Never Again: Ban Hamas From Palestinian Elections Before It's Too Late

The specter of 2006 is rising again. Hamas has declared its intention to run in the Palestinian legislative election scheduled for November 28, this time as part of a broad national coalition. For Israel, for the Jewish people, and for anyone who values life over terror, this is a red line that must not be crossed. The lesson of history is clear: when Hamas is allowed to play with ballots, it uses them to pave the way for bullets.

Why the 2006 Election Was a Catastrophic Mistake

In 2005 and 2006, the Bush administration, led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pushed its freedom agenda across the Middle East. The theory was simple: democracy would bring stability and peace. Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser, declared in October 2005,

Only when Palestinians are able freely to express themselves through ballots rather than bombs will we be able to get on the road to security for Israel.

A noble sentiment, but a dangerous delusion. Israel warned Washington that allowing an armed terror group committed to its destruction to participate in elections was a recipe for disaster. The Americans saw the fundamental contradiction but chose not to act on it.

Hamas ran under the deceptive name Change and Reform and won 44.5% of the vote. Due to a flawed electoral system and Fatah's internal divisions, that slim margin translated into 74 of 132 parliamentary seats. The rest is a bloody, murder-strewn history that could have been avoided.

The Murderous Aftermath: From Ballots to Butchery

Just over a year later, in June 2007, Hamas violently expelled Fatah and the Palestinian Authority from Gaza. The coastal strip became an armed fortress, launching rockets at Israeli civilians and ultimately preparing the ground for the October 7 Massacre. The naivete that allowed this to happen is not uniquely American, and it has not disappeared.

Nikolay Mladenov, director-general of the Trump-led Board of Peace, recently told Channel 12's Amit Segal that Israelis and Gazans

have one strong shared interest, and that is to get out of this horrible cycle of violence.

This is wishful thinking detached from reality. Israel has repeatedly proven its desire for peace through painful concessions: Oslo, Camp David, the 2005 Gaza withdrawal, and the Annapolis statehood proposal. The Palestinians have answered with terror.

What Palestinian Public Opinion Actually Says

The October 7 Massacre cannot be separated from Palestinian public opinion. The most recent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll, from October 2025, found that 53% of Palestinians believe Hamas was right to launch the attack. Among those who said they would vote, Hamas leads Fatah 29% to 20%. These are not the numbers of a population yearning for coexistence.

Some argue the 2006 vote was more about rejecting Fatah's corruption than embracing Hamas. That argument is irrelevant. When voters hand power to a movement, they hand power to its entire program. Hamas's program is armed resistance and the erasure of the State of Israel.

The Only Safe Choice: Ban Hamas From the Ballot

If Hamas is allowed to participate in November, whether alone or in a coalition, prepare for the worst. It may win again, using that legitimacy to entrench its control over Gaza and extend its grip into Judea and Samaria. The results would be catastrophic for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

January 25, 2006, is a date that must be remembered alongside October 7. The lesson is simple and absolute: never again allow Hamas to take part in an election. Never again let it play simultaneously with ballots and bullets. Because if it wins, what follows is not peace, not coexistence, but more bloodshed. Israel has learned this lesson. It is time the world learned it too.