Hamas Changing Its Spots?

GAZA — Seven months after Israel started a fierce three-week military campaign here to stop rockets from being fired on its southern communities, Hamas has suspended its use of rockets and shifted focus to winning support at home and abroad through cultural initiatives and public relations.

The aim is to build what leaders here call a “culture of resistance,” the topic of a recent two-day conference. In recent days, a play has been staged, a movie premiered, an art exhibit mounted, a book of poems published and a television series begun, most of it state-sponsored and all focused on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. There are plans for a documentary competition.

Comment:

• HAMAS is famous for changing shape and adapting. It is the proverbial leopard changing his spots, or at least adding some new and different ones to provide more camouflage. This may be a ploy to win hearts and minds, or a genuine attempt to mend its ways. Only time will tell.
  

Resources:

• "Hamas Shifts From Rockets to Public Relations", New York Times, 7/23/09.
• "Britain 'should approach Hamas'", BBC News, 7/26/09.