Hamas Leader Says He Will Promote Sharia Law

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Palestinian Authority Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh has said he will appoint a special advisor to promote the implementation of Islamic law (shari'a). Hamas leaders have been open about their goal of establishing a strictly Islamic state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea - all of Israel, in other words. Speaking at an Islamic college in Gaza, Haniyeh said shari'a is the foundation for judgment and is the best way to deal with reality, Israel's state-run reported on Tuesday. Haniyeh also said shari'a law would influence the way he chooses ministers for his new P.A. government.

Many Palestinians who voted for Hamas candidates in January said they did so because of corruption in the Palestinian Authority; they said they were not concerned about the possibility of Hamas imposing strict Islamic religious codes. But in a sign of what's coming, residents of the West Bank city of Kalkilya - after voting for a Hamas-led municipal council last summer - were shocked when the government cancelled a popular Palestinian cultural festival to avoid the mixing of the sexes.