With conspicuous low turnout, Fatah won in lacklustre fashion in largely uncontested local elections, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied Hebron In the absence of Hamas and with visibly low voter turnout, Fatah, the political backbone of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) and the party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, won an uneasy victory in partial local and municipal elections in the West Bank. Nonetheless, Fatah leaders hailed "the huge victory", saying it amounted to a referendum on Chairman Abbas's policies, especially with regard to the moribund peace process with Israel. The group's mediocre achievement was marred by a drastically low participation, especially in large towns such as Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah where no more than 35 per cent of registered voters cast their votes. In Hebron, a city of more than 250,000 people, voter turnout was phenomenally low, not exceeding 33 per cent of registered voters. According to Akram Natscheh, a local journalist, public apathy was conspicuous in the southern populous West Bank city. "We noticed from the very beginning there was a lot of indifference on the part of the people." Fatah as expected won 10 seats in the 15-seat council. Another observer, Imad Kawasmeh, said many people voted for Fatah's list out of clan solidarity. "Many voters voted for their relatives not because they were infatuated with Fatah or the Palestinian Authority. They did so because they simply wanted the son of the clan be a winner." The low turnout is only partially imputed to Hamas's boycott. Many Palestinians are preoccupied with their own harsh economic troubles, which makes them view elections and politics as secondary issues. Hebron is largely considered an Islamist stronghold. Hamas boycotted the elections, citing the absence of civil liberties and true democracy in the West Bank. The PA security agencies have been arresting pro-Hamas activists, accusing them of incitement and implication in security violations. Hamas argues that the "persecution and harassment" meted out to its supporters by the PA is mainly politically motivated. Hamas has also worried that Israel would arrest Hamas's candidates as it did during previous elections. Israel hinted on many occasions that it would round up Islamist candidates, probably in order to enhance the chances of Fatah, the main rival to the Islamist movement. Israel believes that the ascendancy of Hamas in Palestinian politics would make the task of reaching a peace deal that is acceptable to the Jewish state more difficult. While accepting in principle the two-state solution, Hamas refuses to recognise Israel's legitimacy, arguing that Israel was established at the expense of the Palestinian people and therefore has no moral legitimacy. Hamas also insists that any peace process must lead to the repatriation of millions of Palestinian refugees to their original towns and villages in what is now Israel. On the other side, Israel thinks that Fatah can be pressured or cajoled into accepting a compromise that would allow Israel to effectively liquidate the right of return of Palestinian refugees in exchange for a state in the occupied territories. The PA and Israel are partners in active security coordination against Hamas. This security pact, which many Palestinians view as treasonous on Fatah's part, is considered one of the main obstacles impeding Palestinian reconciliation and unity. FATAH RUNS AGAINST ITSELF: In Nablus, a list headed by former Mayor Ghassan Shakaa defeated Fatah's list, headed by Amin Makbul, a prominent Fatah leader. Nablus also witnessed conspicuously low voter turnout, which observers say reflected a high degree of public apathy. Veteran Fatah leader and former envoy to Egypt Nabil Amr described the outcome of the elections as "dismal" and portending a gloomy future for Fatah. "The power struggle within Fatah resulted in the success of those who were expelled and the failure of those who carried out the expulsion. The chased won while the chaser lost. This is an issue that needs to be studied and analysed. This will bode very badly for the upcoming presidential and legislative elections when all parties will be competing." Amr himself fell out of favour with the Palestinian leadership two years ago following criticisms of the handling of peace talks with Israel by President Abbas. Another political analyst, Talal Okal, said the low voter turnout reflected the public's lack of confidence in the Palestinian political system. Okal pointed out that in many localities, "Fatah competed with Fatah." "Fatah defeated itself. The elections showed that Fatah was not a cohesive and homogenous group," he said. Mkheimer Abu Saada, a Gaza-based political analyst, opined that had Hamas taken part in the elections, Fatah would have lost badly in many localities. The organisation of local elections in the West Bank is expected to further exacerbate the enduring deadlock between Fatah and Hamas. PA leader Abbas said he hoped elections would lead to the ending of the rift between Gaza and the West Bank. Elections were held under hard economic conditions as the occupied territories reel under a crushing economic crisis affecting most Palestinian families. There is also an absolute deadlock in the political process as Israel continues to build and expand Jewish colonies all over the West Bank, which observers say is killing whatever remaining chances exist for the establishment of a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state. In light of this, some Palestinian leaders have called for abandoning the two-state solution strategy and the adoption instead of a strategy based on the one-state solution whereby Jews and Palestinians would live in a unitary democratic state extending from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. However, this idea is vehemently rejected by most Israelis since it would put an end to Israel as a Jewish state. According to the latest demographic data, Jews are no longer a majority in Mandate Palestine. A Hebrew newspaper last week quoted Jewish demographics as saying that Jews in Israel and the occupied territories constitute 49 per cent of the population whereas non-Jews constitute 51 per cent. Israeli leaders have refused to comment on the report.
