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The Islamic Resistance Group Hamas celebrated a stunning victory in the historic January 25th, 2006 Palestinian Legislative Elections with no major incidents of violence. Hamas won 74 seats in the 132-member parliament, while Fatah, which controlled Palestinian politics for four decades, won 45 seats, said Hanna Nasser, head of the Central Election Commission. The remaining seats went to independent and small parties.

Rather than sitting out the elections like it did in 1996, Hamas participated with full force fielding more than 110 candidates. The United States and Israel stated that they will not deal with the new Palestinian Authority if Hamas does not agree to disarm, recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence. President Bush reacted to the Hamas win by saying, "A political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of its platform is a party with which we will not deal...If your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace. We're interested in peace".  Replying to whether or not the United States would change its view of Hamas as a terror organization U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said, " you cannot have one foot in politics and the other in terror. Our position on Hamas has therefore not changed."

Earlier, the U.S. and Europe both threatened to cut off financial aid to Palestinians should Hamas continue to support violent resistance while in government. Hamas says it will not negotiate with Israel on sensitive political issues, but will negotiate (through a third party) on other logistical matters.  (Jan. 25- Abu Dhabi TV) Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said that the organization would extend its "HUDNA", or truce, if Israel reciprocates. "If not, then I think we will have no option but to protect our people and our land," he added.
 
Before Election Day, the Palestinian Authority deployed more than 13,000 security police to protect 770 election centers. Aproximately 78% of 1.3 million eligible voters went to the polls to cast their vote. However, close to 5 million Palestinian refugees living in diaspora throughout the world were not given the opportunity to participate. East Jerusalemites were given a chance to vote despite earlier Israeli attempts to prevent them from participating in the elections. However, after complaints were lodged, Israel allowed campaigning and some voting, except by those representing armed groups. (Jan.9 Abu Dhabi TV) Al Jazeera reported that Israeli police even arrested last-minute Palestinian campaigners who were handing out flyers during the election. Because Palestinians are prohibited from having a police presence in East Jerusalem, Israeli policemen took it upon themselves to enforce Palestinian election laws. In the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, armed voters surrendered their weapans to security personnel before casting their vote.

A notable absence was the late President Yasser Arafat who was only remembered in a number of speeches and could be seen on a few campaign posters that decorated walls in the territories. But other than that, Arafat was a mere memory amidst the celebratory atmosphere of the election. Also, absent from the political arena, Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon who remains in a comatose state with his second in command, Ehud Olmert, taking over the reigns of power. (Jan. 5 - IBA News) (Jan. 6 - Future TV, Lebanon) Olmert has taken measures to speed up the construction of the separation wall and has stated that he may take more unilateral steps like his predecessor should the Palestinians fail to disarm resistance groups.

Only a few Arab leaders have congratulated the Islamic Resistance Movement on its landslide victory in the Palestinian Legistlative Elections.Most Arab governments are appearing to adopt a "wait and see" policy, or they may still be in shock about what happened. Some analysts are worried that this new Islamic phenomenon may topple long-standing regimes; others are wondering whether the US policy of promoting democracy, multi-political systems and political freedoms under the so-called "Greater Middle East Initiative" has indeed backfired.

LINKS
Hamas: A Reality Israelis, Americans and Europeans Will Have to Accept
Olmert Orders Faster Construction of West Bank Separation Fence
Hamas Has Arrived, but There are Built-In Limits
A Post-Sharon Middle East
Hamas Sees Possible Indirect Talks With Israel
How Middle East Media Cover Hamas Victory.

Iran, the world's second largest crude oil producer, has continued to defy the world community despite mounting international pressure for it come clean on its nuclear program. (Jan. 11-Al-Alam TV, Iran)

The European troika negotiators, France, Britain and Germany have said that talks with Iran over its nuclear program have come to a dead end. France and the UN rejected Iran's request for further negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said that "there is not much to talk about" after Iran resumed its uranium enrichment activities. But the President of Iran remained defiant saying that he is in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,�and that�he�is only�disregarding additional protocols which are�considered voluntary. He accused the West of preventing Tehran from acquiring peaceful nuclear technology. "We are asking that they step down from their ivory towers and act with a little logic," Ahmadinejad said. "Who are you to deprive us from fulfilling our goals? You think you are the lord of the world and everybody should follow you. But that idea is a wrong idea."

