Skip to main content

Palestinian Student Elections Show Support for Hamas

Student elections at Palestinian universities showed wide support for Islamist movements, writes Adnan Abu Amer.
Palestinian students hold the hand of Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal (2nd R) during his visit to the Islamic University in Gaza City December 9, 2012. Meshaal, in a defiant speech during his first ever visit to Gaza, told a mass rally on Saturday he would never recognise Israel and pledged to "free the land of Palestine inch by inch". REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3BDJP
Read in 

Palestinian universities have witnessed in recent weeks consecutive elections for their student councils. Rivalry has been heated between two blocs affiliated with the two main traditional rivals in the Palestinian arena. Fatah was represented by the “Fatah Youth Organization,” while the “Islamic Bloc” represented Hamas.

The election results varied between universities. Hamas has won the majority of the student council’s seats in the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip — its historic stronghold, while in Birzeit University in the West Bank it has won 20 seats against 23 for its rival Fatah. In the Palestine Technical University, Hamas won nine seats.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.