Editorials and Commentaries

"Hamas: A reality Israelis, Americans and Europeans will have to accept"

Daily Star (Lebanon)

"In one of the most free and fair elections in the Arab world, and with a remarkably high turnout, Palestinian voters altered the political map of the Middle East. The result of their democratic undertaking is that Hamas will soon begin the task of forming a new Palestinian government. This political earthquake, while no less stunning, has been a long time in the making. For years, there has been growing discontent among Palestinians with Fatah's corrupt and ineffective governance. In going to the polls, many voters were expressing their frustration with the ruling party's failure to deliver peace, implement reforms, improve living conditions or free the Palestinians from their shackles of poverty and unemployment. By casting votes for Hamas, many voters were hitting back at Fatah for its failures, rather than expressing their support for the Islamist party" continues...

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/

Turning from Terror / A Green Dawn is on the rise, Amos Harel

Haaretz

"Wherever he is, Sheikh Yassin must be smiling today. Israel's two major moves in the last two years - the serial assassinations of Hamas leaders and the pullout - led straight to a great Hamas victory. A new headline is created for five and a half years of intifada: From Red Dawn (Qassam attack code) to Green Dawn (Islamic renewal)." continues...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/675499.html

Comment: Jonathan Steele

Guardian

"Hamas's triumph in Wednesday's Palestinian elections is the best news from the Middle East for a long time. The poll was a more impressive display of democracy than any other in the region, outstripping last year's votes in Lebanon and Iraq both in turnout and the range of views that candidates represented." Continues...

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Op-Ed: Who is afraid of Hamas? (Vandita Mishra)

Indian Express (India)

"HamasÕs victory in the election threatens to touch off a million pessimisms in the western media. The questions are basically two. What happens to the Israel-Palestinian tangle, now that the PalestiniansÕ Islamist movement has done so well in the first parliamentary poll in a decade? Then, what does the strong showing of a group shunned as a terrorist organisation by Israel, as well as the US, Europe and Russia, mean for BushÕs self-appointed mission to promote democracy in the world and in the Middle East?" continues...

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=86744

A heavy burden on Israel: Nazir Majali

Haaretz (Israel)

"There is no doubt that the surprising Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority elections has created a new reality in the region, which also has international implications. Everyone who has anything to do with the conflict, and every country that is concerned with matters of Islamization, will have to examine what has happened -especially Israel."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=675536&contrassID=
2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

Leader

Guardian (UK)

"Democrats will rightly applaud the 78% turnout in Wednesday's elections to the Palestinian parliament, which were remarkably fair, free and peaceful. George Bush and Tony Blair, who set such store by promoting democracy in Iraq and (selectively) elsewhere in the Middle East, should be delighted. The only problem is the result: preliminary figures show a stunning victory for the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, long shunned as a terrorist organisation not only by Israel but also by the US, Europe and Russia. This is a catastrophic defeat for Fatah, the natural party of liberation and government for Palestinians for 40 years and for half that period committed to a two-state solution to this most intractable of conflicts." continues...

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Palestinian Election: A Question of Ethics

Kayhan International (Iran)

"Ask anyone anywhere in the world, from any religious or ethnic backgrounds, what they would like to witness in the politics of their particular region, and elimination of corruption will feature very prominently in their list of replies." continues...

http://www.kayhanintl.com/jan26/d1.htm

Hamas scores stunning win - but what happens now? Donald Macintyre

Independent (UK)

"The militant Islamic faction Hamas sent shock waves through Israel, Western capitals and its own ranks yesterday by sweeping to an overall parliamentary majority, making it the pivotal force in Palestinian politics. Securing 76 of the 132 seats in the parliament whose existence it opposed for almost a decade, Hamas's unexpectedly overwhelming victory challenged almost every assumption about the Middle East and plunged the Israel-Palestinian conflict into another period of unpredictability." continues...

http://news.independent.co.uk/

Editorial: Hamas victory, An opportunity, not a crisis

Daily Star (Bangladesh)

"The militant Hamas has pulled off an impressive triumph in the general election following its good showing in the municipal polls earlier on. Its support base among the Palestinians has decidedly emerged stronger than that of secularist and moderate Fatah. The significance of Hamas' success must not be measured in terms of the parliamentary seats it has bagged, but in a perspective where it has so far refused to recognise the very existence of Israel. That's why the West and Israel have reacted bitterly against Hamas' appearance on the scene with the power of popular vote." continues...

