Abu Mazen: more popular than ever

"However, he's still widely seen in the Palestinian areas as aloof and uncaring. The impression has been deepened by the crackdown of his security forces on anti-Israeli protests in the West Bank. There were some signs that the Gaza fighting has boosted Hamas at Abbas' expense. In the West Bank city of Nablus, Abdel Ghani Marmash, a longtime supporter of Abbas' Fatah movement, said he's switching to Hamas. "I was arrested 19 times by the Israelis" as a Fatah supporter, he said. "Today, I am honored to follow the Hamas flag. At a time like this, all Palestinians are Hamas."""