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Source: http://www.bitterlemons.org/previous/bl090608ed22.html#isr2
Hamas Believes It Has the Upper Hand
[bitterlemons.org ] Shaul Arieli - The most recent visit to Tehran by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal produced an increase of Iranian aid to Hamas to $250 million a year and a commitment to supply enhanced weaponry. Hamas assesses that current and anticipated conditions - the absence of serious Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the weakening of Fatah, a new American president, Iran's stronger position - will enable it to enjoy the "fruits" of a cease-fire more than Israel, until the cease-fire can in any case be improved upon. The writer is a former commander of the northern brigade in the Gaza Strip and headed the Negotiations Management Center under Prime Minister Ehud Barak.