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Hamas Gains Ground in University Poll

[Financial Times-UK] Tobias Buck - The main contenders in last week's student elections at Birzeit University, a barometer for decades of Palestinian public opinion, marched into battle like rival armies. First came hundreds of supporters of Hamas, lined up military-style in neat rows, and strictly separated into columns of men and women. Holding aloft a sea of bright green banners, the young Islamists chanted "Allahu akbar" (Allah is great) as they entered the university's main square. Behind them marched an even larger contingent of students supporting Fatah, waving yellow flags and chanting praise for Yasser Arafat. Najib Mafarjeh, leader of the Islamist bloc, praises the stance of Hamas during the recent Gaza war. "We won in Gaza," he shouts, to wild cheers from his supporters. Ahed Hamdan, his Fatah counterpart, insists the "victory" was not one of Hamas, but of all Palestinian people. Neither he nor other speakers dare question whether the bloody three-week conflict was indeed a victory, least of all for Gaza's battered people. Fatah went into the elections with a five-seat lead in the student parliament. After the elections, its lead was cut to two seats. Of the 51 seats, Fatah now holds 24 and Hamas 22. According to Ghassan Khatib, a political analyst and vice-president of the university, the results mirror closely the political sentiment among most Palestinians in the West Bank: Hamas' popularity is on the rise.
2009-04-24 06:00:00
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