Following the sudden death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas, emerged the victor of the January 25 election in Palestine. It is widely known that Hamas is a sponsor of terrorism, and one of its major radical ideologies is to destroy Israel as part of the Islamic Jihad, or holy war. Hence, the victory of this Palestinian group has triggered many shockwaves among the international community, particularly in the West. The tremendous alarm and concern has surfaced to create heated debates among diplomatic circles in the United States, Europe and Israel, as to whether the olive branch should be extended to the Palestinian Authority. Many Western interests are appalled that the Palestinian electorate has given Hamas what they perceive to be the authority to instigate more conflict with Israel, and more resources to support state-sponsored terrorism. They believe that the new government should be sanctioned in order to smother any prospect of the developing terrorism-related activity.

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