It looks like Hamas can have its cake and eat it, too.
One of the major differences between Hamas and Fatah is that Fatah consistently and shamelessly lied to the Western media and politicians to achieve its goals, and Hamas keeps its outright lies to a minimum.
What Hamas is starting to learn now is that the media, the EU and much of the liberal "intelligentsia" is so emotionally invested in the idea of "peace" that they will even believe things that Hamas isn't saying. As long as their spokesperson wears a suit and smiles, the gullible West is more than happy to report that Hamas is moderating, Hamas is pragmatic, Hamas is someone that can be dealt with.
And Hamas' mainstreaming is happening at a startling speed, even while they continue to spew hate explicitly in their videos and websites and mosques. The World Bank approved $60 million to the new Hamastan, France and Russia favor talks with the terrorists, the EU's Solana says that aid will continue, the US is hinting that it might reconsider its threats to stop the money flow, China and Spain have said they will talk to Hamas.
And this is all happening while Hamas is gearing up to get the bulk of its aid from Hezbollah, Iran, Saudi Arabia and every other anti-Western entity it can find so it can be independent from US aid.
It appears that Hamas is betting that world Jew-hatred is more powerful than the world's revulsion at Islamist terror. And so far, it looks like it is a safe bet.
