Lest anyone doubt its commitment to both ballot and bullet, Hamas exercised both this week, bringing its gunmen and its voters on to the streets. On the eve of local elections, it admitted to kidnapping, blindfolding and killing an Israeli sweet-manufacturer. The night the election results were announced, its gunmen stormed a police station in Gaza city, killing its deputy chief. How did this go down with the voters? In Beitouniya, scene of the sweet-maker's kidnapping, near the Palestinians' administrative capital, Ramallah, the campaign was livelier than ever—and Hamas's green bunting much in evidence.
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