Arab Spring Has Led to 'Mainstreaming' of Hamas

One of the least-noticed consequences of the Arab Spring might be called the “mainstreaming of Hamas.”  The chief of the Palestinian party and militia, which the West knows chiefly for its suicide attacks on Israel, has declared repeatedly that it has decided to set aside violent resistance and, in the spirit of the Arab Spring, concentrate on demonstrations and other nonviolent methods.  Nominally committed to the eradication of the Jewish State, Hamas now supports a negotiated peace agreement based on 1967 borders and – without renouncing the option to pick up arms in the future – vows to give Palestinian moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas the running room to see what talks can produce, according to Khaled Mashaal, chief of the group’s political office.