REROUTING OF THE STREAM:

Palestinian Ballot Presents Quandary for Hamas (STEVEN ERLANGER, 1/08/05, NY Times)

[A]fter four years of violence and the death of Mr. Arafat, Hamas is struggling against a shift in political sentiment toward the mainstream and a new possibility for improved relations with Israel.

Opinion polls show a clear movement away from Hamas. Political analysts say the group is in a state of confusion.

Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Mr. Arafat as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization and who is the candidate of Fatah, the largest Palestinian faction, is widely expected to win in a field of seven. The only real challenger to Mr. Abbas, who is 69 and is known as Abu Mazen, is Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, who runs a health care agency in the West Bank.

But Mr. Abbas's margin of victory, and the turnout, will be examined carefully to gauge the balance of power between Fatah and Hamas.

The rise of Hamas paralleled the decline and corruption of the Palestinian Authority and pessimism about the peace process. Fatah is relying on Mr. Abbas to continue to reverse those trends now that there are new possibilities for dialogue and peace with the Israelis and a chance for reform of the dysfunctional Palestinian Authority. On Friday, Mr. Abbas repeated his call for talks with Israel. [...]

Hamas did take part last month in some local elections on the West Bank, where it did reasonably well in areas where Fatah was strong. Hamas is also concentrating on legislative elections, the first since 1996 and also integral to the Palestinian Authority, which could come in May.

The contradictions in Hamas's position do not stop there, said Taher al-Nounou, the Gazan correspondent for Al Khaleej, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. "Hamas is obligated to get into the political process," he said. "It has no other option, and its thinking is developing. It wants a share of power, and not to be a pure opposition."

Part of the genius of unilaterally imposing statehood on Palestine is that it forces the parties to accept responsibility for and turn their energy to governing Palestinians, instead of killing Israelis. The same fate awaits Hizbollah as we force the Syrians out of Lebanon.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 8, 2005 6:15 AM