Fatah edges ahead of Hamas in Bethlehem student council elections

By The Associated Press
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/564747.html

The Fatah party of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas edged ahead of Hamas in student council elections in Bethlehem on Wednesday, a day after narrowly winning a one-seat majority in another prominent Palestinian school.

Abbas was enthusiastic about Tuesday's result at Bir Zeit University, where Fatah squeezed Hamas into second place. But the close results could be seen as predicting serious Hamas inroads into the strength of Abbas' ruling Fatah movement in a parliamentary election slated for July. Hamas announced last month that it would contest parliamentary elections for the first time.

At Bethlehem University, Fatah won 16 seats and Hamas received 10, from a total of 31 seats. At Bir Zeit the score was 23 seats for Fatah and 22 for Hamas , reversing last year's result. Islamic Jihad took one Bir Zeit seat.

"Victory breeds victory, success breeds success," Abbas told students after Tuesday's result. "Today in Bir Zeit University we must continue in this success for Fatah and the youth of Fatah."

Many Palestinians, convinced that Fatah is corrupt and ineffective, are turning to Hamas, which handed Fatah a stinging defeat in municipal elections in Gaza in January, and grabbed ground from the ruling party in local voting in a West Bank race a month earlier.

Hamas scored a decisive win last month in elections at Hebron University, winning almost twice as many seats as Fatah in that institution's 41-seat student council.

In recent years Hamas has been increasing its support in universities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and it controls most of the student councils.