How Hamas scored a win in West Bank student elections
The victory of Hamas' student branch in the elections at Birzeit University in the West Bank reflects the Palestinian public support for Hamas, following the arrests and restrictions it has been subjected to by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
As presidential, legislative and municipal elections have been disrupted in the Palestinian territories since 2006, due to the Fatah-Hamas divide, the university elections seem to be the most credible indicator to identify the weight of the Palestinian political forces.
The elections of the student cabinet, in which 9,000 students voted, at Birzeit University in the West Bank on April 27, resulted in Hamas' student wing the Islamic Bloc winning 25 out of 51 seats. Fatah's student wing, the Shabiba movement, won 21 seats and the Democratic Pole affiliated with the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine obtained five seats.
