Democracy prevailed on January 9, 2005 when the Palestinian people elected Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) the President of Palestine. Abbas, a long time close confidant and supporter of Yasser Arafat will now try to obtain for the Palestinian people where Arafat could not. Besides the smaller than expected turnout, the election on January 9 went smoothly. The polling hours were extended from 5pm until 9pm in order to give people more time to vote. The only major incident was that five gunmen at a Ramallah polling station fired weapons into the air when they discovered that the person they wanted to vote for was not listed on the official ballot. Abbas won 62.3% of the vote, easily beating Mustafa Barghouti who garnered 19.8% of the vote.

Now, the real test will begin for Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas may find that getting elected is easier than governing the West Bank and Gaza. On January 11, Hamas launched seven rockets into Israeli settlements in Gaza. A Hamas spokesperson stated that they will work with Abbas but that Israel will not give him what he needs and that the resistance will continue. While Abbas has a mandate from the people, he will need to stem these attacks to strengthen his negotiating position with Israel . Israel will continue to carry out Sharon?s Disengagement Plan in Gaza but not under fire. While congratulations were extended by world leaders to the new president of Palestine, he will have to hit the ground running and take actions to strengthen his position in dealing with Israel and Hamas. Israel could assist him by releasing another group of prisoners and stating a dialogue with the new government. The United States should send an envoy to the Palestinian government to move both sides back on the road to peace.

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