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...