After President Yasser Arafat, the entity that commands the most authority and respect in the Palestinian territories is Hamas (Group Profile). The group has gained support for its spearheading of the violent resistance to Israeli occupation and also for providing Palestinians with various social services. According to a September opinion poll that asked Palestinians who was most fit to be President, Yasser Arafat came in first but was somewhat predictably followed by Mahmoud Zahar, the Hamas leader in Gaza.

Facing a frightening power vacuum, the Palestinian people may well turn to this entity in the post-Arafat era (Intel Report). Hamas is well-positioned in terms of political resources to usurp a good deal of power. As noxious as the idea of enfranchising a terrorist group may be, that such a strong group is willing to accept the authority of a more mainstream government in the form of the Palestinian Authority (PA), as long as it is given representation, should not be taken for granted. At the same time, bringing in a group responsible for so many Israeli deaths may only give Israel (Country Profile) an excuse to redouble their counter-efforts, drawing both sides deeper into the downward spiral of violence.