Hamas sweeps student council elections in West Bank
The victory of Hamas in the West Bank university elections seems to indicate that support there is waning for the Palestinian Authority and Fatah.
The results of the student council elections at Palestinian universities in the West Bank came as a big surprise for Hamas and the Palestinian Authority — a happy one for the former and a bad one for the latter. Hamas was able to achieve electoral success despite the security pressure it has been facing from the PA and Israel at once.
The April 21 election at Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, resulted in a tie between the Islamic Bloc, Hamas’ student arm, and the Fatah Youth Movement, with each party winning 15 seats. Meanwhile, on April 22, Birzeit University announced the victory of the Islamic Bloc, which beat Fatah with 905 votes.
