 
HAMAS claimed 76 of the 132 parliamentary seats!
RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 26 -- The radical Islamic movement Hamas won a large majority in the new Palestinian parliament.
The January polls were the first general elections in the Palestinian Authority since 1996. Since that time, Israelis and Palestinians have lived through the collapse of the Oslo process, five years of renewed conflict, the death of PA chairman Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank. The outcome of the January polls was almost certain to reflect these changes, and to represent a major turning point in the politics of the Palestinian national movement.
Hamas, acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: ???? ???????? ????????? , literally "Islamic Resistance Movement" and Arabic for 'zeal'), is a Palestinian Islamist movement closely related to the Muslim Brotherhood and is the democratically elected representative government of the Palestinian people, since 2 days ago. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic theocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
Hamas is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Israel, and its attacks targeting Israeli civilians and other human rights abuses have been condemned by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The organization is particularly popular among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, though it also has a following in the West Bank, and, to a lesser extent, in other Middle Eastern countries and throughout the Palestinian diaspora, including within Israel. The movement's popularity stems from its provision of welfare and social services to the Palestinian poor and its paramilitary activities, as well as from the perceived corruption of Fatah. Outside the Arab world, Hamas is primarily known for its suicide bombings against civilians in busy urban areas in Israel. It is notorious for its generous payments to the families of suicide bombers.
For more detailed information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas
BBC news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/978626.stm
Another news link- http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26228433.htm
Israel and the White House immediately gave warning that they would not deal with a Palestinian Authority that included the militant group as long as it continued to call for the destruction of the Jewish state.
These results lead to interesting discussions and speculations:
The election results stunned U.S. and Israeli officials, who have repeatedly stated that they would not work with a Palestinian Authority that included Hamas, which both countries and the European Union have designated as a terrorist organization. In Washington, Secretary of State C. Rice said that a party could not "have one foot in politics and the other in terror. Our position on Hamas has therefore not changed." (Washington post).
- Should Israel negotiate with terrorists? Even when they are elected in a semi-democratic process?
- Can those who want to destroy it rule a democracy? The most known example, if not to compare in any sense, is the Nazis coming to force in a democratic way in Germany, 1933.
- What are our personal thoughts, feelings, concerns
Thank to Michal Hasson, the UJIA MAKOR shlicha in manchester, who made this briliant pice of work. You can contact her for more info:
Michal- 01617214205
Michal.hasson@ujia.org
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