Austin Bay Blog

Fatah and Hamas face-off in today’s election.

…now think about it. Fifteen years ago how would that sentence appear? If the election were conducted with bullets, it might be read as irony. However, the primary competition today is for ballots. (Bullets are involved and over the past several months, more than a few have flown between the Palesitinian rivals.)

This is a slow civil war, but at the moment a slow civil war with the chance to change into something far less violent. Democratic politics are emerging in Palestine– again, the operative word is emerging. Pray that this democratic trend become a process– and that the process continues.

The process, however, is no one-way street. At the moment democratic politics are ascending; terror and violence could easily become pre-eminent once again. Even with democratic politics ascendant there will be bombs, there will be bullets. I suspect the “hottest” fights in this civil war will be fought in alleys and off-camera, but the bombs will leave craters.

UPDATE: The UPI reports:

“Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar hinted Wednesday during Palestinian parliamentary elections he would consider a coalition with the ruling Fatah Party. “

If it’s good enough for Canada, why not Palestine?

Thesame UPI release also reports:

Zahar said he would be open to negotiations with Israel, but only if the Israelis have something to offer, CNN reported.

UPDATE 2: ABC News runs a story with this title: “Palestinians Voting in Decisive Race.” This vote isn’t decisive– it is very significant and potentially empowering but not decisive. The slow civil war will continue. Nor will the vote determine “the future of peacemaking with Israel” as ABC’s lede asserts– but it will certainly affect peacemaking in the short and medium term. I don’t mean to be picky, but words matter. We do agree on the historical significance

Here’s the lede:

Amid tight security and a sea of green and yellow flags, Palestinians cast ballots Wednesday in their first parliamentary election in a decade a historic vote integrating Islamic militants into politics and determining the future of peacemaking with Israel.

Both the ruling Fatah Party and its challenger, the Islamic militant group Hamas, said they were confident of victory, while pollsters said the race was too close to call. Both parties said they would consider a coalition if no clear victor emerges.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he is ready to resume peace talks with Israel, even if Hamas joins his government after the vote.

“We are ready to negotiate,” Abbas told Israeli reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “We are partners with the Israelis. They don’t have the right to choose their partner. But if they are seeking a Palestinian partner, this partner exists.”

Even it doesn’t win outright, Hamas is widely expected to make a strong showing that would place the Islamists responsible for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel squarely inside the Palestinian political system for the first time…

UPDATE 3: The MediaLine is new to me — the “Our Professionals” page at The MediaLine include folks who have worked in a number of Jewish-American organizations and served in the IDF. This colorful article covers a recent Hamas demonstration in East Jerusalem.

A brief sample:

The atmosphere surrounding the rally was like a mixture of a wedding party, a rock festival, and a show of strength. In line with Hamas’ aim to position itself as the people’s party, organizers of the rally addressed not only the people’s minds, but also their stomachs, distributing cold drinks, sweets, and baked goods…