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| The Challenges Facing Hamas |
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Practical
On a practical level, there are a multitude of issues that need to be dealt with. From an economic perspective, the Palestinian situation is dire. Dr Omar Abdel Razeq, the Hamas man appointed to the post of finance minister, faces a situation that the World Bank has described as “precarious”. According to the latter’s analysis of the Palestinian territories there is a budget deficit of $800 million in 2005 alone, resulting from increases in public sector salaries, the numbers of government workers, one in four Palestinians unemployment and 43% living below the poverty line. To expect Hamas to turn the economy around in the short term is unrealistic. Nevertheless, if Hamas claims to be a harbinger of a brighter future as far as the average Palestinian is concerned, then translating optimism to positive action will be crucial. Similarly, Hamas now has to face up to rooting out the prevalent corruption that is so deeply embedded in the heart of all things administrative. Many Palestinians will gauge the new government’s performance based on tangible changes to their daily lives. Successfully improving job prospects and cleaning up the organs of bureaucracy would be a good start. But that is easier said than done. An important obstacle in that equation is the relationship Hamas has with other Palestinian groups. That relationship, never a labour of love at the best of times, threatens to sour further with Hamas’ ascendancy to the seat of power. Nothing illustrates this more so, than the wrangle between Hamas and the outgoing Palestinian parliament. In its last act, the Fatah dominated assembly voted into law, powers allowing President Mahmoud Abbas the ability to essentially veto any legislation that Hamas may decide to bring in. Angered by the apparently blatant Fatah manoeuvre, Hamas proceeded to repeal the law during its first few weeks in charge. The ensuing war of words has yet to show signs of dissipating. In many respects, Hamas is at loggerheads with its peers. It has refused to commit to past agreements and accords signed by the Palestinian Authority. When pushed to accept the Middle East peace process as the way forward, the group has signalled its intent in pursuing other avenues instead. All of this has meant that it is in effect portraying a confrontational stance. From among the various factions, such as Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad, Hamas has yet to find an ally willing to form part of the government and engage with them in moving forward.
It is entirely possible for some or all of these groups to foment trouble for Hamas. The priority has to be to head off any such outcome by agreeing and defining a working relationship. Fatah and its contemporaries cannot themselves continue to sulk forever. On the other hand, they may be content to play the waiting game, certain in the knowledge that Hamas’ experiment with governance will be doomed to failure. The problem for Hamas, is whether it can convince them that it is better to work together, rather than sit on the sidelines and stir up trouble.
International dimension
The two major considerations that Hamas has are ensuring that it is not ostracised politically and diplomatically, and related to this, securing funding on a short to mid term basis.
In an effort to prevent being frozen out of the international arena, officials from Hamas have already embarked on a number of diplomatic offensives, visiting Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The responses have generally been luke-warm, with some promises of aid, financial and in other guises. Saudi Arabia has pointedly refused to condemn Hamas, a minor irritation for the U.S., with Hamas keen to show that the trip was a great success.
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