Many AU students and employees said the world must wait and see how Hamas handles its new political power before judging how their rule will affect relations with Israel.
Rachel Victor, co-president of AU Students for Israel, said she noticed the U.S. was more surprised by the outcome of the elections than Israel was. Many Palestinians were fed up with the ruling Fatah party, which led to Hamas' growing support among Palestinians.
Victor said that from what she has read, Israelis do not think the current peace situation will change much. Palestinians have also had difficulty uniting under one leadership, she said.
"By and large, I think we'll have to wait and see," Victor said. "Certainly, I'm hopeful that things will be changing."
Shan Beuthe, co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said that while Hamas is a violent terrorist organization, it has paid for health care and schools for Palestinians who live in refugee camps.
"I think it was a vote for their needs now," she said.
Beuthe said she does not support Hamas, but does not think Palestinian aid should be revoked by the U.S. and the European Union because that will affect the Palestinian people more than Hamas.
Neither AU Students for Israel nor Students for Justice in Palestine affiliate themselves with any political party, according to Victor and Miriam Wood, who is co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine along with Beuthe.
Issam Khoury, resident director of Letts Hall, said he responded to the elections with hesitation. Hamas has to recognize Israel as a state and take serious initiative in world politics, and the U.S. and the European Union must recognize Palestine and continue to give aid, he said. Israel must also work with Palestine to negotiate peace, Khoury said.
"As much work as Hamas has to do, so does the Israeli government," he said.
Wood said even though she does not necessarily support Hamas, she does support the Palestinians' right to democratically choose their government.
"I think sometimes people overlook that democracy did occur in this spot," Wood said.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby group, released a statement last Thursday calling the Hamas majority "a major setback for peace and democracy in the Middle East."
"It's not the election itself, it's the outcome of the election" that the lobby does not support, according to a press secretary at the committee.
Khoury, who is Palestinian and has family in the area, said his family is directly affected by the elections because they are Christian, and Hamas sees Christians as descendants from the Crusades. His aunt was nominated to be the Palestinian ambassador to France, but Hamas believes women should not have high positions, he said.
"What happens from here is literally a day-by-day thing," he said. "Contrary to popular belief, the majority on both sides want peace."
Hamas must now see how much it cares about Palestine and its people as it moves forward politically, Khoury said.
"At this point, the bloodshed has to stop," he said.
