Backlash against Hamas has begun in one town

Christian Science Monitor:

The warehouse of Qalqilya Mirrors and Glass sits on a bumpy, chalk-colored dirt road.

When the militant group Hamas beat the ruling Fatah party for control of this Palestinian town of 42,000 in last May's municipal elections, the new councilors promised to pave uneven streets like the one outside Mustafa Juadei's glass business. And while Mr. Juadei awaits the road improvement, he says that potential clients go elsewhere.

Hamas's win in cities like Qalqilya was a harbinger of their surprise Jan. 25 victory in the parliamentary election. But, after experiencing six months of local Hamas rule, Qalqilya was the only district in which Hamas lost to Fatah last month. Now, as Hamas cobbles together the first Palestinian cabinet led by an Islamist party and struggles to secure much-needed aid money, some locals say a Hamas backlash could spread in the Palestinian territories.

"We haven't felt any real change in the city,'' said Mahmoud Hafeth, the Qalqilya Glass warehouse superintendent who complains that the new municipality hasn't prevented higher electricity and water fees.

"It's not only the [lack of] asphalt, it's the wall. It's a municipal wall and it could collapse any time,'' says Juadei. "There are people who had high expectations, but not myself.''

...

Hamas council members in Qalqilya boast of overhauling the city hall bureaucracy and eliminating waste in municipal procurement, while critics charge that promises to build new schools and a new industrial zone have yet to materialize.

To be sure, the challenge of running a government dominated by one party for decades has been formidable.

As they get control over the city's $7.5 million city debt, Hamas councilors say they've discovered a supplier who stole $50,000 from the local government.

At the same time, some municipal employees have resisted changes in their job descriptions. That has slowed down the new municipal bosses in making progress on other more visible improvements.

"Some people did not vote for Hamas because they expected miracles to happen in six months,'' says Yasser Hamad, a Hamas member of the Qalqilya local council. "The expectations were too high and the problems too numerous.''

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