The terrorist organization won between 26 and 33 percent of the votes in the third round of local elections in Judea and Samaria, and Fatah, the ruling party and dominant element in the Palestinian Authority (PA), won only 54 percent of the vote.
Other terrorist groups, such as Islamic Jihad, received most of the remainder of the votes but do not plan to field candidates in upcoming PA legislative elections. Final results will not be announced until Friday night or Saturday.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned that Israel will not guarantee smooth elections in January if the PA allows Hamas to run without first disarming. "The participation of Hamas in the PA elections would be nothing more than a bid by this group of Islamist extremists to seize power from moderate Palestinians who are interested in coexistence with Israel," according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Twenty of the Hamas candidates and more than 200 Hamas supporters were arrested in the past week in an IDF sweep on terrorist leaders.
Despite media reports that Fatah won 64 out of 104 councils, Hamas fared well because its previous local election support mainly came from towns in Gaza, where elections were not held Friday because of ongoing violence.
Hamas maintained its support even thought it fielded candidates in only 56 towns and Fatah candidates ran unopposed in 22 villages.
Fatah and Hamas were running neck-and-neck in Betunia, near Ramallah, in Shechem and in the village of Al-Khader near Bethlehem in Gush Etzion.
Hamas has set itself up as rival authority in Gaza, despite reports that the PA has taken control and is disarming terrorists who carry weapons in the streets. The Middle East Newsline reported that uniformed and armed Hamas terrorists patrol several towns in the Gaza region and also control Rafiah, situated on the Egyptian-Gaza border, which has been a source for smuggling drugs, weapons and terrorists from Egypt.
Other terrorist groups, such as Islamic Jihad, received most of the remainder of the votes but do not plan to field candidates in upcoming PA legislative elections. Final results will not be announced until Friday night or Saturday.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned that Israel will not guarantee smooth elections in January if the PA allows Hamas to run without first disarming. "The participation of Hamas in the PA elections would be nothing more than a bid by this group of Islamist extremists to seize power from moderate Palestinians who are interested in coexistence with Israel," according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Twenty of the Hamas candidates and more than 200 Hamas supporters were arrested in the past week in an IDF sweep on terrorist leaders.
Despite media reports that Fatah won 64 out of 104 councils, Hamas fared well because its previous local election support mainly came from towns in Gaza, where elections were not held Friday because of ongoing violence.
Hamas maintained its support even thought it fielded candidates in only 56 towns and Fatah candidates ran unopposed in 22 villages.
Fatah and Hamas were running neck-and-neck in Betunia, near Ramallah, in Shechem and in the village of Al-Khader near Bethlehem in Gush Etzion.
Hamas has set itself up as rival authority in Gaza, despite reports that the PA has taken control and is disarming terrorists who carry weapons in the streets. The Middle East Newsline reported that uniformed and armed Hamas terrorists patrol several towns in the Gaza region and also control Rafiah, situated on the Egyptian-Gaza border, which has been a source for smuggling drugs, weapons and terrorists from Egypt.