Hamas "shocked" by global opposition to its power

GAZA, Oct 19 (Reuters) Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Palestinian government, said today it could never have imagined the vast international pressure it would come under after winning democratic elections earlier this year.

In a candid article published in the Palestinian press, Ahmed Youssef, a political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, said the group had been shocked by the strength of opposition to its electoral victory.

''It went beyond all imagination,'' wrote Youssef.

''The government ... did not expect the pressures and the siege imposed on our people would be so harsh, so strong and so large in scale.'' Youssef's is the latest in a series of articles by Hamas officials in recent weeks either seeking to explain themselves or calling on the Palestinian community to refrain from violence and think more carefully about how it opposes Israel.

Hamas, a staunchly religious and militant movement, won a surprise victory in elections in January, defeating the long-dominant Fatah movement, a more moderate and secular party headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

After Hamas took power, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on its government, blocking direct aid and other support on which the administration depended.

The Israeli government also stopped transferring around 60 million dollars a month in tax and customs receipts it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf, effectively hamstringing the government's ability to function.

PRESSURE The measures were imposed because Israel, the United States and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist group. They say it must recognise Israel, renounce violence and respect existing peace agreements before sanctions can be lifted.

Hamas refers to the sanctions, which have left its government unable to pay most salaries to its 165,000 employees, as a siege and says they are unjustified given that it won free and fair elections.

Hamas boycotted elections held in 1996, but said it had participated in the polls this year because it felt encouraged by the US call for more democracy in the West Asia.

''We thought that there was a chance through politics to deal with the widespread corruption and security chaos, and reform our economic and social conditions,'' Youssef wrote.

''We made bets and had expectations that the West and especially the European Union would give us a chance to address our cause through politics, and we believed that the Arab world would be our supporter.'' Since its rise to power, tensions between Hamas and Fatah have deepened, boiling over into violence. At the same time, efforts are underway to try to form a unity government that might manage to end the clashes and get sanctions lifted.

Youssef said he hoped for an imminent breakthrough in talks between Haniyeh and Abbas over a unity government, even though weeks of such talks have so far failed to bear any fruit.

''We promise our brothers in Fatah and in other factions of the national struggle that we will work hand-in-hand to prove to the world that we are able to overcome the crisis and the siege,'' Youssef wrote.

Reuters PB GC1823