Mahmoud Abbas no longer represents all Palestinians. Hamas's stance against Israel may well cast him as a serious casualty, writes Michael Jansen
THE GULF between some Arab rulers and their subjects has been exposed and further widened by Israel's attack on Gaza.
US allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority have become targets of popular criticism for blaming Hamas for not extending a six-month ceasefire, thus giving Israel the pretext to launch its assault. Mass rallies have taken place across the Arab world, from Rabat to the Gulf, with protesters castigating the "cowardice" of Arab leaders.
At a demonstration in Beirut, Egypt's octogenarian president Hosni Mubarak was singled out as the main culprit. "Oh, great people of Egypt," protesters cried, "replace Mubarak with a donkey". Egyptian wags referred to their president as the "mummy".
Mr Mubarak's condemnation of Israel's ground offensive was seen by Egyptians and Arabs as too little, too late. Egyptians want their government to suspend the flow of gas to Israel, recall their ambassador in Tel Aviv and close down the Israeli embassy in Cairo.
While Saudi Arabia has said little about the crisis, Arabs recall that King Faisal cut oil exports to the West in retaliation for US and European backing of Israel in the 1973 war. There is no possibility of such action today.
Analysts point out that the autocrats in Cairo, Riyadh and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank view Hamas, which rules Gaza, as a particular threat because it won a majority in the Palestinian legislature in a free and fair election.
The main challenge to the Mubarak regime comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent of Hamas. Hardline fundamentalists pose a danger to the Saudi monarchy, while Fatah still has not come to terms with Hamas's victory.
All three fear that Hamas, which had been losing support before the crisis, will emerge more popular than ever, as did Hizbullah from Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.
They also fear Syria and Iran, Hamas's main regional allies, will be strengthened if the organisation makes a credible stand against Israel. All Hamas needs to do is survive.
While the Egyptian and Saudi leaders are likely to survive the ongoing crisis, Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas may not. Although his term ends on January 9th, he cannot be expected to stand down or call early presidential or parliamentary elections.
The already wide division between Fatah and Hamas, the West Bank and Gaza, could deepen. This means he cannot claim to speak for the Palestinians as a whole or negotiate with Israel on their behalf, ending this fruitless chapter of the peace process.
Independent Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti summed up the situation by saying the Palestinian Authority, established under Oslo in 1994, was now defunct.