Mounting evidence suggests that Hamas, viewed as either a terrorist movement or as a government, is one more failed Palestinian organization. It is recognized as such by Gaza’s inhabitants, who no longer show up to their rallies. Its lack of popularity is one reason for the small concessions contained in its recently published document. More concessions will come as popular pressure mounts. Israel should be patient, as time is on its side.

It is difficult for Westerners to understand how intertwined religious and political imperatives are for people who subscribe to the Islamic faith. They feel compelled to fulfill their religious duties within the political arena and believe their experience in the political world teaches them how to practically implement their religion. Westerners should resist the temptation to infer too much into recent moves by Hamas, including a revised charter and a change of leadership. The tune might be changing slightly, but the song remains the same.

The new Hamas policy document, which is meant to complement, rather than replace, the Hamas Covenant of 1988, does not in any way depart from what the movement believes to be the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to a state "from the river to the sea". The document declares both the Balfour Declaration and the UN Partition Resolution of 1947 "null and void", and makes clear that the Palestinian state – to be achieved piecemeal if necessary – is to be created at the expense of the very existence of the Jewish State. While the text is not by any means a breakthrough, it does contain a few indications that pressure on Hamas can eventually bear fruit.