The Million-Dollar Question: Where is Hamas Heading?

The electoral victory of Hamas is a combination of genuine underlying support for radical Islamists among the Palestinians but is also an intense no-confidence vote in Fatah, the party that dominated Palestinian affairs under Yasser Arafat and which was the main political force in the Palestinian Authority until the election. Polls over the last four to five years have given Hamas an underlying support of about 20-25% in the West Bank, and 30% or more in Gaza, but having won around 60% of seats at the latest election, other factors were clearly at work, the main one being the deep dissatisfaction with Fatah.