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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1116210022875
Hamas Victorious
(Jerusalem Post) Barry Rubin - * While observers are already concluding that running some town councils will moderate Hamas, the Hamas landslide victory in the recent Palestinian local elections is a disaster for the Palestinians' hopes for peace, and for Israel. * Hamas will now be able to veto even the smallest steps toward peace or compromise by Mahmoud Abbas. In effect, a peace process that might produce a comprehensive agreement in the next few years is finished. * Hamas did not win the election because of moderation, but via terrorist attacks, demands for total victory, and opposition to a negotiated peace agreement. While the movement's social services and reputation for less corruption also helped, no Hamas leader is concluding that the victory requires abandoning extremism. * No matter how many concessions Israel makes by withdrawing and releasing prisoners, or how much money and support the West gives Abbas, there will be no serious peace process. The Palestinian leadership is paralyzed. * Aside from its ideology, which has consistently demanded Israel's destruction, why should Hamas abandon a program so demonstrably appealing to Palestinians and a strategy that is clearly working? The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.