THE PALESTINIAN election result, in which the Islamist Hamas trounced the long-ruling Fatah, may be seen as a vote for terror and confrontation with Israel. Or, it may just be a vote for good government. Either way, it amounts to a stark repudiation of Fatah, and the ineptitude it has come to embody in the minds of many Palestinians.
It is not only Palestine's enemies who have long criticised Fatah. It is also many of its friends, much of its diaspora, and now, many of the citizens of the fledgling Palestinian state. Fatah cannot be held solely responsible for its many failings. Israeli governments in recent years gave Palestine's leaders very little in the way of concessions they could carry back to their people as proof that a better life was coming.
Beyond that, though, Palestine's governors had got comfortable in their positions. Corruption was rife. Even with support from Israel, they inspired little confidence in their ability to govern. By contrast, as has often been the case with Islamist governments, Hamas' brief experiences in municipal office tended to reveal cleaner, more effective governance. Palestinians had apparently had enough of the incompetence of their leaders.
Nevertheless, Hamas brings more than a record of effective government to power. It also brings its avowed hostility to Israel, and willingness to pursue war against its neighbour. On the face of it, peace in the Middle East has been dealt a severe blow. Unless Hamas suddenly has a change of heart, a more violent future seems likely.
The severity of that blow to Middle East peace prospects has already begun to unfold in violence, as Fatah gunmen and police stormed the Palestine parliament building over the weekend.
Predictably, Western demands that Hamas renounce violence against Israel or risk losing aid has been spurned as blackmail. Any prospect of Fatah leaders joining in a coalition government with Hamas also seems remote in the growing unrest.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
