Hamas risks Damascus base to support Syrian opposition During Friday prayers at Al Azhar mosque in Cairo, Mr Haniya said, "I salute all people of the Arab Spring, or Islamic winter, and I salute the Syrian people who seek freedom, democracy and reform." His declamation was answered with calls of "No Hizbollah and no Iran" and "the Syrian revolution is an Arab revolution" from the crowd. Aside from the political consequences, Hamas has been afraid to side with the Syrian people in case the regime took out [its displeasure] on the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Syria. But Haniya has reasoned that the regime cannot afford now to open a new front against the Palestinians," said Dr Samir Awwad, an expert in Palestinian politics based in the West Bank, adding, "Hamas knows that Assad has lost the battle already." While Hamas has denied the closure of its Damascus headquarts, Mr Meshaal and his aids have been absent from the Syrian capital for several months. Following Friday's announcement, it seems unlikely they will return. Dr Awwad predicts Syria will stop short of expelling the Palestinian group, only because it cannot afford to lose one of its very few allies left in the region. Even if this proves to be the case, Mr Meshaal is placed awkwardly. Under a deal proposed by the Qataris, a reconciled Palestinian government, inclusive of both Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Mr Meshaal, would be welcomed into formal Arab diplomacy allowing the Hamas leadership to base itself between Cairo, Amman and Dohar. But many within the Hamas executive in Gaza - including key figures such as Mr Haniya and the group's co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar - have taken issue with the terms of this reconciliation, which would see Fatah-allied Mr Abbas act as prime minister of a transitional united government. Until this internal rift within Hamas is resolved and the stalled reconciliation proceeds - or the political situation in Syria changes dramatically - Mr Meshaal and the exiled Hamas leadership will be left without a base.