A: Hamas is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement. Created in 1987 during the first intifada, Hamas was an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamic militant group. Hamas is a purely Palestinian group and focuses exclusively on the Palestinian issue.
Hamas' charter explicitly calls for Israel's destruction; it bars recognition of Israel and compromise with her. The charter also commits the group to armed struggle and, in describing its view of Israeli and Zionist plans, cites the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (a Russian forgery from the very early 20th century that is the seminal piece of modern anti-Semitic literature) as its source. Hamas has engaged in many criminal acts of attacking civilians.
But Hamas has another side as well. It has established an extensive social services network, especially in the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians have gotten much more material aid through and from Hamas than the PA over the years. This is a key source of support for Hamas among those who do not share their political, religious or ideological worldview.
Hamas, though certainly bound to a particular dogma, has always shown a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. In the past, Hamas has refused to engage in Palestinian elections, seeing them, correctly, as products of the Oslo Accords they opposed. But they have obviously changed their views on this point. Even before that shift, there were many indications that, while they may never accept the legitimacy of Israel's existence, they were prepared to find ways for Israel and Palestine to live together.
The book "The Palestinian Hamas" by Israeli scholars Shaul Mishal and Avraham Sela is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand Hamas. Though a bit outdated (the book was published in 2000), the clarity it sheds on Hamas is still valid. In fact, the way the book battles the simplistic view of Hamas has only been strengthened in recent years-if anything, Hamas has become more adaptable to new circumstances and more open to new ways of doing things than it had been five years ago.