Hamas result a dilemma for donors

By Magdi Abdelhadi
BBC Arab affairs analyst

The Hamas victory raises difficult questions for international donors

As European and US politicians meet to coordinate their response to Hamas' sudden victory, it is clear that the result places all parties in a bind.

The main puzzle facing Western powers is whether they should continue to fund a government run by Hamas.

The Palestinian Authority needs hundreds of millions of dollars every year to keep it afloat.

There is no easy way out. Nearly all institutions - schools, health care, security bodies - rely on foreign aid.

Cutting that aid risks plunging Palestinian society into chaos and possibly anarchy.

Hamas has said that any such move would be tantamount to punishing the Palestinian people, adding that the international community has a moral obligation to help people under occupation.

But continuing to pump money into the Palestinian Authority is also an option fraught with many risks, partly because it may in effect help Hamas cement its grip on power.

Arab states

A successful Hamas administration may be bad news not only for Western powers, but also for Arab states.

Countries like Egypt and Jordan, wary of an Islamist ascendance in their own societies, fear a scenario in which an Islamist organisation like Hamas, with its reputation of being free of corruption, can demonstrate that it is capable of running a government better than they have ever done.

Yet, at the same time, an administration lead by Hamas which continues to refuse to recognise Israel or disarm, means that the prospect of resuming peace talks looks dimmer than ever - a possibility that can only mean bad news for the Palestinians, the international community and the entire region.