Hamas makes poll gains from Fatah rift

Hamas extended local election gains from the fractured ruling Fatah party on Friday and Israel said that if the Islamic militants won Palest...

Hamas extended local election gains from the fractured ruling Fatah party on Friday and Israel said that if the Islamic militants won Palestinian political dominance, it would end any hope for peacemaking.

Hamas, committed to destroying Israel, appeared to profit from division in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement and gained an important boost ahead of a January parliamentary election from the latest West Bank polls.

Provisional results released on Friday by the electoral commission showed Hamas won control of the council in the West Bank city of Jenin following voting on Thursday. Hamas earlier won control of municipalities in Nablus and al-Bireh.

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Thousands of Hamas supporters celebrated in the Gaza Strip, chanting ‘‘God is greatest’’ and waving their green flag. Final official results are expected on Saturday. Hamas also made a strong showing in three earlier rounds of local voting.

Support for Hamas has grown at the expense of Fatah, long accused by Palestinians of corruption and incompetence while now struggling to heal a rift between an old guard and younger members. Although Hamas has not been widely expected to win the January 25 poll outright, the disarray in Fatah could significantly strengthen Hamas’s chances in the first parliamentary ballot in which it will participate.

That has stirred worries in Israel since Hamas opposes negotiations and has spearheaded a Palestinian uprising, though it has largely followed a 10-month-old truce.

‘‘If Hamas were ever to dominate Palestinian politics, that would mean the end of the peace process,’’ said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. —Reuters

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