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Hamas and the New Mideast Puzzle

Hamas, the Palestinian “Islamic Resistance Movement,” is on the move. Among many other things, it is leaving Syria and planning to relocate its headquarters to Qatar. Sam Bahour writes that Hamas’ decision to act now on so many fronts might be a response to the broader Islamic political waves moving across the region.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) shake hands as Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani sits between them during an agreement signing ceremony in Doha February 6, 2012. The leaders of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in Qatar on Monday to form a unity government of independent technocrats for the West Bank and Gaza, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.    REUTERS/Stringer(QATAR - Tags: POLITICS)
Palestinian President Abbas and Hamas leader Meshaal shake hands as Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad sits between them during an agreement signing ceremony in Doha 06/02/2012 — REUTERS/Stringer

Hamas, the Palestinian “Islamic Resistance Movement,” is on the move.

Hamas is leaving Syria, where it has been based, making a pit stop in Jordan to mend affairs with King Abdullah II, declaring nonviolent resistance the preferred mode of struggle against Israeli occupation, signing (yet another) reconciliation agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and lastly, planning to relocate its headquarters to the State of Qatar. All of this has happened in the span of a few weeks.

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