The troika and the United States are preparing to send Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council,�possibly initiating�economic sanctions. Iran has countered by threatening to withhold its oil exports should the issue be referred to the Security Council. (Jan. 13 - Abu Dhabi TV) This could be problematic�for many of Iran's oil importers, including China, which depends heavily on Tehran as a source of energy. The price of crude oil has gone up as a result of these diplomatic forays. Iran has also started the process of withdrawing all of its assets from European banks ahead of any possible economic sanctions in the Security Council. But Tehran does have some support from China and Russia-- both have veto power in the Security Council. Both nations have�said that the Iranian nuclear file should go to the Security Council. However, they fell short of saying that economic sanctions are necessary to deal with the crises.

A Russian proposal, which is supported by the EU, China and the United States, calls for enriching uranium in Russia and then returning it to Iran for use in the country's nuclear reactors. Iran says that more time is needed to consider the plan.

The gap between Iran and the West is being widened even more�by the conservative Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who�continues to make strong anti-Israel statements. (Jan. 17 Abu Dhabi TV) He is also planning a conference in Iran to study the facts of the Holocaust. (Jan. 6 - Al-Alam TV)

President Ahmadinejad, in his first official foreign visit, traveled to Syria where he met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al Assad. This is an understandable alliance�given that Syria is almost in the same position as Iran. Syria is also being pressured by the United States and the UN�due to�last year's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri. It is being pressured to democratize, stop supporting terrorism in Lebanon and Iraq, and to cooperate with the international probe into Hariri's death. The United States has already sanctioned Damascus and is� pushing for expanded international economic sanctions against Syria in the UN Security Council.� In a joint press conference with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Syrian President Bashar Al Assad solidified his support of Iran by saying, "We reject all attempts to place pressure on Iran concerning this issue." (Jan. 19 - Jordan TV) The two agreed to strengthen bilateral relations and economic ties. (Jan. 20 - Syria TV)
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Links
Caught in the Middle -- Arabs Fear Nuclear Israel, Iran
Tehran Stands Its Ground
FM: No precondition for talks with Europeans acceptable
For Jews and Muslims, time to find common ground
Iran and the Story of the "Stupid Tree"
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Lebanon/Syria
February 14th will be painted red, marking Valentine's Day for most parts of the world. But in Lebanon it will be black because it marks the one year anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri. Look out for major demonstrations in Lebanon with a lot of political posturing by both Lebanese opposition parties and Syrian officials. The United Nations will also be weighing in on the debate as it places more pressure on Syria to cooperate with the continued international probe into the assassination.

Iraq
Iraq continues to be a battlefield between American occupation forces and Iraqi insurgents. This month, America was gripped by the kidnapping of freelance journalist, Jill Carroll. Iraqi Sunni and Shia Muslims, in a rare show of unity, came together to condemn the capture of the American journalist. Her capture reminded the world of how dangerous the situation in Iraq is for foreigners and Iraqi civilians alike. Last year alone, insurgents launched more than 34,000 attacks on the United States and other foreign troops, Iraqi forces and civilians, according to the U.S. Military. This was a 30% jump from 2004. Meanwhile, Iraqi political parties are beginning to form a coalition government in the U.S.-protected Green Zone.� Expect to see cooperation among various religious political players and escalated sectarian violence on the ground.

Iran
Iran will step up its diplomatic offensive against the United States and the European nations that are negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran's conservative president does not seem to be backing down from this stand-off.� Iran's nuclear file will likely be debated in the United Nation's Security Council. Look for how China and Russia handle this sensitive issue.� Both countries rely heavily on Iran for its gas and oil energy, thus putting these two veto-wielding Security Council members in a tight position. China and Russia will not want to upset the West but at the same time they do not want conflict with Iran, considering that Tehran has already threatened to use oil as a weapon against any possible sanctions.

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