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Following article was published in Guardian, 8.26:

Hizbullah: the new heroes on the streets of Ramallah
 
On the back wall of Mohammad Sharak's taxi dispatch office, next to the pictures of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and below gilded Qur'anic verses, are two new posters: portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbullah leader.

Since war erupted between Israel and the Lebanese militia, Hizbullah has emerged as a new hero on Palestinian streets. Shops and cafes in Ramallah and other towns are sporting Hizbullah posters. Stalls are selling Hizbullah's yellow flag, alongside the Lebanese flag. In the eyes of many Palestinians, Hizbullah struck a rare blow against the Israeli military, despite the huge cost in civilian casualties and damage in Lebanon.

"The beauty of this war was that a force of just 6,000 or so with light weapons superseded an organised army that all the Arab countries are scared of," said Mr Sharak, 35. "I was surprised by Hizbullah's capabilities."

"The point about Nasrallah," interrupted another employee, Saeed Nimur, 58, "is that he says something and then does it. And that is very unusual among leaders in the Arab world. Hizbullah doesn't just threaten, it achieves."

Mr Sharak, who sipped sage tea as he spoke, has little but hostility for Israel - he served eight years in an Israeli jail after being convicted of attacking West Bank settlers. But he hopes the war might increase the chance of negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. "Now Israel has a fear of these kind of military movements and they will find another path rather than war," he said.

While most people on both sides of the Israeli conflict acknowledge Hizbullah has strengthened its position in the Arab world, they argue about its implications for the Palestinians. Many fear negotiations are at a stalemate and that Hizbullah's display of military might will only encourage more violence from Palestinian militants.

In a small upstairs office, not far from the taxi dispatch firm, is the Minbar al-Islah, or the Platform of Reform, a Hamas newspaper. Sari Orabi, 26 and just six months out of an Israeli jail, is the deputy editor. "What happened in Lebanon increased the belief of people living in the area that resistance is the only language that the occupation understands," he said.

He sought to distinguish Hizbullah from the Palestinian militant movements, saying the group was a "national Lebanese faction" that fought not for Palestinians but for "pure Lebanese goals". "Maybe they provide emotional and political support for the Palestinian people but the military action carried out by Hizbullah was for the sake of Lebanon and only Lebanon," he said.

He noted the differences between the two sides, pointing to what he said were Hizbullah's tactical advantages.

"We don't enjoy support from outside the country like Hizbullah does," he said in an apparent reference to Syrian and Iranian backing for the Lebanese militia. "In fact our neighbours are tied to the Israelis through peace treaties. Remember also we are under direct occupation by the Israelis, not like Hizbullah."

But there were lessons too. "The first lesson is that we can see the belief of the Palestinian people in resistance has been strengthened," he said.

His newspaper carries a front-page advertisement showing 31 senior Hamas political leaders detained by Israel in recent weeks, among them cabinet ministers and Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian parliament. "Release them immediately," it says. The detentions, say analysts, are likely to add further impetus to Hamas hardliners and weaken the hand of those like the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, who argue in favour of a more political path.

"The way the war in Lebanon ended, coupled with the Israeli arrests of relatively moderate members of the government, has played into the hands of the more radical wing of Hamas that is based either outside Palestine or functions outside the Palestinian Authority," Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian cabinet minister, wrote in a recent analysis in the Bitter Lemons internet journal. He said the war would "contribute further to the trend of radicalisation evident in Palestine in the last five to six years".

For its part, the Israeli government still insists in public that the war successfully proved the deterrent effect of its military and served as a warning to others that any attack would be met with a swift and severe response.

But at the same time it has been struggling with a growing domestic backlash against the handling of the conflict. Prime minister Ehud Olmert's partial withdrawal plan for the West Bank has had to be shelved. As yet there is no alternative strategy, even though a newspaper poll on Friday showed 41% of Israelis wanted a negotiated solution with the Palestinians.

At a cabinet meeting this week, Yuval Diskin, Israel's security services chief, is said to have warned that Palestinians might imitate Hizbullah's tactics. "The terror organisations are trying to draw conclusions," he was quoted as saying in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. "They have understood the power of the anti-tank weapons and guerrilla warfare, and the advantages of barricading in underground bunkers."

On the outskirts of Ramallah, close to al-Amari refugee camp, a young fighter from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade spoke enviously of Hizbullah's arsenal. "If the same equipment were given to us the whole image of this region would change dramatically," said the man, who gave his name only as Abu Rida, and who said he had been in and out of Israeli jails since the age of 13. He is now 37. But, he added: "Even to try and smuggle a bullet into Palestinian land is very difficult for us to do."

Although there are many posters of Hassan Nasrallah in Ramallah, there are even more of Ramzi Obaid, a West Bank commander of the al-Aqsa militants, which is allied to the Fatah organisation. He was arrested by the Israelis this month. Abu Rida said there was little inclination to seek a political solution now. "The Israelis only understand the language of force. I think we'll be fighting them from here until judgment day."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1858716,00.html