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PALESTINE-HAMAS Jan-30-2006 (840 words) With photos. xxxi
Palestinian Christians take a 'wait and see' approach to Hamas win
By Judith Sudilovsky
Catholic News Service
JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Following their initial shock, many Palestinian Christians are taking a "wait and see" approach to the Jan. 25 Hamas election victory, although some young Christians have expressed concern about the future.
"I was shocked," said Rami Giacaman, 19, a Catholic student at Bethlehem University whose family owns a souvenir shop on Manger Square in Bethlehem, West Bank. "I didn't imagine that Hamas would win. I am just a little bit concerned about things changing that may hurt us."
Suheir, 24, a Catholic owner of a high-end women's clothing boutique in the Bethlehem area, who preferred not to have her last name used or the exact location of her store revealed, said she hopes Hamas will not venture into the social sphere of Palestinian life. She said she is concerned that the new ruling party could try to implement dress and social codes based on Islamic law.
"I will never cover myself; it is simply impossible for me to do that. If they (impose) such rules for girls, we won't accept that," said Suheir.
Although she said the results were not as she had hoped, she noted that the elections had been conducted democratically, resulting in the Hamas parliamentary victory over the secular Fatah Party.
The election results were the main topic of conversation at a recent gathering where the majority of guests were Christian, said a middle-aged Bethlehem Catholic professional, who requested anonymity.
"I think people are now realizing that first of all it was not a vote for an Islamic party but it is a vote to punish the Palestinian Authority," he said, adding that even Hamas realized that.
Hamas, a militant Islamic group, is responsible for countless suicide bombings in Israel. It is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and many European nations, all of whom have expressed their refusal to deal with Hamas until it disavows its violent tactics and accepts the existence of Israel. President George W. Bush has threatened to cut off a $234 million aid package earmarked for the Palestinians unless Hamas renounces violence and reverses its stance on Israel.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada, senior Hamas member Sheik Mohammed Abu Tir said Hamas plans on making Shariah, or Islamic law, a basis for laws in Gaza and the West Bank. It will not ban alcohol sales or force women to cover their heads, but it will introduce a more Islamic curriculum into the public schools and require separate classes for boys and girls, he said.
A third-generation pork butcher from Beit Jalla, West Bank, Aziz Al-Soos, 49, said much of the vote for Hamas was actually a vote against Fatah. He said he would have to wait and see what the future would bring for his business. After municipal elections in Gaza, Hamas reportedly banned the sale of alcohol and pork, both of which are forbidden to Muslims by religious law.
"If they don't want to eat pork or drink a glass of wine then that is their business," said Al-Soos. "But the fact I want to eat pork and drink something from time to time is my business and I will fight in any court in the land or around the world if they try to stop me. We Christians were here in the Holy Land a long time before Islam arrived."
Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh, who is Catholic, vehemently rejected the rumor that has been going around since the beginning of the election campaign that a Hamas win would mean the implementation of a tax on non-Muslims.
Hamas is not interested in interfering in people's "normal social life," Batarseh said, especially not in the Bethlehem area known to have a "special character." He also didn't think the Hamas win would affect tourism to the city.
Bernard Sabella, a Catholic who is a newly elected Fatah parliament member, said having Hamas in the political system would actually be a way of transforming the group into a formal political party that will have to provide the stability, quality education, better medical care and other social reforms people will expect.
"There is a high responsibility now on Hamas to deliver," said Sabella. "I am not alarmed and the majority of Christians are not alarmed, though of course there will be some voices (expressing concern). We have to wait and see what happens."
He also noted that the tough talk coming from Israeli circles against negotiations with Hamas were part of the "political parlance" of the Israeli pre-election campaign, scheduled for the end of March, just as Palestinian candidates talked tough against Israel prior to the recent elections.
"Israel and Hamas need to find an equation where they accept the status quo," he said. "We can't deliver services and answer the needs of the people unless we all find a formula not to please Washington, or Europe or even Tel Aviv, but to answer the needs of our people."
END
Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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