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/01/28/d60128020224.htm

Two Elections and a Lesson: E. J. Dionne, Jr.

Washington Post (US)

"In two elections this week, voters tossed incumbents out of power. One election made barely a ripple internationally. The other broke like a tsunami over the entire world. The response to each vote should teach us the danger of pretending that elections alone can make democracy happen." Continues...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Editorial: Palestinian blow to Mideast peace

Toronto Star (Canada)

"Palestinians shocked even themselves by giving the terror-stained Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as Hamas, a crushing victory in this week's parliamentary elections. By so fiercely repudiating President Mahmoud Abbas's discredited Fatah movement, they have cast a dark cloud over Mideast peace and over their own hopes for a Palestinian state. Their anger defies common sense." Continues...

http://www.thestar.com/

Editorial Mideast uncertainty, again

Los Angeles Times (USA)

"The outcome of Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary election surprised even its victors. No one expected Hamas, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, to win an outright majority, but it took 76 of 132 seats in parliament. Its victory will set back an already stumbling peace process in the Middle East unless Hamas renounces violence and recognizes the Jewish state's right to exist." continues...

http://www.latimes.com/

The West and Hamas Must Talk to Each Other

Daily Telegraph (UK)

"The first big test for democracy in the Arab world came in 1991, when the radical Islamic Salvation Front was poised to win the general election in Algeria. The generals cancelled the second round and a "dirty war" ensued, in which 150,000 people are thought to have died. That put a damper on experiments with representative government, but where they were permitted Islamist parties did well, whether in Bahrain and Morocco in 2002 or in Jordan the following year." continues

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/01/27/dl2701.xml

RI Urges Hamas to Pursue Peace (Ivy Susanti)

The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)

"Indonesia is urging Hamas to pursue dialog in its efforts to establish an independent Palestine state following the group's surprise victory in parliamentary polls, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda says. Hassan also told the world to accept the results of the election, which saw Hamas capture 76 seats in the 132-seat parliament, saying the vote was democratic. "Indonesia welcomes the results of the Palestinian parliamentary election, which was carried out in a peaceful and democratic manner. This was the decision of the Palestinians and Indonesia, as a democracy, honors their judgment," he said Friday." continues...

http://www.thejakartapost.com/

Editorial: The Onus is now on Hamas

Philadelphia Inquirer (USA)

"Palestinians deserve praise for holding an election Wednesday that observers called free, fair and well-run. The polling drew a historically high turnout to determine who would serve in parliament. The winner, though, was a shock - and it's hard to tell whether the electoral triumph of Hamas, a radical Islamic group that has called for Israel's destruction, can bring Palestinians any closer to the homeland they should have." continues...

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13722001.htm

Comment: A Triumph for Sharon (Gerald Kaufman)

Guardian (UK)

"Lying in a coma in Hadassah hospital, Jerusalem, Ariel Sharon has achieved his final triumph. The Hamas victory in Wednesday's Palestinian elections is not only the inevitable outcome of everything Sharon did as prime minister, but is precisely what he would have wished." Continues...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,5385960-103552,00.html

BBC Monitoring

Press eyes next steps for Hamas

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4653408.stm

Press reaction to Palestinian poll

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4649594.stm

Quartet press mulls Hamas future

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4659514.stm

Iranian press hail Hamas's win

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4657408.stm

Papers punish Fatah, urge Hamas reform

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4657444.stm