the way you thought? Israel and the US pushed and pushed for democratic elections in the occupied territories, and in them Hamas won big. Now with their newfound political clout, they're reaching out to the EU, and using their stature as elected representatives to gain access to diplomats. wonder if this is a case of the devil you knew (the PA) being better than the demon you didn't (Hamas w/ political cloud and popular support)...
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&e=1&u=/nm/20050617/pl_nm/mideast_rice_dc
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&e=1&u=/nm/20050617/pl_nm/mideast_rice_dc