On November 11, entire neighbourhoods in the Palestinian camps of Damascus were decorated with photos of Yasser Arafat, marking the 7th anniversary of the Palestinian leader's death. That, of course, was no coincidence, since it struck a raw nerve with Damascus-based Hamas leaders, who detested the late PLO Chairman. Paying homage to Arafat, it must be remembered, is uncommon in Syria, given a historic feud between him and the Baathists in Damascus. If anything, that small symbolic gesture spoke plenty about how much Hamas influence in Syria has dropped, and how furious the Syrians are with the Palestinian group that was once considered a strategic ally and main ‘Syrian card' in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The writing for heartbreak, after a long honeymoon, has been on the wall since mid-March when, days into the Syrian uprising, Hamas and Hezbollah were reminded of how far Syria had gone to support them since the 1990s. Hamas was explicitly reminded of Syria's unwavering support during the Gaza war of 2008. Now was ‘payback time,' the Syrians seemed to be saying, asking both parties to come out with strong statements of support for the Syrian regime. Taking its cue from Iran, Hezbollah responded affirmatively via Hassan Nasrallah. It echoed Syrian officialdom, saying that a conspiracy was indeed being hatched against Damascus because of its commitment to the resistance in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon.
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