"...Hamas has not been battered into submission..& amid the rubble, its prestige among the Palestinians is intact.."

Peter Beaumont and Hazem Balousha in the Observer, here

"...It was Siam who was reputedly one of the most forceful movers against the rival Fatah faction in the so-called "internal fighting" between the organisations that followed Hamas's election victory in Gaza in 2006. Hamas won that battle, ousting its secular opponents from Gaza and launching the chain of events that led to Israel's assault on its power-base.
Now the Hamas hardman is gone. But the organisation's prestige appears to have survived intact, and even emerged enhanced.Across Gaza and the West Bank, the rumblings of discontent have grown as Abbas stood on the sidelines while Israeli artillery has pounded Gaza. "Abbas has no authority to lead the Palestinian people. "The future of Fatah is being tested as never before," said Zakariya Mohammad, a Fatah activist from the West Bank city of Hebron.The majority of Fatah want to join the current battle, while the leadership remains committed to calm. Fatah can seize the golden opportunity now in order to restore its national credibility by engaging. If not, Fatah and the PLO will be pronounced dead within a very short period of time."