Hamas win raises questions of peace process

Members of the IU community disagreed Thursday on the merits of the Hamas party's upset of the ruling Fatah party. Hamas emerged with a majority win in the Palestinian elections earlier this week.\nSome said that now that Hamas has a majority in the Palestinian government, their volatile relationship with Israel will be adversely affected. Hamas, which has taken credit for dozens of suicide bombings, is considered an official terrorist organization in many countries, including the United States. \nOne Israeli student at IU had high hopes that a Fatah win would speed up the peace process and ease tensions between the two groups.\n"I think with Fatah victory, it (would) enable a solution quicker," said sophomore Andrew Sanaani-Schwimmer, who has been to Israel many times to visit family members. "Hamas won't negotiate with Israel; they just won't." \nAnother student said he believes Hamas will be a good addition to the Palestinian Parliament. \n"Hamas has given people hope," said sophomore Jamil Ortoleva, whose mother is Palestinian. "Fatah has been in power so long, they have a routine, not a fresh point-of-view, compared to Hamas." \nSanaani-Schwimmer said that the Hamas victory will just be a setback to negotiations.\n"Hamas won't disarm even in legislation," he said. "They'll be a challenging force against Fatah, and some people are even saying those disputes may cause Palestinian civil war." \nSanaani-Schwimmer also said the Hamas win ends any possibility of peace. \n"I thought there was a chance of ending the conflict in the relatively near future," he said. "Now, I don't see that at all." \nOrtoleva said he does not want to be mistaken as pro-terrorist or anti-Semitic, but he believes Fatah has let Israel get its way more than Hamas has and ever would. He also said Fatah is used to being treated poorly. \n"We (Palestinians) have it a lot worse than (Israelis) do," Ortoleva said. "There's more terrorism from them than from us." \nOrtoleva said he thinks that the United States has been misinformed that the Palestinians are the only side holding back the peace process, and the United States needs to hear a balanced and fair report. He said he wants to remind people Hamas has done many good things for the Palestinians, such as building social work services, rebuilding cities and helping Palestinians in other ways. He said he believes Hamas will ultimately rebuild the Palestinians' confidence and strength in becoming their own state that won't be swayed by Israeli power and influence. \nSchool of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Rafael Reuveny, however, said he doesn't believe either outcome alone could change the situation in the Middle East. \n"(These elections) will not make or break the conflict," said Reuveny, whose research focuses on the Middle Eastern political economy, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "They won't be enough."\nReuveny said the real outcome depends on who wins the Israeli elections. He said the winner must be willing to negotiate in order to make real progress.\nReuveny admitted that with Hamas winning the majority of votes, Palestine would take another decade or more to come to the conclusion that peace negotiations with Israel are necessary. \n"The only thing that they would be most willing to do is sign a long-term cease-fire," Reuveny said. "But they still wouldn't, and won't, recognize Israel as a legitimate state." \nAccording to The Associated Press, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected a year ago, will remain president regardless of the voting results.