Syria: Israeli rejection of peace led to Hamas win

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Syrian government on Saturday said Israeli "prevarication and rejection of peace" were behind the Hamas landslide victory in Palestinian elections. Hamas captured 75 of the 132 parliament seats, proving a "new era has started not only on the Palestinian arena but in the whole region and the world," the government daily Tishrin said in a front-page editorial, marking Damascus' first official reaction to the Wednesday vote. It said the election caused a "worldwide earthquake," noting what it saw as the paradox of the West, the administration of US President George W. Bush in particular, being "unable to accept the results of democracy or to respect the peoples' choice." The paper said the United States should accept the new reality and that Israel should alter its approach regarding Hamas.