Hamas refuses to alter stance

Graft in the ruling Fatah Party caused voters to choose Hamas.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- After their resounding election victory, the Islamic militants of Hamas met the question of whether they will change their stripes with a loud "no": no recognition of Israel, no negotiations, no renunciation of terror.
But the world holds out hope that international pressure can make them more moderate. At stake is the future of Mideast peacemaking, billions of dollars in aid and the Palestinians' relationship with Israel, the United States and Europe.
Hamas' victory -- winning 76 of 132 parliament seats in Wednesday's election -- has created a dizzying power shift in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, overturning certitudes and highlighting the failure by Palestinian leaders, Israel and the international community to ease growing desperation in the Palestinian territories.
Weekend violence between Hamas and Palestinian policemen mostly allied with long-dominant Fatah, and angry demonstrations by disgruntled gunmen fearing the loss of jobs and income after the Hamas win, have raised the specter of widespread civil strife.
After a brutal five-year campaign by Israel to destroy Hamas and assassinate its top leaders, the organization emerged stronger than ever and is poised to take over the Palestinian Authority.
What happened
The United States has pushed for democracy in the Middle East, hoping to promote moderation and head off more 9/11-style attacks, but, as in recent votes in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, a clean and fair election has empowered Islamists in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel and the international community repeatedly have demanded that the Palestinian government disarm militias, but now that the main militia appears to have become the government, no one knows what will happen to its weapons.
The win by Hamas -- which is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings on Israelis and has long called for the destruction of the Jewish state -- caught everyone, including the organization itself, off guard.
Both Hamas and the international community face agonizing dilemmas. Hamas leaders say they won't renounce their violent ideology, but the consequences of failing to do so are likely to be catastrophic: loss of life-sustaining aid, international isolation and a profound setback to their statehood aspirations.
The United States and many European countries say they'll have nothing to do with a Hamas government, but a sharp cutoff in aid and an overly zealous stance could steer the Palestinians further away from moderation at an extremely delicate moment.
Telling interview
An interview with an up-and-coming young Hamas leader in a dusty Gaza Strip field revealed how the organization's slant could shift.
Mushir al-Masri said renouncing the "armed struggle" and negotiating with Israel are "not on Hamas' agenda" because a decade of talking won the Palestinians nothing.
"We cannot waste 10 more years when the last 10 years failed to realize even the minimum amount of Palestinian hopes," he said.
But when an aide tried to put a green Hamas sash over al-Masri's shoulder before a TV interview, the 29-year-old newly elected lawmaker shooed him away.
"You should bring me the Palestinian flag," he said, reflecting his movement's stated desire to represent all Palestinians.
By all accounts, Palestinians didn't choose Hamas because they reject peace talks with Israel but rather because they were fed up with graft in the ruling Fatah Party. Hamas candidates ran on a platform of clean government, largely de-emphasizing their militant credentials.
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