"Lesser of two evils.
Kind of like asking which better, al-Qaeda or the Baath Party."
Foreign policy in this world usually involves choosing between the lesser of two evils. I think in both the instance you provided and the one in Palestine there is a clear lesser. It is the Baath and Fatah. All may be evil by our standards, but Hamas and al-Qaeda are clearly more fanatical in my opinion. The Baath and al-Qaeda are going extinct so screw them both anyway.
This is not an endorsement of these crazies. It is just an observation. I am hopeful that Hamas lost though because there clearly is a difference.