Non-Subscriber Extract
Hamas at the crossroads
3 February 2009
Hamas officials recently emerged from weeks in hiding for a defiant 'victory celebration' with their supporters, a sign that Israel's three-week assault neither broke the group nor weakened its control of Gaza. Entire neighbourhoods are in ruins, but Hamas police officers are on the streets, assuring Palestinians that they will rebuild the territory. Meanwhile, Hamas members are handing out money to some of the thousands of families who lost their homes. However imaginary, the mood within Hamas is celebratory.
On the streets of Gaza, support for Hamas remains strong, but in private, expressions of anger, fear and exhaustion are heard. Gazans also grumble about Hamas's poor military performance. Of Israel's 13 army and civilian fatalities, Israel acknowledges only six soldiers directly killed by Hamas - and claims to have killed hundreds of Hamas members. Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades say they killed 49 Israelis and lost 48 of their own. These figures are virtually impossible to independently verify.