BULLETIN No.43

Hamas Claims Group Won Majority in Vote
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Hamas' top candidate on Thursday claimed the group won a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, despite......
Palestinian PM quits after poll
Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei says he will quit, amid growing signs Hamas has won the general election.
Hamas Makes Strong Showing in Vote
By Scott WilsonRAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 25 -- Palestinians across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip began voting Wednesday in brisk, breezy weather to choose......
Filistin'de Hamas zaferiFilistin Parlamentosu seçimleri sonrası, Hamas'ın meclisin en az yarısını aldığı haberleri geliyor. Başbakan Ahmed Kurey istifasını verdi.
Bush: Hamas muhatabımız değil
BBC Tense wait for Palestinian result Votes are being counted in the Palestinian election, with Fatah and Hamas both claiming victory.
UPI Analysis: Waiting for Hamas in government
The Prospect The rise of HamasAlastair Crooke As the Palestinians go to the polls, a former middle east negotiator argues that Hamas and the younger generation of Fatah radicals are uniting to transform Palestinian politics.
UPI Walker's World: Palestinian elections will not bring peace
Hamas is born as political force Exit polls showed that the Islamist group Hamas was set to deprive Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction of its majority in the Palestinian Parliament
Independent Palestinians show support for Hamas elections Fatah's monopoly of power over the Palestinian Authority was decisively broken last night after two exit polls showed Hamas within five seats of overtaking it in parliamentary elections
Analysis: How to deal with Hamas
Hamas Should Be Destroyed, Not Legitimated - Daniel Pipes, USA Today
Bush: U.S. Not Ready to Deal With Hamas By ANNE GEARANWASHINGTON -- President Bush said Wednesday the United States will not deal with Hamas until the radical Palestinian Islamist group renounces its......
Arabs Eye Palestinian Vote for Impact By LEE KEATHCAIRO, Egypt -- The Palestinian election is an important turning point in a cause dear to the Arab world's heart, the struggle with Israel. But......
A Look Parties in Palestinian Elections By The Associated Press,-- Brief profiles of the main parties in the Palestinian elections....
Don't Make Exceptions for HamasTo grant de facto legitimacy to Hamas would undermine Palestinian moderates, who know that the radical road would discredit all Palestinians. David Makovsky
Editorial warns of lawlessness in Palestine By Al Bayan Link to full text in primary source.
The daily comments on the question of armed Palestinian groups, noting that the state of lawlessness that exists in liberated Palestinian areas, namely Gaza, cannot be allowed to continue. It adds that mini states have emerged as the Palestinians appear to have lost sight of their main cause. The agreement that the two main groups, Fatah and Hamas, have reached to ban anyone from carrying weapons on elections day is a welcome development, although it came late and remains limited to a single day. The real test will be on election day. It is hoped the agreement will work and that it will be the start of an experience that can be built on.
Washington Institute How to Judge the Palestinian Elections
Der Spiegel A Test of Democracy for Palestinians In a test of maturity for the Palestinians, parliamentary elections will determine whether the Islamist Hamas movement can transform itself from a terrorist organization into a political party
Palestinians Vote at Political Turning Point By ending Fatah's monopoly and bringing Hamas into Palestinian politics, Mahmoud Abbas is taking an extraordinary risk.
Hamas Poised for New Role With a strong showing predicted in Wednesday's Palestinian vote, the militant group will face growing challenges.
Guardian Voters prepare to reject Fatah at polls Hamas is expected to break Fatah's 40-year domination of the Palestinian cause in elections today.
BBC Palestinian vote showdown opens Palestinians are voting in their first parliamentary election for a decade, with Fatah facing a strong challenge.
Ha’aretz – Analysis: A political milestone for the Palestinian people
It is clear that after almost 40 years, Fatah's monopoly over Palestinian affairs is coming to an end
New York Times Hamas Presses Fatah in Palestinian Vote, Surveys Say Hamas won a large share of votes in legislative elections, depriving the Fatah party of its longstanding power monopoly.
Hamas Makes Strong Showing in Election Exit poll shows party winning near-parity with Fatah in Palestinian assembly vote, but likely to fall short of majority by narrow margin.
Hamas campaign trail
Q&A: Palestinian elections
Who's who in the elections
Palestinian hopes Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor, assesses the election
OpenDemocracy Palestine's moment Will Palestinians vote for rising Hamas or splitting Fatah?
MEMRI Jan 25 SD# 1077 - Palestinian Minister Muhammad Dahlan of Fatah and Hamas Leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar Debate on the Eve of Legislative Council Elections
Why Hamas is gaining in Palestinian polls Its more moderate tone, plus disillusionment with the ruling Fatah, will yield the group significant gains
From the Archive International Crisis Group Enter Hamas: The Challenges of Political Integration --- Click here to view the full report
Benn Entering the 'Third Republic' Israel is entering a new political era in which it is mainly expected to try to close the open files bequeathed to it by previous regimes.
SyriaComment "Islamism in Syria" by Ibrahim Hamidi
We would share power, says exiled leader Exiled leader of Syria's outlawed Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, says his group is ready to share power in a future government with other opposition figures.
Syria & Iran: differences and similarities By Sahar Baasiri Link to full text in primary source.
An Nahar, 1/20/2006 Baasiri comments on the visit by Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Syria. She says both countries are facing problems with the international community and both of them are pursuing a policy of defiance. The writer notes, however, that there are differences in the position of each country. While Syria is under intense pressure to cooperate with the UN probe into the assassination of Rafic Hariri, the UN Security Council has yet to confront Iran over its nuclear program. And while Syria is trimming its regional role and lacks the needed resources to boost its confidence, Iran enjoys political and economic power regionally and on the international level.
Iran's threat, Bush's dilemma
By Max Boot Does he order a strike, let Israel do it, or allow an apocalyptic lunatic to arm a terrorist-sponsoring state?
Bush's Dilemma: Iran vs. Israelby Patrick Buchanan
Asia Times The Iran-Israel misconception There is an erroneous belief, especially in the US, that Tehran's road to peacefully engaging Washington travels through Jerusalem. Such misperceptions sow the seeds of conflict. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Israel's War with Iran Center for Research on Globalization
UPI Israel's acting PM outlines policies
West Bank withdrawals Ehud Olmert, acting prime minister, has committed Israel to piecemeal withdrawals from the West Bank so that permanent borders can be set up that would "ensure a Jewish majority" in Israel.
Olmert says Israel must relinquish additional West Bank territoryCompiled by Daily Star Staff Israel must withdraw from additional parts of the West Bank, acting Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said Tuesday, preferring negotiated agreements but not ruling out further unilateral steps. On the eve of Palestinian parliamentary polls, President Mahmoud Abbas urged voters to turn out en masse as armed factions pledged to ensure. Heritage Foundation Confounding the Mullahs of Iran: It’s Time for Israel to Join NATO by John Hulsman and Nile Gardiner