The recent landslide victory of the Islamic militant Hamas group shocked the world.

But to Awni Al-Karzon, a Gaza native and Fulbright scholar attending NIU, the news hit more close to home. Hamas attained a victory last week in the Palestinian parliamentary election by winning 76 of 132 seats.

“It was a shock, I was expecting that they would secure 30 to 40 seats,” he said.

Al-Karzon worked with the English department to improve the image of the United States in the Palestinian territories.

Al-Karzon said if he was in the Palestinian territories, he would have voted for Fatah because he is a member. Fatah, which won 43 seats in the election, has been the majority party since 1995.

Why Hamas won

While he was stunned by Hamas’ win, Al-Karzon understands why they won. Hamas works on two levels: resistance against Israeli occupation and social issues.

“They entered the hearts and minds of the people,” he said.

Not only is Hamas standing up to Israeli occupation, they also take care of the Palestinian population by offering food, shelter and education, Al-Karzon said.

Fatah also represents the older generation and many Palestinians want newer, more fresh ideas to be part of the government, he said.

In retrospect, the Hamas victory shouldn’t have been so surprising because Fatah’s corruptness was preventing anything from effectively getting done, Al-Karzon said. So Israeli occupation continued and the population suffered.

Fatah’s corruptness and nepotism is a major source of concern among Palestinians.

Orayb Najjar, associate journalism professor, said Hamas’ victory is the kind of shock Fatah needs to push for reform within the party.

What’s going to happen next?

Najjar admits she has mixed feelings about Hamas’ victory.

“As a secular woman, I am for the separation of mosque and state,” Najjar said. “I am very uncomfortable having Hamas in control of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.”

For the first time in Palestinian history, men and women voters organized themselves in separate lines as opposed to one unisex line, she said.

Al-Karzon doesn’t anticipate much will change for women under Hamas. Hamas would have to go through a long, relevant, necessary process before any laws concerning women come into effect, he said. Al-Karzon said he feels Palestinians are broad-minded. “You can’t suppress them or force them to do anything.”

Palestinian-American relations

Under the current leadership of Abbas and Qurei, the United States has amicable relations with the Palestinian government. However, American officials said this could drastically change if Hamas does not amend its ideology and methods, specifically, a provision that calls for the annihilation of Israel.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization, and the US does not work with terrorist groups. Hamas, as members of the Palestinian government, could pose difficulties with US aid to the Palestinians.

“While the US rejects legal ties to active terrorist organizations, there is no clear statute of limitations on how soon the US could begin dealing with Hamas,” said NIU political science professor Daniel Kempton.

If Hamas recognizes the state of Israel, renounces terror tactics and is a willing partner in negotiations, then the US will work with them, he said.

Najjar added even though Hamas’s victory may not be the best for the Palestinian people, some good could come out of it. “The only silver lining in the bleak situation is that Hamas, unlike Fatah, will refocus the conflict around Palestinian rights, rather than solely around Israeli needs.”

Conversely, the world community needs to ask Israel the same questions it asks Hamas, she said.

Al-Karzon said questions about the occupation need to addressed, because that’s the real problem. If the reason of occupation is taken away, then so is the reasoning for terror tactics.

The United States cannot cut aid to the Palestinians because they will starve, Al-Karzon said. “The situation will be dangerous if Palestinians don’t have food.” He predicts the people will revolt more, creating only more chaos.

It’s smart that President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are keeping the doors open for the Palestinians, he said. They are setting conditions for Hamas, but they’re not dismissing them entirely.