Abstract

This chapter explains Hamas’s rise in Palestinian electoral politics as the organisational translation of embedded welfare and resistance networks into legislative advantage under a mixed electoral system. It situates this shift within the waning of secular nationalism and the revival of political Islam, and it uses resource mobilisation theory, framing processes, symbolic capital, and political opportunity structures to show how social provision, integrity narratives, and disciplined messaging built legitimacy. The 2006 design, combining national list proportional representation with a district block vote, favoured Hamas’s cohesion while Fatah’s internal fragmentation splintered its vote. The result was both decisive and contested, followed by sanctions and dual governance that recast representation into parallel spheres in Gaza and the West Bank. Municipal politics illuminate how service delivery and local legitimacy persisted under siege and institutional bifurcation. The chapter closes by assessing reconciliation efforts, including the 2024 Beijing Declaration, and argues that electoral credibility and unified authority are preconditions for any sustainable peace architecture.