Increasingly, it is looking like Hamas (Group Profile) will be drawn under the umbrella of the new Palestinian government. The Palestinian Authority has said that it will not target Hamas cells as it once had, and Hamas is now considering supporting a presidential candidate in the coming elections. Previously, Hamas had refused to participate in the elections (WAR Report and WAR Report) but has since changed its mind. It will also put up candidates for a Palestinian legislative election. There is good and bad news to go along with this: the good news is that the group is tossing around the idea of a 10-year hudna to facilitate negotiations and that it will cooperate with the Palestinian Authority if the PA signs a ceasefire deal. Previously, it seemed doubtful that a PA without Arafat could exert any control over Palestinian armed groups, rendering them unable to give security guarantees that Israel (Country Profile) would require in exchange for concessions on its own part.

The bad news is that a hard-line Hamas holding a considerable chunk of power?possibly supporting a winning presidential candidate and holding a number of legislative seats?will likely be all the more difficult to get Israel and the Palestinian Authority into negotiations in the first place.