"The Islamist resistance has earned a place at the table with blood,"

Fawaz Gerges in the Nation, here, thanks to "MON".

"...Many professionals, both Christian and Muslim Arabs, previously critical of Hamas, are bitter about what they call Israel's "barbaric conduct" against Palestinian noncombatants, particularly women and children. No one I have encountered believes Israel's narrative that this is a war against Hamas, not the Palestinian people. A near consensus exists among Arabs and Muslims that Israel is battering the Palestinian population in an effort to force it to revolt against Hamas, just as it tried to force the Lebanese people to revolt against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. But Hezbollah weathered that Israeli storm, acquired a sturdier immune system and became the most powerful institution in Lebanon. In so doing it shattered Israeli deterrence, delivered a blow to US Mideast policy and expanded the influence of Iran, Hezbollah's main supporter in the region.

In my recent travels I was struck by the widespread popular support for Hamas--from college students and street vendors to workers and intellectuals. Very few ventured criticism of Hamas, and many said they felt awed by the fierce resistance put forward by its fighters. Israel's onslaught on Gaza has effectively silenced critics of Hamas .....will likely emerge as a more powerful political force than before and will likely top Fatah, the ruling apparatus of President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority.

"No one dares any longer to question Hamas's right to represent the Palestinian people,...The Islamist resistance has earned a place at the table with blood," he told me....More than the war against Hezbollah, Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza has already undermined the legitimacy and authority of pro-Western regimes like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the eyes of many of their citizens..."