We had expected a political storm in the Palestinian elections, similar to the one that occurred in the municipal elections; however, the earthquake shook all our calculations and smashed our predictions; some fell headlong and others ascended; some concepts were confirmed, and others completely wiped away.

We predicted that the results would be split between Al-Fatah movement and Hamas movement, with the force of the Palestinian left playing the role of a light egg which would tip the balance in favor of one force or the other. In this way the balance in the Legislative Council would be maintained. But the results proclaimed a Palestinian Kadima (a faction that broke away from the Likud coalition headed by Ariel Sharon) with a green majority (in reference to Islamic fundamentalism).

Did our people –given their setbacks, defeats, discouragement, suffering and impoverishment– vote to punish Al-Fatah movement and the Palestinian National Authority? Or, was it that Al-Fatah had sowed its own defeat –through its divisions, factionalism, open fighting and repeated errors–, allowing the Hamas movement to take the golden opportunity to win a majority in the new Legislative Council?

Quickly, Al-Fatah movement and all the left forces and other forces at the local, regional and international levels will be given the task of assessing and analyzing the election results. They will look to explain the causes and factors that caused the overwhelming majority to support the Hamas movement and for the meaning of this historical change that took place peacefully.

Those elections –democratic, transparent and spotless– constitute a cause for pride for the Palestinian people and were a positive point recorded in favor of the Palestinian National Authority, Al-Fatah and all Palestinian forces.

The tangled Palestinian scenario has borne the fruit of tangled results and presented an extraordinary reality, unprecedented in the parliamentary structure, where Hamas obtained the most votes.

Hamas will be forced very quickly to move beyond the ecstasy of its great victory and to assume tremendous responsibilities. It must make radical changes in its positions and in its conservative fundamentalist, extremist and uncompromising political speech. It will also be forced to face a difficult Palestinian situation which will demand that it give sensitive, practical and convincing answers that have nothing to do with many of the slogans and tactics that allowed it to come to power.

This test will truly be quite complex. Hamas will not be able to get off to a good start repeating romantic phrases that influence Palestinian citizens’ sensibilities but which don’t produce real results, pull them out of their crisis, relieve their problems, deal with their hunger, or return their usurped rights to them.

Here, it is necessary to outline a series of questions that are posed before this Palestinian event of such great importance. Among them are: Will the Hamas movement be able to maintain its position and conserve the Palestinian democracy that allowed it to come to power with such great transparency and boldness? Will it able to maintain the freedom of the press, freedom _expression and political multilateralism?

1- In the moment in that our people chose change and reform, will the Hamas movement turn to change and reform as the true _expression of the yearnings and aspirations of the Palestinian people to seize their independence, to guarantee the right of all refugees to return to their homes and their usurped properties, and to build an independent Palestinian state with sacred Jerusalem as its capital?

2- How will Hamas act regarding the question of the ceasefire, negotiations, international relations, and continuing confrontations with the enemy? Will Al-Qassam missles remain silent forever and will the Ezzeldin Al-Qassam martyr brigades be disbanded? What is the magnitude of the concessions that Hamas will be forced to give up to guarantee its position, from the point of view of its being responsible?

3- Will the Hamas movement be able to put an end to the chaos and disorder of security in the Palestinian fray? In what direction will they point their rifles?

4- What will be the position of Hamas in relation to the PLO, to the Palestinian National Council, to the participation of Palestinians in exile and abroad in the elections and in power?

The Hamas movement won the Palestinian legislative elections by profiting from the errors of Al-Fatah and the division of leftist national forces that, in the last moment, made all attempts to find an electoral formula. It won the elections with the strength of its internal unity, its organizational capacity, in its correct sharing in tasks and in the distribution of aid to certain sectors of the Palestinian people; for example, delivering mattresses and blankets prior to the voting.

Finding itself at the peak of this new power, will these blankets and mattresses cover the advantages and errors that will quickly appear with the course of time?

*Palestinian journalist