Iranian official says hopes Hamas victory will unite Palestinians
By News Agencies
TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the country welcomes the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative Council election and hopes the result will strengthen resistance against Israel.
The United States and Israel accuse Iran of arming and funding militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. But Iran says it only gives moral support to the Palestinian groups.
"Iran ... hopes that the powerful presence of Hamas at the [political] scene brings about great achievements for the Palestinian nation," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi in a statement faxed to Reuters.
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During a visit to Damascus this month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged support for militant Palestinian factions at a meeting with leaders from Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
Asefi said the 78 percent turnout showed Palestinian nation's determination to fight against Israel.
"It showed the nation's loyalty and support to the resistance movement. We hope the result unites the Palestinian nation in pursuing its rights," Asefi said.
State-run radio in Iran opened its afternoon news broadcast with the report of Hamas' victory, saying the vote showed that Palestinians support resistance against Israel.
"Now the true representatives of the Palestinian people have come to power," said Javad Majidi, a student at Iran's Tehran University.
Jihad-Daneshgai, a semi-governmental cultural body active in Iranian universities, congratulated Hamas in a statement, saying the victory "angers the arrogant leaders of the U.S. and the occupiers of Jerusalem."
The Hamas victory was greeted with jubilation Thursday across the Muslim world.
"This is a victory to all the region's free people," said Ayoub Muhanna, a 29-year-old Lebanese who owns a spare parts shop in the southeast town of Rashaya. "The Palestinians gave their vote to the party that gave of its blood."
But while Hamas' victory proved the group's popularity over the ruling Fatah party, the win also could backfire on the militant group, some analysts said.
"Hamas' role was greatly respected and embraced because it was a resistance movement," Sami Moubayed, a Syrian analyst, told the Associated Press.
"Now, they will naturally be prone to fail like any other movement that entered the political arena, because they will have a very hard time to deliver on their promises," he said.
"The Palestinian Authority is corrupt and Hamas will now share the blame," he added. "Resistance is something very honorable. Politics is a dirty game."
Leaders of both Hamas and Fatah said Thursday that Hamas had won an outright majority of parliamentary seats, although official results were not yet available. That gives them the right to form the next Palestinian government, although it was not clear if they would choose to do so.
"What happened was tantamount to an earthquake," said Muhammad Jalbout, a Palestinian living in Syria.
He blamed the U.S. for indirectly helping Hamas win by not exerting enough pressure on Israel to implement agreements reached with the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, which would have reduced tensions in Palestinian areas.
'An Arab Sharon' Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi who hosts a political talk show on Dubai TV, said a Hamas win "will reflect positively on the political process, because Hamas has a good reputation in the Palestinian street."
Hamas' participation in the political process is also "an indirect recognition" of the 1993 Oslo agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis, which the group has long rejected, because the Palestinian Authority was founded as a result of the Oslo agreement, al-Shirian said.
Al-Shirian said he expected the group to be tough negotiators if peace talks are reopened between Israelis and Palestinians.
"They will be the Arab Sharon," he said. "They will be tough, but only a tough group can snatch concessions from Israel. "
The result of the electoins "will give [Hamas] a major boost," said Dia'a Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on Islamic movements.
Essam el-Aryan, a spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - which recently increased the number of its seats in Egypt's parliament from 17 to 88 - said the Brotherhood was jubilant.
"This is a great victory for Hamas," he said.
But he added that Hamas now faces the challenge "of maintaining good relations with the Arab governments and world powers to secure support for the Palestinian cause.
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