Associate Professor of Government Ronald Shaiko, who just returned from the West Bank and Gaza where he was observing last week's Palestinian Legislative Council elections, spoke Thursday afternoon to a packed crowd in Rockefeller Center about his experiences in Israel and his hopes for the future.
The PLC elections brought about the startling rise to power of Hamas, an extremist Islamic group turned political party, which captured a majority in the unicameral legislature from the more moderate and established Fatah party.
Shaiko, who went as part of the United States observer delegation organized by the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center, was the only American selected to travel to Gaza. He went despite the American embassy's misgivings concerning Gaza's security, he said.
Shaiko talked in depth about Hamas' motives going into the election and the foreseeable consequences of its outcome. He said that Hamas was hoping to win a number of seats in the parliament so that they could have a say in decision making, but did not want to gain a majority and take power. Faced with their surprising success, and given that the Fatah party has declared that they will not aid Hamas in its rule, Hamas must now work with a poor relationship with the United States and a reputation of supporting terrorism, he said.
"Hamas has no friends in the west, and if they govern, there's going to be a rather chilling impact on the daily existence of the Palestinian people," he said.
Shaiko went on to make a passionate case for the United States and United Nations to continue their presence in Gaza and the West Bank even though they may not support the government. He said over half of the densely-populated Gaza Strip is under 14 years of age and argued the U.S. and U.N. should not punish the youth for adults' mistakes.
"This is really what Palestine is all about. It's a bunch of children," Shaiko said. "And it will be really unfortunate when the day is done if the rest of the world walks away from this place just because of then older generation's actions."
Shaiko also cited a poll in which 62 percent of Palestinians said they wanted a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which runs counter to past declarations by Hamas that preached overthrowing Israel.
The professor warned that if sources of current support such as the U.S. and the U.N. leave Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinians will be without foreign resources and may look to governments with terrorist ties like Iran for help.
Throughout his speech, Shaiko told stories from his time in Israel, especially on election day. He told of fights between Hamas and Fatah supporters, and of the power going out while votes were being counted in Gaza. The speech, which preceded a question-and-answer session, was co-sponsored by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Social Sciences and the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.
