The decision to capitalize on burgeoning popular support among Palestinians increasingly weary of violence was not unanimous in Hamas, and Sheikh Abu Tier says the organization's prisoners in Israeli jails were instrumental in deciding that it should run for election.
"The prisoners tipped the balance in favour of political participation. They are well educated. Many are professors, engineers, doctors. That was the result of vision. They were a decisive factor and I was one of them in favor," he said.
Hamas did well in local elections last year and bolstered its support in the run-up to next week's vote with a reputation for efficient, clean government in the towns it now governs, such as Qalqilya and Beit Hanoun.
"I was called in for interrogation in Jerusalem," said Sheikh Abu Tier. "The [Israeli] interrogator said to me: you people have credibility with the people. This is the testimony of the enemy," he said.
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