RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and his Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations Thursday as the Islamic militant group Hamas appeared to have captured a large majority of seats in the Palestinian elections — a shocking upset sure to throw Mideast peacemaking into turmoil.

"This is the choice of the people. It should be respected," Qureia said. "If it's true (the results), then the president should ask Hamas to form a new government. For me, personally, I sent my resignation."

Under the law, Abbas must ask the largest party in the new parliament — presumably Hamas — to form the next government. Abbas was elected separately a year ago and remains president.

Hamas said before the election it does not want to govern alone, and would prefer to bring Fatah into a coalition. Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said Thursday that the group will declare its intentions after official results are announced later in the day.

The result could have a devastating effect on the peace process with Israel. Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas official, said Thursday that recognizing Israel and negotiations with the Jewish state are "not on our agenda."

Israel and the United States have said they would not deal with a Hamas-led Palestinian government. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said he would step down if he could no longer pursue his peace agenda with Israel.

Hamas' top candidate Ismail Haniyeh said the group had won about 70 total seats in the 132-seat parliament, based on reporting by Hamas activists who observed the counting in the polling stations. Later in the day, another Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the number had risen to at least 75.

Officials with Fatah conceded that Hamas had won about 70 total seats. They also spoke on condition of anonymity because counting in some districts was continuing.

Palestinian election officials said on condition of anonymity because the count was ongoing that Hamas had won a large majority of the 66 seats up for grabs in electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza. Half the seats in Wednesday's parliament vote were chosen on a national list and the other half by districts.

The Central Election Commission said it would make an official announcement at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Initial exit polls on Wednesday night had forecast a slight edge for Fatah, with Hamas coming in a strong second. The polls predicted that neither Hamas nor Fatah would have enough seats to form a government alone, and would have to rely on smaller parties to form a coalition.

The discrepancy between the exit polls and the results provided by officials on Thursday was apparently due to voting in districts, where Hamas was apparently able to capitalize on divisions within Fatah.

A senior Fatah member, Saeb Erekat, said he could not confirm the unofficial results, but blamed Israel's refusal to resume peace talks with a Fatah-led government for the party's poor showing.

"Israel has declared us non-partners about four years ago and they were not speaking to our elected president," he told Israel Army Radio. "Everybody was blaming Fatah for every mistake in the world. Everybody was tying our hands and our legs and throwing us into the sea. And now I think all these things, including our mistakes in Fatah, led to this result."

Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday, before Hamas claimed victory, that Israel cannot trust a Palestinian leadership in which the Islamic group has a role, according to a statement by his office.

"Israel can't accept a situation in which Hamas, in its present form as a terror group calling for the destruction of Israel, will be part of the Palestinian Authority without disarming," Olmert told U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record) in a meeting, according to Olmert's office. "I won't hold negotiations with a government that does not stick to its most basic obligation of fighting terror."

Israel is willing to help the Palestinians and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "a great deal" but only if they crack down on militants, Olmert said.

Israel has repeatedly asked Abbas to force Hamas and other militant groups to disarm but Abbas has refused, warning such an act could cause civil war. Hamas has committed dozens of suicide bombings against Israel.

President Bush told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Wednesday that the United States will not deal with Hamas until it renounces its position calling for the destruction of Israel.

The election Wednesday was the Palestinians' first truly competitive vote, with Hamas contesting a parliamentary vote for the first time and winning considerable clout. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded polling stations throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip for a vote that would determine how Palestinians wanted to be governed and whether they would pursue negotiations or confrontation with Israel.

Long lines formed at polling stations, and 77.7 percent of 1.3 million eligible voters cast ballots. Under a compromise with Israel, some Arabs in east Jerusalem were allowed to cast absentee ballots at post offices in the disputed city, and voting was extended there by two hours because postal workers were slow.

Routine power cuts in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis forced election workers to count ballots by candlelight.

"Whoever is the winner, it's a great victory for the Palestinians in general because partnership starts from this minute," said Samer Lulu, 29, a merchant who voted in Gaza City.

Hamas' success has alarmed Israel and the West, but Abbas has argued that luring the group, which has been behind dozens of deadly attacks on Israel, into politics would tame it and increase the chances for peace. The election will usher in a new parliament and Cabinet, but Abbas, who was elected president last year, will remain head of the Palestinian Authority regardless of the results.

"We are coming into a new phase. In this phase, we are calling for the international community to help us return to the negotiating table with the Israelis, conclude the peace process and implement it," Abbas said after the voting ended.

Palestinians were given the day off to vote, and the election was held in a celebratory atmosphere that was rare in the recent years of fighting with Israel. Some activists covered their cars with red carnations and others blasted campaign songs from car stereos and storefront speakers.

Campaign posters hung on nearly every wall, dangled from electric lines over the street and were plastered to the hoods of cars. Some children ran through the streets wearing the green flag of Hamas as a cape. Others wore the black-and-white checkered scarf of Fatah.

