Palestinian political party. Founded in 2005 by
Hanan Ashrawi and
Salam Fayyad, the Third Way independent list was established in order to provide an alternative to the dominant Palestinian political parties
Hamas and
Fatah. Created before the 2006 Parliamentary elections, the list wanted to attract voters who were fed up with Fatah's corruption and infighting, but did not agree with Hamas's vision of an Islamist society. In the 2006 elections, the Third Way won two of the 132 seats in the
Palestinian Legislative Council. See "
Palestinian 'third way' rises," Ilene Prusher, Christian Science Monitor, Dec 13, 2005.