I guess you never read the link I posted to an article in Vanity Fair:
The Gaza Bombshell | Vanity Fair
After Hamas won a majority in the last Palestinian election, Israel and the United States significantly increased their military aid to Abbas. They also hired a small army of mercenaries to fight on behalf Abbas, triggering a civil war.
In the West Bank, Abbas's personal military force along with Israeli military forces abducted tortured and murdered hundreds/thousands of Palestinians who did not support Abbas. Thousands of Hamas supporters and political representatives who did not participate in the fighting as well as their family, relatives and friends remain locked up in Abbas's and Israeli dungeons where they were tortured solely because of their political viewpoint.
In Gaza, Hamas forces intercepted US and Israel arms shipments to Abbas agents. Hamas killed dozens to hundreds of Abbas militants and mercenaries in Gaza during the civil war. When the dust settled Hamas also abducted, tortured and murdered those who fought on behalf of Abbas. While they also arrested Abbas's political representatives, most were released on their word that they would not take up arms against Hamas.
While both sides committed atrocities during the civil war, Hamas tended to focus on military threats to their democratic mandate while Abbas focused on military and political threats to his dictatorship.
I don't support brutal dictators like Abbas who clings to power by military force with external support.
I believe in separation of Church and State, and therefore don't support Hamas either. Religious states are a bad idea that result i state sponsored discrimination, injustice and oppression. Which religion doesn't make a difference.
I do support a complete arms embargo on the entire region.
Any news source that portrays Hamas as coming to power in Gaza by force without mentioning their unfulfilled democratic mandate, Abbas's use of violence to seize power in the West Bank or US/Israeli interference is either incomplete, inaccurate or deliberately manipulative.
BTW, I am aware that Hamas never won 100% of the vote. That only happens in fixed elections. The last Palestinian election appeared to be free and fair as per reports by international monitors.
The Central Elections Commission released the final results on Sunday, January 29, 2006, and announced that Hamas had won 74 of the 132 seats, while Fatah trailed with 45.[6]
According to the results, Hamas won the large majority of the constituency seats but was more narrowly ahead on the lists. Fatah did beat Hamas in the constituencies in Qalqilya, Rafah, and Jericho. Jenin was split evenly, and Fatah won the seats reserved for Christians in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah.
The Central Elections Commission said turnout was 74.6%–76.0% in the Gaza Strip and 73.1% in the West Bank.[7
Palestinian legislative election, 2006 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palestinian voted on 25 January to elect a legislature for the first time since 1996. 27 Members of the European Parliament were there to observe the election process. They visited polling stations in East Jerusalem, across the West Bank and Gaza. Their initial verdict on the process was largely positive. Parliament will be giving a political reaction to the results of the vote and its consequences at this week's plenary session, attended by the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
The Parliament's President Josep Borrell said that he "would like to salute the determination of the Palestinian people.....who in spite of very difficult conditions went in very large numbers to the polling stations to express their democratic choice. Democracy has spoken, the result must be respected and accepted". However he went on to warn Hamas that the "use of violence is not compatible with the rules of democracy".
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament also gave the result a cautious welcome. Meeting in Brussels last Thursday members called on Hamas to cease violence and recognise the State of Israel. Also present was the European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who termed the elections a "success" as they had been largely peaceful.
EU@UN - EU Parliament - MEPs oversee historic Palestinian election
Israel did interfere somewhat in the Palestinian, by restricting travel of some Hamas supporters, but that appears not to have significantly impacted Hamas's landslide victory.
Also it would appear that the EU Parliament's President Josep Borrell warned the wrong group. At the time of the election, Hamas was maintaining a truce with Israel and had not committed any acts of violence against Israel for well ove3r a year. Post election violence was initiated by the US, Israel and Abbas, not Hamas.
Even though Hamas clearly won the last election and has a democratic mandate to represent the Palestinian people, the result was civil war and an Abbas dictatorship in the West Bank as a direct consequence of US/Israeli interference. (read the Vanity Fair link above)
Abbas's rule in the West Bank represents the will of the US and Israel, rather than the will of the Palestinian people.
Gaza is not a democracy either. But Hamas's governance of Gaza more closely resembles the will of the Palestinian people than the Abbas dictatorship in the West Bank.
