Hamas Sets a West Bank City Astir

(New York Times) Steven Erlanger - Kalkilya, where the radical Islamic group Hamas won every seat on the city council five months ago, is emerging as a test case of Hamas's foray into electoral politics. Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction and is regarded by Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist group, is fielding candidates in the Palestinian local and parliamentary elections. In Kalkilya, its rule has already set off a fair amount of grumbling that the group is trying to impose a strict Islamist morality. But Hamas has also brought a new measure of modernity to this town of 45,000 people. It has introduced computerized bookkeeping and competitive bidding on city contracts, and has begun to investigate past corruption.


2005-11-04 00:00:00

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