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Fatah Outdoes Hamas in Vote

In a result that wasn`t totally expected but which was welcomed by many observers, in West Bank municipal elections held last Thursday the Fatah movement, long associated with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and long in a dominant ruling position in the Palestinian Authority, outperformed the Hamas movement by winning a majority of seats on 51 municipal councils, while Hamas only won a clear majority on 13 councils. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., E.U. and Israel.

Elections were held in 104 towns and villages in the West Bank while voting in the Gaza Strip, where Israel recently ended its 38-year presence, was postponed to give election officials there more time to prepare ballots.

"Fatah faced the challenge of either leading as a secular movement or being defeated by an extremist religious party," said Shukri Radaideh, 45, a Fatah leader in the Bethlehem region. "The threat from Hamas made the party work better during this campaign, as Fatah had to choose between internal strife or facing this challenge."