Palestinian supporters of the Islamic militant group Hamas take part in a rally in the West Bank town of Tulkarm yesterday. Hamas activists embraced in the streets, fired guns in the air and handed out sweets yesterday as they celebrated victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. - REUTERS
GAZA (Reuters):
THE ISLAMIC militant group Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah party on Wednesday in Palestinian parliamentary polls, a political earthquake that could bury any hope for reviving peace talks with Israel soon.
Hamas won an overwhelming majority in the 132-seat legislature, taking 76 seats to Fatah's 43 in Wednesday's election, the official vote count showed. It gives Hamas the power to shape and possibly even lead the next Cabinet.
The shock outcome does not automatically unseat President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate elected last year after Yasser Arafat's death. But he has said he might resign if unable to pursue a peace agenda.
United States President George W. Bush appealed to Abbas to stay in office, but took aim at Hamas, vowing Washington would not deal with an armed Palestinian group advocating Israel's destruction.
"Today, we woke up and the sky was a different colour. We have entered a new era," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said after Hamas claimed victory.
Amid heightened tensions, Fatah supporters clashed with triumphant Hamas activists who briefly hoisted a green Hamas flag at the entrance to the Palestinian Parliament in Ramallah.
MORE UNILATERAL MOVES
With peace negotiations stalled since 2000 and Israel and Hamas bitter enemies, Israeli interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could opt for more unilateral moves, following last year's Gaza pullout, to shape borders on land Palestinians want for a state.
Olmert, who took over from Ariel Sharon after the 77-year-old leader's January 4 stroke, suggested as much in a speech this week in which he repeated peace talks could not resume unless the Palestinian Authority disarmed militants.
A senior Fatah official said it appeared Hamas was propelled to victory by public frustration over the mainstream faction's failure to achieve Palestinian statehood and anger over years of corruption in its institutions and in the Palestinian Authority.
The Islamic group's charity network in the impoverished Gaza Strip and in the West Bank has also boosted its popularity.
"Hamas did not win because people loved Hamas, but because people were taking revenge against the past years of Fatah rule," said Adel al-Helo, 41, a Gaza shopkeeper.
In its first official comment on the poll result, Israel urged the European Union (EU) to take a firm stance against the establishment of a Palestinian "terrorist government".
"After the takeover by Hamas of the Palestinian Authority, it is incumbent on the European Union to speak out clearly and unequivocally that there will be no European understanding of a process that would mean the establishment of a terrorist government," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.
SIGNAL OF DISCONTENT
Leaders of the EU, the biggest donor to the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority, said earlier Hamas must renounce violence and recognise Israel or risk international isolation.
In Washington, Bush said Hamas' victory was a sign Palestinians were unhappy with the status quo and showed democracy at work, which was positive for the Middle East.
But he made clear he was sticking to Washington's view of Hamas as a terrorist group. It has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings in Israel since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000.
"I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform," Bush told a news conference. "You can't be a partner in peace if ... your party has got an armed wing."
The United States is the main sponsor of a long-stalled 'road map' peace plan that charts mutual steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
