Hamas’ Local Experience Shows Challenges of Governing

c. 2006 Religion News Service QALQILYA, West Bank _ A mule-drawn cart staggers through the divot-pocked lane outside the warehouse of Qalqilya Mirrors and Glass. When Hamas took control of the local council nine months ago in this town of 42,000, the Islamic militants promised to pave dirt roads like this one. But warehouse superintendent […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

QALQILYA, West Bank _ A mule-drawn cart staggers through the divot-pocked lane outside the warehouse of Qalqilya Mirrors and Glass.

When Hamas took control of the local council nine months ago in this town of 42,000, the Islamic militants promised to pave dirt roads like this one. But warehouse superintendent Mahmoud Hafeth says the new councilmen have fallen back on a mantra all too reminiscent of previous administrations: “Six more months.”


“The people are very unhappy that the road is not asphalt,” Hafeth explains. “Sometimes customers are afraid to come. At the end of six months I think they will delay it again.

“Nothing has changed. Only the faces.”

These frustrations reflect the enormous challenges facing Hamas as the new Islamic administration gets down to the nuts and bolts of administering territories wracked by daily violence and overhauling a dysfunctional Palestinian government.

Hamas’ sweep of all 15 seats in the Qalqilya municipal council last May was a prelude to what transpired through the West Bank and Gaza Strip in its parliamentary landslide in January. But that second election victory came with one notable exception: Hamas lost the parliamentary elections here in Qalqilya, where it had won big just seven months earlier.

Some consider the January vote a referendum on Hamas’ performance in Qalqilya _ a sign of just how fragile the new Hamas era might be as it tries to govern in one of the most closely watched corners of the world.

Even Hamas council members acknowledge they have had a hard time living up to the public’s expectations for the new municipal council.

“We didn’t have enough prior expertise in running a municipality. We’ve had to play catch-up over three to four months,” said Yasser Hamad, an expert on Islamic law who was elected to the Qalqilya council on the Hamas ticket. “People thought that the problems of 30 years would be solved in few weeks.”

To be sure, Qalqilya’s economy already was ravaged by years of daily fighting with Israel.


Perched on a gentle slope overlooking the suburbs of Tel Aviv, Qalqilya has been surrounded for the last three years by the cement walls and electric fences built by Israel to block suicide bombers. The barrier has made it more difficult for local farmers to reach their fields.

“Hamas is not the reason for the poor economic situation,” said Mohammed Abdel Rahman, a businessman who imports agricultural products. “It’s in the hands of the Israelis.” On the other hand, Abdel Rahman complained that foreign donors have halted development projects since Hamas took office here.

Hamas politicians here boast the new administration has started to pay down a $7.5 million municipal debt by insisting on procurement tenders that have cut expenses. They also said they have uncovered more than $50,000 in public graft while securing grants from the Palestinian Authority to improve roads entering the city.

Before the January election, Hamas printed a 36-page brochure titled “Achievements on the Path to Transparency and Justice,” chronicling the highlights of its first few months in office with pictures of a refurbished town zoo. But the improvements are still barely perceptible to the average citizen, others said.

“There is disappointment with Hamas,” said Nidal Hanayel, who heads the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine party in Qalqilya. “The public didn’t feel any improvement in the town. They didn’t make good on their promises.”

Specifically, Hanayel said the new council hasn’t made progress on priorities of the Hamas agenda from the last election: building schools and hospitals. The new administration has also failed on a pledge to lower electricity and water prices, he said.


They’ve gone up instead.

At the same time, residents were unhappy with Hamas’ decision to ban an international dance festival last summer to prevent social mixing between women and men.

“The municipality informed us two days before the arrival of the troupes that we could not use the stadium because of religious reasons,” said Hisham Dweikat, a local representative of the Palestinian culture ministry. “Of course that affected commercial activity.”

Some residents consider the result of January’s parliamentary vote a correction for the landslide in the municipal election, a backlash that could spread in the Palestinian territories with time.

(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)

Back at Qalqilya Mirrors and Glass, Mustafa Juadei walks into the dirt road to point out an illegally built cinderblock wall from the municipal zoo that crowds the dirt lane opposite the warehouse. The 45-year-old shop owner said he voted for Hamas in the local elections a year ago but didn’t in January.

“The Palestinian Authority is not as simple as the local council. The challenge is much greater,” he said. “The mayor is my best friend and I said, `You’ve climbed up a high tree.”’

Still, Juadei is willing to give the Islamic militant town councilors time to follow through on promises to pave the road and move the wall.


Younger superintendent Hafeth is less optimistic.

The only thing Hamas has brought the city, he said, are speed bumps that damage cars.

“Everybody only feels the bumps,” Hafeth said. “Nothing was done as we expected.”

MO PH END MITNICK

(Joshua Mitnick writes for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.)Editors: To obtain a photo of Mustafa Juadei, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

Also see RNS-HAMAS-FUTURE and RNS-MIDEAST-RELATIONS

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