Palestinians opined threats of impeding financial aid to the PA if Hamas formed the next government were unacceptable, and were considered as collective punishment of the Palestinian people for freely expressing their democratic will.

"We voted for Hamas out of our conviction in its political program and the crucial role it is playing in helping the Palestinian people", Palestinian citizen Abu Hassan from Gaza city said.

"The financial assistance extended by the US and the EU are of no significance to the Palestinian people as it forms merely 10% if not less of the PA budget, thus cutting off that aid will not affect Hamas' performance", he added.

Other Palestinian citizens of both genders affirmed that the Palestinian people were able to survive for the past decades without that aid, and despite the tremendous pressure on them, stressing, "We will not sell our national stands for few American and European pennies as we are a people who know how to survive".

Meanwhile, a Palestinian legal institution considered the threats of halting financial aid to the PA if Hamas took over as a "punishment to the Palestinian democracy".

"All observes testified to the transparency and honesty of the election process that brought Hamas to power, thus everyone must respect results of this process and be pragmatic in dealing with facts on the ground", the legal center said.

"The world cannot cancel the legitimacy Hamas obtained through imperiling such assistance. They are indeed pushing the Palestinian people towards another revolution by blocking Hamas diplomatically and financially", the center elaborated.

In a related matter, head of the Palestinian league of contractors, Ala Al-Deen Al-Araj, described conditions placed before Hamas, even though it didn't form the government yet, as a measure totally rejected by the Palestinian people and the civil society.

"The world should wait and see Hamas' performance before judging it. The Movement won in a purely honest and democratic election process, and the world ought to respect the will of the Palestinian electorate", he pointed out.

He asserted that cutting international aid to the PA would enhance feeling of the Palestinian people that the US and the West were indeed unserious in calling for democracy, and that they were dealing with matters in the Arab region with double standards.

Source: Palestinian Information Center