How the U.S. and Israel helped Hamas win by helping Fatah

The attempts of Israel and the U.S. to help Fatah in the Palestinian elections probably backfired, in that this help further discredited Fatah in the eyes of voters. U.S. groups provided campaign financing to Fatah, which was then in turn reported in the Palestinian press.

"As election day approached in January, he said, political lectures and discussions reached a height, with prison authorities issuing cellphones to Fatah prisoners, so they could campaign for Fatah. "Of course, we in Hamas used them, too," he said."