Witness History
Witness History
The elections that Hamas won
Up next
10 June 2021
10 minutes
Available for over a year
Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem voted in legislative elections in 2006. The Islamist Hamas movement stood against the Fatah party for the first time - and won. It was an outcome that surprised everyone. Zak Brophy has been hearing from Hazem Balousha who was working for the Palestinian Election Commission at the time.
(Image: A Palestinian Hamas activist (L) and Fatah activist (R) stand together outside a polling station on January 25, 2006 in the West Bank Village of Abu Dis. Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images.)
