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West Bank Welcomes Hamas Back - with Apprehension
(Christian Science Monitor) Joshua Mitnick - Thursday's demonstration in Nablus signaled just how much Hamas' stature has grown since the November war in Gaza, which lifted Palestinian morale. Yet participants in the Nablus rally seemed limited to Islamists, and the turnout was only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands who attended the celebrations in Gaza. Few observers believe the conditions have ripened for a true end to the rift between Fatah and Hamas. An official in the Nablus governorate said the PA's tolerance of the rally is not an indication of a genuine interest in reconciliation, but merely an acknowledgement of the growing public support for Hamas. "I don't see them moving toward each other on the fundamental issues," added Ghassan Khatib, a professor at Bir Zeit University and a former PA spokesman. Many Palestinians in Nablus are uneasy about the idea of a return to the armed uprising that turned this city into a den of chaos, violence, and deprivation a decade ago. "Hamas lives in a hole, and sometimes they come out to show their face and go back," says Jamal Tufah, a watch store owner. "Nobody wants to go back to a third intifada. We can't afford to build and then have everything destroyed."