Some 13,500 police officers guarded the 1,008 polling stations to prevent gunmen from disrupting the vote, and there were no reports of major violence. In the West Bank's Balata refugee camp, militants who had threatened to burn down polling stations checked their assault rifles at the door with a flourish and peacefully voted.

Hoping to harness a wave of discontent with Fatah, Hamas ran an anti-corruption campaign, calling its party Reform and Change.

"We've reached the worst. The most important thing now is change," said Raed Abu Hamam, 35, a construction worker in Gaza's Beach camp who said he has lost faith in Fatah.

Fatah appealed for another chance to clean up the government and expand an economy shattered by nearly five years of fighting with Israel. Many Fatah voters said they were grudgingly supporting the party out of old loyalties.

"The Palestinian Authority did nothing for us. People here have no jobs, while people in the PA got millions of dollars," said Ali Taha, 35, a laborer in the Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, who voted for Fatah anyway.

Though the election appeared likely to turn on internal issues, the results will have deep implications for future peace efforts with Israel.

Abbas said Wednesday he is prepared to resume peace talks, even if Hamas joins his government. Hamas is expected to ask for service ministries — health, education and welfare — and to leave diplomacy to others.

"We are ready to negotiate," Abbas said. "We are partners with the Israelis. They don't have the right to choose their partner."

Israel says it will not deal with Hamas until it disarms. But Haniyeh said the group had no intention of laying down its arms after the elections. Another candidate, Mahmoud Zahar, said his group is "not going to change a single word" in its covenant calling for Israel's destruction.

I'd most defininately have to say that the stage has been COMPLETELY setup for the Anti-Christ to enter from behind the curtain, make himself known and offer his 7 year peace plan folks.

President Bush and his admin have said they WILL NOT deal with a Hamas run palistinian govt. Surely the Israelis will be holding back any future land giveaways which will escalate things even more.

Again, be on the lookout for he who has a seven year plan.


May God bless the children of Israel

I've been waiting...What a bad way to start the morning.

Of course to complicate the issue more you could probably walk out on any street corner in American and ask them if the know who or wha a Hamas is and you'd get most saying it's a bean spread. A few might think it's fertilizer...

I can't even laugh myself out of it this morning.

You may not be able to laugh but that cartoon sure made me Miki!!

Back to the seriousness of it all. This new Hamas government has apparently just made it clear that they would like to enter into communication with the West. How on earth can any of our leaders even contemplate talking with an organisation that is hell bent on wiping Israel off the map.

The reason why they have been voted in by the population is that the people have been brainwashed into thinking they are making the way for the Islamic Messiah.

They promised revenge.


But Jesus said no weapon formed against me shall prosper!

"Hamas describes resisting and quelling the enemy as the individual duty of every Muslim."

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has positioned his conservative government as one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe, called Hamas' apparent victory "very, very, very bad result," news reports said.

Khaled Mashal, also known as Khaled Mashaal (b. 1956) is considered to be the leader of the Hamas organization, engaged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has been described alternately as the "political leader" of the group and the leader of Hamas' Syrian branch. He may be both. He currently operates from Damascus, Syria.....

.....Mashal addressed a crowd in Damascus, Syria on the informal truce with the government of Israel that ends at the end of the year, stating that, "We will not enter a new truce and our people are preparing for a new round of conflict."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_Meshal

Winston Churchill

“The religion of Islam above all others was founded upon the sword … Moreover it provides incentives to slaughter, and in three continents has produced fighting breeds of men – filled with a wild and merciless fanaticism.”

and Jesus said, "he that lives by the sword, shall die by the sword."

and that is a truth that is applicable to all humans.

from every nation....

and Jesus spoke what is true.

His Kingdom, (for Jesus IS a King--the TRUE One) is not part, is no part, of this world.

if his kingdom had been from this source, the world, his attendants would have fought, with swords, that he should not be delivered up to the Jews..

But as it was, and as it still is, His Kingdom, is not from this source and is no part of this world.

His followers, likewise, would be no part of this world.

and the world will hate them.

just as they hated Jesus.

for a slave is not greater than his master.

May God bless, (not america, or any nation) but HIS PEOPLE.
and he has a people made up from people from EVERY nation of men.
and Jesus joins them together in unity....

God bless his people.
and May God's KING come.

-bz

AMEN BZ!!! So good to see you

So true, BZ... great words!

I feel so blessed to have such a sense of peace with all of the chaos going on around the world daily.

Actually.. I'm a little excited.... kind of like a kid on Christmas Eve except so, sooooo much better!

Pray and watch, Pray and watch, Pray and watch, Pray and watch, Pray and watch,
Get the idea
justaservant

bz says:

"May God bless, (not america, or any nation) but HIS PEOPLE.
and he has a people made up from people from EVERY nation of men.
and Jesus joins them together in unity...."

And to that l add:

Let it be so.... because when God blesses his people the nation where they abide will be blessed as well. How...? Through the rhema word.

From our mouth to the worlds ear at the right moment in time.

