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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/international/middleeast/27mideast.html
Hamas Victory Casting Pall on Peace Process
(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - "For Israelis, this is the definitive end of the illusion of a comprehensive peace," said Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. "There is no more credible hope of Palestinian moderation. For Israelis, it will only confirm what the last five years of terror have taught them: that the war is not about settlements, but about Israel's right to exist. The Palestinian Authority as a serious negotiating partner no longer exists for Israel, Halevi said. "Now the era of the pretend peace process is also over." "Corrupt authorities who have been in power for a long time are usually thrown out in free elections," said Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian analyst at Jerusalem's Al Quds University. "That the opposition came from a radical Islamic group is unfortunate, but there was no other serious opposition." "But now Hamas will have to face reality, and part of reality means dealing with Israel," he said. Hamas won 76 seats, doing especially well in Gaza, but polling well throughout the West Bank, too. Fatah won 43 seats. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine won three seats, while the Badil list won two seats. The Independent Palestine list led by Mustafa Barghouti won two seats, as did the Third Way list of Salam Fayyad and Hanan Ashrawi. Four other independents won.