January 28, 2005.

WHY ???

Egypt 2011.​

AND ???

The parallels between this thread, the results of the Arab Spring, and the present election in Egypt.​

AN OLD ADAGE:

You have to be careful what you ask for; you just might get it.​

MEANING ???

When we (the USA/West) push for democratization, can we accept the consequences, when it doesn't look, smell, sound, taste or feel like what we invisioned ???​

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN ???