Two Israeli experts show that, contrary to its image, Hamas is essentially a social and political movement, providing extensive community services and responding to political realities through bargaining and power brokering.

In The Palestinian Hamas, Shaul Mishal and Avraham Sela show that, contrary to its violent image, Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) is essentially a social and political organization, providing extensive community services and responding to political realities through bargaining and power brokering. The authors lift the veil on Hamas's strategic decision-making methods at each of the crucial crossroads it has confronted: the Intifada and the struggle with the PLO, the Oslo accords and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, and the choice between absolute jihad against Israel and controlled violence. Now with a new introduction, this book does much to contextualize the current ascendancy of this controversial movement.