Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas the big loser in Gaza-Israel conflict
Fatah leader relegated to sidelines and losing support in the West Bank
After days of around-the-clock rocket and missile fire that has left more than 125 Palestinians dead and several Israelis injured, the latest bout of fighting in and around the Gaza Strip has produced no clear winners.
But it has yielded a nearly indisputable loser: Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, who this spring was Israel's partner in US-brokered peace talks but has now been relegated to bystander status as his two long-time foes once again slug it out.
In the West Bank, where Abbas and his allies have long held sway among Palestinians, residents speak admiringly of the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, while despairing that Abbas' advocacy for non-violence has led nowhere.
"You look at the number and quality of Hamas rockets, and the training of their fighters, and I think even Hezbollah must be jealous," said Jamal Hamdan, a 50-year-old electrical engineer. "As for Abbas, it's like he's shy. We expect more from him."
The overall impact is the opposite of what the United States has long sought - a strengthened hand for Abbas and marginalisation for Hamas and other militant Middle East groups.
Bitter aides of Abbas acknowledge that the president is fast losing relevance, but they say this is what Israel intended all along: hopeless negotiations followed by a fight that would elevate militant Palestinian elements at the expense of relative moderates.