Hamas

LAST MONTH, Hamas triumphed convincingly in the Palestinian legislative elections, easily outpolling Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, the movement he co-founded with Yasser Arafat. Now, the European Union, despite its policy not to fund Hamas until it reforms, authorized $143 million for the PA it will soon control. This could signal the prelude to its legitimization. So what is Hamas, why did it win and what can be learned from this? Hamas is an Islamist terror movement whose chief goals (according to its charter)

I came to the world economic forum to get away from the Middle East. Or so I thought. The program at this annual gathering of world leaders, CEOs, thinkers, artists, and media who gather at a snowy resort two hours from Zurich, has an uncanny way of spotlighting the world's main concerns. This year, the organizers seemed to have given up on the Middle East. In the compact conference center, where you rub elbows with a few presidents, prime ministers, finance ministers, and oil magnates in an hour's time, the focus of Davos 2006 was on China and India.

WE SHARE cartoonist Signe Wilkinson's pain at seeing the toll taken by civilians in Israel's military operations in Gaza. Any civilian death is regrettable and tragic. However, Israel is taking maximum precautions to avoid harming civilians in the area. Israel has shown the utmost restraint in dealing with Hamas' blatant hostility. It has, tragically, not succeeded in stopping the lethal rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilians. Hamas bears sole responsibility for the current situation in Gaza.

AND THE NEXT Gaza Strip Idol is . . . No one. Organizers of "New Star," the Palestinian version of "American Idol," said yesterday that Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular show. Alaa al-Abed , chief producer of the program, said the edict would prevent Gaza's 12 male contestants from competing in the second round of the competition tonight. "This is more serious than Hamas just killing fun in Gaza - they are limiting the freedoms of the people, according to their whims," al-Abed said.

Palestinians deserve praise for holding an election Wednesday that observers called free, fair and well-run. The polling drew a historically high turnout to determine who would serve in parliament. The winner, though, was a shock - and it's hard to tell whether the electoral triumph of Hamas, a radical Islamic group that has called for Israel's destruction, can bring Palestinians any closer to the homeland they should have. Hamas, whose ugly specialty has been detonating suicide bombs in Israel, didn't just win. It won by a landslide, getting 76 out of 132 seats.

REIM MILITARY BASE, Israel - Weeks after a new round of fighting with Gaza militants subsided, a senior Israeli military official said Sunday that Israel was ready and able to topple the territory's Hamas government, though it has no immediate plans to do so. The official also said Gaza militants have steadily built up an already formidable arsenal, in part with weapons smuggled out of Libya, and now have rockets capable of striking Tel Aviv,...

Although the venomous letters of Hamas graffiti still streak across the alley walls of Bethlehem, Palestinian residents have few kind words for the Islamic militants. Never before have Hamas attacks evoked such resentment among the population for whom they claim to be waging a holy war. Where the Islamic extremists see a battle for sacred liberation, most residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip see only the destruction of their dream of statehood. "People here are depressed and angry at these [Hamas]

If you're the type who skims the news with your morning hit of coffee, you probably didn't linger over the brief wire story of the three Palestinians who were attacked with guns and knives by rival Palestinians in Israel's disputed West Bank territory. Given the ever-mounting numbers of Palestinians who have been done in by other Palestinians, there seemed to be nothing special about a non-fatal clash. In the 1991 update of his incisive book, "The Closed Circle - An Interpretation of the Arabs" (Harper Perennial)

The arrest of a fundamentalist Moslem suspect in connection with the terror bombing of the World Trade Center should add another perspective to the controversy over those Palestinians who've been stuck in South Lebanon since their deportation by Israel three months ago. The suspect, identified as Mohammed Salameh, of Jersey City, was nabbed by the FBI when he tried to claim the security deposit on the rental van believed to have carried the...

MITZPE HILA, ISRAEL - Gaunt and pale, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit returned home yesterday after more than five years in captivity, freed in a lopsided exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners that could greatly complicate Mideast peace prospects and strengthen the Islamic-militant Hamas. The swap set off massive celebrations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, where crowds in Gaza called for more kidnappings of soldiers, chanting: "The people want a new Gilad!" The 25-year-old Schalit's poor condition, a jarring appearance by masked Hamas men during his release and the prospects of a strengthened Hamas bode poorly for future relations between Israel and the Palestinians.

