HOUSE OVERSIGHT 028740 international community has not significantly changed its relationship with the Palestinians, including Hamas, over the past months and years. There has only been some cosmetic and tactical changes. Washington, the European Union and the UN have not only signaled to Hamas that it should join the "broken and paralyzed" peace process, they have also insisted that the Palestinians explicitly recognize Israel. But this time, those powers are armed with an "Islamic religious cloak," which would make a recognition of Israel more meaningful, especially since Hamas considers its conflict with Israel to be an ideological "existential conflict, not a border dispute." That pressure is accompanied with a financial and economic blockade, which is increasing the pressure on Hamas, especially since those carrying out the blockade are blocking anything that would alleviate Palestinian suffering. It is clear that they want to punish the Palestinians for electing Hamas and warn them against reelecting them; that is if the reconciliation succeeds and the elections happen on time. It should be noted that certain Israeli and Western research institutions have estimated the timeframe that Hamas will need to explicitly recognize Israel. They may accept from Hamas certain rhetorical signals for a while before the movement officially recognizes Israel. Since Hamas was founded in late 1987, it has been conducting an ideological and political campaign for its members and supporters against recognizing Israel. Hamas' constitution says that Israel is a "cancer that must be eradicated," and that "its demise is a Quranic inevitability." Those and other slogans have been a key component of Hamas's political discourse. It is therefore not easy for Hamas to change overnight due to political realism and suddenly tell its supporters: We shall recognize Israel, but it's under duress! Adnan Abu Amer is Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and a lecturer in the