With the recent upheaval in the Middle East from the Palestinian group Hamas’ victory over the Fatah in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, ISU students from the area talk about their hopes for the region.

Michelle Garland, graduate student in curriculum and instruction, was born and raised in Des Moines but moved to Israel for five years and gained dual citizenship. She said the worst thing that could have happened was Hamas coming into power.

“I’m not against Palestinians,” she said. “I was in a peace activist group in Israel to create bridges between Palestinians and Israelis. I am against terrorism and people who do not want to co-exist by my side, and that is a function of Hamas.”

Garland said she saw the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while she lived there. She witnessed a suicide bombing in her own neighborhood, which made her consider whether she should continue living there.

“To see an image that was not on television but a few feet in front of me,” Garland said. “People without heads on their bodies was just overwhelming, and you just realize how sick and disgusting these acts of terrorism are.”

Living in the same country as Garland, Dana Awwad, graduate student in genetics and a Palestinian citizen, has a different perspective on the issue. She said she, like other people, was in shock that Hamas won the election.

“My first reaction was, ‘I am crossing my fingers so nothing extreme happens,'” Awwad said.

She said although Hamas has a history of violence, the group may be better leaders for her people.

“First, Hamas might be a better government for the Palestinians in terms of corruption and honesty,” she said. “But we cannot be sure of that until it stays in power for a while. As long as Israel does not consider the Palestinian government, and is not willing to negotiate with Hamas, that is going to be a problem.”

Awwad said other nations should recognize the new government because the elections were both free and fair. She pointed to the United States as having the potential of giving aid to the Palestinian people.

“This is the will of the Palestinian people and President Bush has to keep the aid going, but I know it’s going to be hard because Hamas is considered a terrorist party,” she said.

Richard Mansbach, professor of political science, said Hamas has traditionally been a militant Islamist group.

“We are talking about one of the most proficient terrorist institutions and architects in the use of suicide bombings against children and innocent civilians today,” he said.

According to the U.S. Department of State Web site, Hamas is officially recognized as a terrorist group concentrating most of their activities in Israel’s West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Mansbach said corruption is the main reason for the Fatah’s defeat in the election.

“Basically they’ve lined their pockets and employed their relatives,” he said.

“And in doing so they have not accomplished a lot. To put it crudely, Hamas was the only other guy on the ballot.”

Mansbach said that in the near future, most actors involved will jockey for power. The United States and Europe will try and push Hamas from its hard-line position. Iran, a major power in the region, may step in and fill the aid void left by these nations, he said.

He also said Israel will have a hard time adjusting to the new regime as it will be holding elections in the coming months, and most politicians will also adopt hard-line positions for fear of losing support from the public.

Mansbach said some good may come from this turn of events, however.

“In a very real sense, the election clears the air in some ways,” said Mansbach. “If Hamas would wish to do so, they could probably negotiate with the Israelis more effectively than the Fatah, because they represent the people they are negotiating for.”