CAIRO - The leadership of the Islamic extremist Hamas settled internal disagreements and approved a unity deal Wednesday with its political rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior official said. Hamas' political bureau, its top decision-making body, met in Cairo and signed off on the deal after more than 12 hours of talks over two days, said Izzat al-Rishq, an aide to Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal. Since 2007, the rivals have run separate governments - Abbas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

New Jersey's Gov. Christie said something that caught my attention the other night at an event sponsored by a pro-Israel group. He paraphrased a Franklin D. Roosevelt quote - "I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made" - and then said: "In that same spirit, I would like to say to all of you tonight: I admire Israel for the enemies it has made. " It was an acute observation, and one made not often enough. It is sometimes difficult, given Israel's missteps, to remember that it is a democracy whose enemies are among the world's most dangerous people.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas on Sunday endorsed a proposal by Qatar that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas assume the role of prime minister in an interim Palestinian unity government that would prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza, according to two officials close to the contacts. Such an arrangement, proposed by Qatar's emir, would help Abbas and his main political rival, the Islamic militant organization Hamas, clear a major hurdle in slow-moving attempts to reconcile.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has decided not to seek another term, the movement said Saturday, paving the way for a possible leadership contest at a time when the anti-Israeli Islamic group faces far-reaching decisions on whether to stay the course of militancy or moderate. However, Hamas suggested Mashaal could be asked to stay on, in what would be a boost for his more pragmatic line. Mashaal could not be reached for comment Saturday, but his decision not to seek another term as head of Hamas' political bureau was confirmed in a Hamas statement.

AND THE NEXT Gaza Strip Idol is . . . No one. Organizers of "New Star," the Palestinian version of "American Idol," said yesterday that Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular show. Alaa al-Abed , chief producer of the program, said the edict would prevent Gaza's 12 male contestants from competing in the second round of the competition tonight. "This is more serious than Hamas just killing fun in Gaza - they are limiting the freedoms of the people, according to their whims," al-Abed said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Alarmed by bloody unrest in Syria, the extremist group Hamas has pulled out many of its lower-level cadres from its Damascus headquarters and made contingency plans to move its leadership to sites across the Middle East, senior Hamas members have told the Associated Press. The Hamas members say the group remains appreciative of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and there is no immediate intention to abandon their base in Damascus. But they confirmed that dozens of low- and midlevel members have already left Syria as the security situation grows more precarious.

Gaza leader leaves for Muslim states GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh left the territory Sunday on his first trip abroad since his Hamas movement seized power in 2007, hoping to improve ties with Muslim countries swept up in the uprisings convulsing the Arab world. His deputy, Mohammed Awwad, said Haniyeh would visit Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Turkey. He said Haniyeh would discuss possible development projects for Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Israeli construction in disputed Jerusalem and progress toward reconciling the dueling governments of the two Palestinian territories.

CAIRO - The rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas took an important step Thursday toward reconciliation, announcing plans for the Islamic Hamas to join the umbrella group that has overseen two decades of on-and-off peace talks with Israel. The deal to admit Hamas into the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organization could have deep repercussions. Hamas has opposed the talks and rejects Israel's right to exist. A strong Hamas voice in the group would further complicate the troubled Mideast diplomatic process.

The rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have agreed to hold elections next May, a senior official said Tuesday, in what would be a major step toward ending a four-year rift. Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior Fatah negotiator, said the sides agreed on the election plan in secret talks and were expected to formally approve it later this month. The plan calls for establishing a caretaker government to prepare for the vote - most likely without current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Dismissing Fayyad would be a huge gamble.

REIM MILITARY BASE, Israel - Weeks after a new round of fighting with Gaza militants subsided, a senior Israeli military official said Sunday that Israel was ready and able to topple the territory's Hamas government, though it has no immediate plans to do so. The official also said Gaza militants have steadily built up an already formidable arsenal, in part with weapons smuggled out of Libya, and now have rockets capable of striking Tel Aviv,...