When the Gaza leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Isma'il Hanniya, said last February in Egypt that "I salute the heroic people of Syrian who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," it signalled the end of an alliance with the Ba'thist regime in Damascus that also extended to Iran and its Lebanese Shi'a protege Hizbollah. Logically, this move to put Hamas on the right side of the Arab spring should entail a rethink of its relationship with the rest of the Tehran-Damascus axis, and Mr Hanniya now appears to have taken a step in that direction by indicating that Hamas will not allow itself to be drawn into a war with Israel in the event that the Israelis attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Speaking on 10 May, the Hamas leader said that "Hamas is a Palestinian movement that acts within the Palestinian arena and it carries out its political and field actions in a way that suits the interests of the Palestinian people. Iran did not ask anything from us and we think Iran is not in need of us."

Charles Snow