The result in a knife-edge Palestinian election is expected to be announced on Thursday amid forecasts that the Islamists of Hamas have deprived the ruling Fatah faction of its majority.
Exit polls released late on Wednesday after the close of voting in the first Palestinian general election in a decade, which saw more than three-quarters of the electorate cast their ballots, showed Hamas would make a dramatic entry into Parliament, if falling just short of usurping Fatah.
With the very real possibility Hamas could now demand a Cabinet seat, Israel warned it would not do business with a group that still advocates the use of violence and refuses to recognise the Jewish state’s right to exist.
The White House also cold-shouldered Hamas, reaffirming its status in Washington’s eyes as a terrorist organisation.
A poll by the West Bank’s Bir Zeit University forecast that Fatah had won 63 seats in the 132-seat Parliament against 58 for Hamas.
The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) should win three of the seats, with the remainder taken up by independents and minor parties.
Another forecast, by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, said Fatah had won 42% of votes against 35% for Hamas.
Bir Zeit pollster Nader Said said the result is almost too close to call.
”They are so close that we will have to wait for the final results.”
A spokesperson for the central elections commission said no official announcement would be made before 9am local time.
Following a relatively smooth vote marked by turnout of more than 77%, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said his people have embarked on a new era and called for international assistance to revive stalled peace talks.
But Israel’s acting leader, Ehud Olmert, said the Jewish state cannot allow Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings over the past five years, in its current form to become part of the Palestinian Authority.
”We have embarked on a new era, and we need the international community’s help so that we can return to the negotiations on a final peace agreement with Israel,” Abbas said as the job of counting the votes began in earnest.
A senior member of the Fatah campaign team and outgoing Cabinet minister said his movement, which has dominated Palestinian politics for decades, is confident it has won enough votes to form the new government.
”We are sure that Fatah has won the elections with a percentage which would allow us to form the next government,” said Mohammed Shtayyeh.
Hamas insisted, however, it has an unequivocal lead over Fatah and disputed the forecasts of the exit polls.
”The initial information we have shows for certain that we have a considerable lead over Fatah, unequivocal and unambiguous,” the faction’s top candidate, Ismail Haniya, said.
In Jerusalem, Olmert warned ”Israel cannot allow Hamas to become part of the Palestinian Authority in its current form”.
The charter of Hamas, which officials have said will not be changed, calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and the group has vowed not to disarm after entering Parliament.
Hamas, campaigning on a change and reform banner, has sought to cash in on disillusionment with Fatah over the stalled peace process, corruption and by claiming its fighters forced Israel to pull out of the Gaza Strip last summer.
The White House hailed the election as ”historic”, but said it sees no change in its refusal to deal with Hamas.
”We do not deal with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Under current circumstances, I don’t see any change in that,” said spokesperson Scott McClellan. — AFP
