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Fatah: Hamas wins Palestinian elections
(Reuters/AP)
Updated: 2006-01-26 15:19
Officials in the ruling Fatah Party said Thursday that Hamas captured a
majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, shortly after the
militant group claimed victory.
The Fatah officials, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said they expected Hamas to win about 70 seats, which
would give the Islamists a majority in the 132-seat parliament. They spoke on
condition of anonymity because counting in some districts was continuing.
Supporters of Hamas gesture after polls closed
in a Palestinian election in the West Bank city of Hebron January 25,
2006.[Reuters] | Earlier,, a Hamas leader
said an initial count of votes showed the militant Islamist group had won a
majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament, putting it in a position to
shape a new government.
"Hamas has won more than 70 seats in Gaza and the West Bank, which gives it
more than 50 percent of the vote", Ismail Haniyeh, who headed Hamas's list in
Wednesday's elections, told Reuters. He did not say how many votes had been
counted.
Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar speaks to
journalists after he casts his ballots in Gaza City, January 25,
2006.[Reuters] | The Palestinian electoral
commission had no immediate comment but was expected to issue official results
later on Thursday for the 132-member parliament.
A Hamas role in the government could dim prospects for restarting peace talks
with Israel.
The United States, main sponsor of an international peace "road map" for
Israel and the Palestinians, said it would accept the elections as a reflection
of the will of the people but that President Mahmoud Abbas should keep Hamas in
opposition.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shows his
marked finger after casting his vote at Palestinian Authority headquarters
in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 25, 2006.
[Reuters] | U.S, President George W. Bush, whose
administration lists Hamas as a terrorist organisation, said he would not deal
with the group unless it renounced its policy of seeking Israel's destruction.
On Wednesday, exit polls showed Hamas had won at least 53 seats and that
Abbas's Fatah, which has dominated Palestinian politics for decades, had got 58.
"This is a victory of the Palestinian people who voted against the occupation
(by Israel in the West Bank), who voted for resistance, who voted for a new
political system based on political partnership," said Haniyeh.
Such results would put Hamas in a position to set the shape of a Palestinian
government, he said.
Haniyeh said he would consult Abbas "over the shape of political partnership
... because we are partners in the field".
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