"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."""