THEY WERE ELECTED TO IMPROVE THE ECONOMY:

Hamas forced to give ground in fight to keep territory afloat (Stephen Farrell in Gaza and Ian MacKinnon in Ramallah, 9/13/06, Times of London)

The move is a retreat by Hamas under pressure of international sanctions imposed after it swept to victory in elections in January.

Support within the Palestinian territories has ebbed as 140,000 civil servants went unpaid for seven months and Israel closed border crossings, which led to increased hardship and shortages of food.

One opinion poll on Monday found a surge in support for Fatah, with 34.8 per cent, against 18.8 per cent for Hamas.