MIDDLE EAST: The atmosphere was festive and the competition intense as Palestinians in the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank voted yesterday in a momentous parliamentary ballot held under occupation to elect a government in search of a state.
The camp, set amid rocky hills north of Ramallah, was a riot of green bunting for the militant Islamic group Hamas, which appears to have seriously dented the ruling Fatah movement's decades-long monopoly of Palestinian politics.
As counting got under way last night, unofficial exit polls indicated that Fatah would emerge with about 42 per cent of the vote, compared to some 35 for Hamas which is contesting parliamentary elections for the first time after a decade-long boycott.
If official results due today confirm these figures, Hamas stands a realistic chance of joining the cabinet of the ruling Palestinian Authority in a Fatah-led coalition.
While some see the historic integration of the Islamic militants into Palestinian politics as a progressive step, Israel and its Western allies insist the group listed as a terrorist movement by the EU and US must disarm and abandon its charter, which calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Before signing up for an unofficial truce nearly a year ago, Hamas was the leading sponsor of terror attacks and resistance against Israel, but has toned down its rhetoric recently.
With brisk voting reported throughout the day, election officials reported a turnout of 73 per cent of 1.3 million eligible voters.
Election observers said no serious violence was reported across the West Bank and Gaza following an agreement by rival militant groups loyal to Fatah, Hamas and other parties that they would not disrupt the ballot.
In Jalazone camp, voters had to push their way past a phalanx of young Fatah loyalists in tight jeans and bomber jackets who thrust leaflets at them at the entrance to the polling station.
Ziad Al Qutami (50), a diehard Fatah supporter, said the movement's new generation of leaders offered an alternative to older members associated with its late founder, Yasser Arafat, and widely accused of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement.
"Even if the elections don't bring good things for Palestine it's important to participate," said Al Qutami, who described himself as a former freedom fighter.
"It's not going to do much for the problem of the occupation." But the camp, with its 10,000 residents from families displaced during the war following the establishment of the Israeli state in 1947, is typical of the conservative villages where Hamas has garnered support with its combination of armed resistance, a clean image, religious devotion and charity work.
Ahmad Mustafa Badawi (21), an electrician who voted for Hamas, said the Islamists had shown their efficiency and dedication to the people in recent municipal elections.
Inside the smoky polling station, MEP Proinsias De Rossa, who is part of a 190-member EU election observation mission, said the poll appeared very well organised. If Hamas emerged with up to 40 per cent of the vote, "they cannot be ignored even if they don't disarm. The question is not whether they disarm, the question is whether they maintain a truce or ceasefire," he said.
President Mahmoud Abbas, elected a year ago after Mr Arafat's death, said the Palestinian Authority was ready to resume long-stalled talks with Israel even if Hamas joined his government.
"We are ready to negotiate," he told reporters after casting his ballot in Ramallah.
Election officials last night said voting in occupied East Jerusalem was extended due to lengthy queues due to "obstructions" from clerks at post offices where Israel allows some 6,000 voters to cast absentee "postal" votes.