Let it grow and spread l pray, like cool water on a dry and thirsty land.

Let it be so!....In Jesus name! Amen

Let those with free choice take their vote.

Let it never be said "l had no choice.

sorry....just had to do this..

Well...one is dead and the other never lived.

Let's praise the name of the one who gives life eternal!

Thats a fantastic picture of the angel blowing the trumpet. The other picture you posted...I think its from one of my favourite Biographic films of Jesus, it depicts Him how I see Him, always smiling and just full of love. I cannot remember the name of the movie, can you tell me?

I liked that movie and the way they portrayed him too. l can't remember which one it is though. I got this picture off some ones personal website.

28/01/06

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Fatah gunmen called new protests in the West Bank on Saturday as tension with their Hamas rivals simmered after a day of street battles erupted in the wake of a crushing election victory by Hamas.

Eight people were wounded in fighting between Fatah and Hamas supporters in the Gaza Strip on Friday amid political turmoil as the long-dominant Fatah faction digested its embarrassing defeat at the polls by the Islamic militant group.
Fatah supporters planned to come out in force in rallies across the West Bank, raising the spectre of new violence. However, their leaders called for calm.

"In last night's demonstration, Hamas provoked Fatah demonstrators by firing on them. I tell Fatah, don't be pulled into fights with Hamas," senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan told Reuters.

Hamas, whose shock parliamentary election victory changed the face of Palestinian politics and plunged Middle East peacemaking deeper into limbo, said it would hold talks soon with President Mahmoud Abbas on a "political partnership".

Fatah leaders have rejected a coalition with Hamas.

The United States said it would review funding to the aid-dependent Palestinians if Hamas enters government and Israel suggested it could suspend customs revenue transfers, adding economic uncertainty to the political upheaval.

About 20,000 Fatah supporters took to the streets on Friday in protests across Gaza, burning cars outside the Palestinian parliament building and firing rifles in the air.

Acknowledging Hamas's new standing as a political powerhouse, Abbas told reporters: "We are consulting and in contact with all the Palestinian groups and definitely, at the appropriate time, the biggest party will form the cabinet."

The militant al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Fatah, issued a statement threatening to "liquidate" the faction's leaders if they changed their minds and joined a Hamas-led administration.

VICTORY RALLIES

At separate rallies, thousands of Hamas backers celebrated the victory.

While Fatah leaders have called for a peaceful transition of power, bad blood runs deep between the secular and Islamist rivals. Many Hamas gunmen are resentful over crackdowns by Palestinian security forces amid peace overtures by Abbas to Israel, which has sought a clampdown on armed groups.

With Middle East peace talks frozen since 2000, Israel ruled out negotiations with any Palestinian administration involving Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and has been behind dozens of suicide bombings.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Israel threw into doubt its willingness to continue the transfer of monthly customs revenues totalling tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority. The money is needed to help pay salaries for 135,000 government employees.

Compounding the Palestinian Authority's worries, the United States said it would review "all aspects" of its aid programs to the Palestinians if Hamas was in the government.

Israel will hold a general election on March 28 and interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose centrist Kadima party is the front-runner, has hinted at unilateral moves to set a border with the Palestinians on Israeli terms.

Israel has already pulled its settlers out of the Gaza Strip without negotiations, citing the current Palestinian government's failure to rein in militants.

"In the Gaza disengagement, Israel opened a window of opportunity. With these elections, the Palestinians have slammed it shut," Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in Tel Aviv.

Hamas's capture of 76 seats in the 132-member parliament -- against 43 for Fatah -- was widely seen as a political earthquake in the Middle East, triggered by voters' anger at Fatah over corruption and the failure of peace efforts.

Hamas has mostly respected a truce for nearly a year, but says it will not give up its guns or its charter demand for an Islamic state to encompass Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

I read this on a couple of different websites... It is getting interesting...

Asked if a Hamas-led Palestinian government would accept Israel's right to exist, Zahar responded, "The question should be answered first by Israel, because they are not accepting us, except as minority, not the owner of the land."

If Israel would concede to Zahar's stipulations then, Zahar said, the Palestinians would be willing to allow a 10-15 year trial ceasefire "in order to see what the real intention of Israel [was] after that."

The several conditions Zahar named included a demand that Israel change its flag. "Israel must remove the two blue stripes from its national flag," said Zahar. "The stripes on the flag are symbols of occupation. They signify Israel's borders stretching from the Euphrates River to the Nile River."

Zahar was also asked if Hamas, which America views as a terrorist organization, would renounce terrorism.

"What is the international definition of terrorism?" he responded. "When (Israeli forces) attack houses by F-16, just when they are using helicopters, when they are killing people and children and removing our agriculture system, this is terrorism."

Zahar said Hamas planned to work with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas leads the Fatah Party; he was elected to a four-year term last year and remains in power.

"We are going to cooperate with [Abbas], according to the Palestinian national interests, to help the Palestinian people to live as in a purified system, to fight against corruption," he said.