Democracy is finally working in the Middle East, just not the way we would hope.  The democratic system is a success in any country when voter turnout is near 80 percent.  The problem is that the winning party is an armed group of terrorists whose leaders are assassinated by Israel almost as quickly as they are appointed.

So what does the terrorist group Hamas do after winning 76 of 132 parliamentary seats in Palestine? They appoint a prime minister and a cabinet, of course, and hope that Israel and the United States don’t start assassinating their government officials. 

Hamas has been responsible for 425 known attacks on Israel, killing 377 Israelis and wounding 2,076 others, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas has openly stated that they are determined to wipe Israel off the map, though they dropped that part of their policy for the recent electoral campaign, which could be a good sign.

Turning a terrorist organization into a political party seems crazy to Americans, but it’s not a new concept. Hamas has hired a public relations agent to convince the world that they it’s not a group of bloodthirsty criminals. 

Years ago, before he was named one of Time Magazine’s people of the century and won over 100 awards, Nelson Mandela was also classified as a dangerous terrorist. After years of imprisonment and some PR support, Mandela’s terrorist organization won the elections and Mandela became president of South Africa.

Americans might wonder how terrorist organizations could garner such support from an entire nation. Is it because the majority of the people want to kill Israelis? Not at all, it’s because Hamas has been doing for years what the government refused to do. Hamas has built schools, hospitals, mosques, operated clinics, soup kitchens and sports organizations.

“Approximately 90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural and educational activities,” said Israeli scholar Reuven Paz. The former government, like many Middle Eastern governments, did little for the communities and effectively ignored social problems.  Hamas has the trust of Palestinians and residents of refugee camps throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who have seen needed aid come through Hamas and seen it work effectively.

Regardless of its social service, its militant activities are enough to make Israel refuse to talk to the new government. Israel won’t even let Ismail Haniyeh, the likely candidate for Palestine’s prime minister, travel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank where the Palestinian government meets. Ironically, most Israelis want their country to begin negotiations with Hamas, according to a poll by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper.

Like Nelson Mandela, Hamas could shed its terrorist past and become a great political organization, winning awards for securing peace and freedom for an oppressed people.  Such a shift would take years, however, seeing that Hamas currently has no clear plan for running the government.

America has pushed for free elections across the globe, and must now face a nation that feels like its only advocate is Hamas. Even though we typically side with Israel, the United States could have done more to push for Palestinian rights and likely avoided the drastic steps Palestine has now taken. Hamas has beaten the West at its own game — democracy. Nations will now have to reevaluate how they define terrorists and whether it applies to elected politicians. Whether we like it or not, America will now negotiate with terrorists, the newest addition to Middle Eastern democracy.