Publication

This paper reviews the position of the major stakeholders in the conflict and assesses the advantages and risks of the two strategies that have crystallized since the election: isolate and undermine a Hamas government, or engage with it in a cautious, selective, and conditional manner. This paper argues that a policy of engagement, if properly executed, could encourage fundamental changes in Hamas' policies and, eventually, its ideology. Moreover, this approach is preferable to the "isolate and undermine" option because it will be easier to move from a policy of engagement to one of confrontation if it becomes clear that engagement has failed to induce changes in Hamas' policies and actions. A movement in the opposite direction may not be possible.