december 22, 2005

Palestinian Politics

As chaotic as Israeli politics have been lately, they still don’t compare to Palestinian politics. Its parliamentary elections are scheduled for January 25, but don’t be surprised if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pulls the plug once more on these elections. While he will almost undoubtedly blame Israel, the real reason is the meteoric rise of Hamas in Palestinian politics.

The rise of Hamas is perhaps the biggest development in their politics in the past year. Hamas has won substantial gains in municipal elections throughout Palestinian controlled areas. One banner headline in “ha-aretz” declared 1.1 million Palestinians are now under the control of Hamas. They have the majority of municipal seats in several Palestinian cities. Now they have a clear goal of taking control of the Palestinian parliament. Internal documents reveal that they aim to win 60 percent of the seats in the parliament. Abbas and even Egypt are afraid Hamas will win the January elections in a landslide. Hamas is well organized, committed and free of corruption. Meanwhile, fatah, Abbas’s party riddled with corruption and disunity. The disunity is so pronounced, they have not one but two lists to vote for in the upcoming election.

It’s a reflection of the sorry state of affairs in Palestinian politics that one of fatah’s lists is headed by Marwan Barghoutti, now serving five consecutive life sentences for murdering Israelis. The rise of Hamas also puts the U.S. and president bush’s drive to democracy to the test. Dore Gold put it very well when he said the Bush administration faces a dilemma when a terrorist group appears headed for victory in a democratic election for the Palestinian parliament.

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