The road to an Israeli-Palestinian peace hit a sharp curve on Thursday, when Hamas scored a significant election victory — taking 76 seats over Fatah's 43 in the 132-seat Palestinian legislature. The announcement sent shockwaves through the United States and Israel. Hamas had not been expected — even by itself — to win a majority, let alone by a landslide. For several reasons, it had been our forecast that Hamas would make a strong showing but Fatah would retain a slight edge. This, obviously, was wrong. So why did the pendulum swing so strongly toward Hamas? A variety of factors were in play: Hamas' aggressive campaigning was coupled with the endemic corruption and infighting that have plagued Fatah. Though Hamas is an Islamist group, its campaign was based on promises of improved living conditions for the Palestinians rather than on ideological goals of implementing Sharia law.