How Will Hamas Rule?

By Simon Robinson/ Nablus

To understand what Palestinian life might look like under Hamas, it's instructive to visit the home of Sheik Hamid al-Bitawi, high above the bustling West Bank town of Nablus. Al-Bitawi sits on the Islamic appeals court in the West Bank, the top court for all family-law matters in the region. Running as a Hamas candidate in legislative elections last month, he won a seat in the 132-member Palestinian parliament, part of a landslide victory for the militant Islamic group. Now religious conservatives like al-Bitawi find themselves in a position to promote social strictures that were only fitfully observed under the rule of the secular Fatah party. As he offers visitors a bowl of fruit, al-Bitawi recalls how, after returning to the West Bank from religious studies in Jordan in the 1970s, he looked for a future wife who covered herself in the traditional hijab, or head scarf, and the body- length jilbab. "I couldn't find a girl for months," he says. "Nowadays, 70% of Palestinian women wear these clothes. It's normal." To al-Bitawi, the change is a sign that more Palestinians are adopting the fundamentalist values that Hamas espouses. "Of course we would love to see Shari'a [Islamic law] in every home," he says. "But the reality is that some women don't wear the hijab, some people don't pray at the mosque. We can't force people."

How far Hamas goes in promoting its brand of Islam may yield answers to a dilemma that is roiling the Middle East: Will the party choose moderation, now that it has inherited responsibility for governing some 4 million Palestinians? Or will it use its power to impose a fundamentalist ideology that, coupled with its militant anti-Israel stance, has produced suicide bombings against Israel and led the U.S. and the European Union to designate it a terrorist organization?

Despite Hamas' victory at the polls, the Bush Administration has refused to budge from its insistence that it will not deal with a Hamas-led government--or continue to provide funding to the Palestinian Authority, which received a total of $1.1 billion in foreign aid last year--unless the group renounces violence and recognizes the Jewish state. The Israeli government indicated last week that it plans to impose new restrictions on the ability of Palestinians to work in Israel and may slow the movement of Palestinian goods to Israel. Hamas bristles at such measures, arguing that it was elected democratically and should be given time to prove itself in government. But the group is aware it needs help. Party leaders say if Western aid stops, the group can still sustain itself with money from countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia and wealthy benefactors from the Persian Gulf--although U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to discourage such aid during a visit to the region this week. Hamas also hopes to gain some international legitimacy through a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next month. Some experts say a Hamas-led government may try to wean itself off Western aid by slashing the Palestinian Authority's bloated budget. "Reform could generate substantial savings," says Patrick Clawson, deputy director for research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Palestinian Authority expenses are ridiculously high for the quality of the services delivered."

Throughout the Palestinian territories, the Hamas triumph has fueled a new assertiveness, but beneath the bluster, there have been hints of accommodation. "The fact that Hamas is part of the Palestinian Authority is already a sign that they are prepared to compromise," says political scientist and moderate independent legislator Ziad Abu Amr, whom Hamas may bring in as Foreign Minister. Hamas leaders say the party will honor previous Palestinian Authority agreements and have offered the possibility of a long-term cease-fire--which also squares with the desires of its Arab neighbors. According to Palestinian officials in Damascus and a senior Israeli security official, jailed Hamas leaders have asked the militant group Islamic Jihad to respect a cease-fire with Israel. "They're trying to buy time," says the official. "And they understand they need calm so they can work out what to do when they're in power."

So what sort of rule is the party likely to establish? Palestinian insiders say the new government will be stocked with technocrats and academics rather than party ideologues. The job of Prime Minister is likely to go to Ismail Haniya, one of the more moderate top leaders. Hamas' first priority is to curb lawlessness in the Palestinian territories, which it blames on unruly security forces loyal to Fatah. Hamas leaders say they intend to impose order on the security apparatus, a move that may spark clashes between loyalists of the two parties. Al-Bitawi says "the bad people in the security services will be dismissed" and the remaining personnel consolidated into one or two forces.

Hamas says the money saved by running a more efficient security force will be spent on social services such as health clinics, schools and soup kitchens--all of which Hamas has used to build grass-roots support. But some Palestinian officials warn that Hamas may also push for new social restrictions. "Hamas must decide whether they want to establish an isolated fundamentalist system or a national system open to the whole world," says Jibril Rajoub, former national security adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas' main stronghold, alcohol is no longer publicly served, and nearly all women wear the hijab. Hamas officials say they will move slowly but make no secret of their desire to expand the use of Islamic law--currently limited to resolving family disputes--to criminal cases. That might lead to harsher punishments for crimes such as murder and rape. "In principle, the Shari'a should be applied on all life activities," says Mahmoud al-Khatib, 34, the youngest Hamas member to win a seat. "But there are some circumstances where it can't yet apply. We believe in graduality. It will take time." Al-Khatib uses an Arabic word that means "mutual consent." "We approach people openly and see what they are willing to accept," he says. "You cannot bring back the rules of Islam in one day."

Some Palestinians appear willing to trade some social freedoms for a government able to stand up to Israel. "Hamas will not be preoccupied with the hijab or whether people can drink or not," says Rawand Khilfeh, 23, who just graduated as a civil engineer and wears a hijab in public. "They will concentrate on the Israeli problem." Her younger sister Dima, 21, who leaves her hair uncovered, says, "Even if Hamas did force things, this is Islam. It's not bad."

Many Israelis might disagree. Until Hamas proves that it is committed to restraint, it's likely that Israel will continue the policy of unilaterally establishing permanent borders to separate itself from the Palestinians. Signs that the Palestinians are building a fundamentalist society on their side of the line won't do much to bolster Israeli interest in a negotiated peace. That may be why Hamas leaders like Sheik al-Bitawi are sounding conciliatory. "There are good things in Europe and the U.S.: civilization, democracy, medical care," he says. "But there are also bad things: divorce, drugs, murder. We hope that the positive things in the West can combine with the positive things we have in Islam. This is our vision." The world is waiting to see it in action.

With reporting by Jamil Hamad/ Nablus, Aaron J. Klein/ Jerusalem, Bruce Crumley/ Paris, Scott Macleod/ Cairo, Elaine Shannon/ Washington