As global pressure mounts, the radical Islamist group says it won't alter its charter calling for jihad against Israel.
Now Hamas finds itself caught between an overwhelming mandate to run the Palestinian Authority (PA) after last week's election and an international demand to change its stance on Israel. And the movement's lengthy charter stands as a roadblock between the two.
Changing it, say Hamas leaders, is not on the table. Don't change it - says Israel, the US, the European Union, and the United Nations - and Hamas will not be invited to the table, neither for negotiations nor for foreign aid.
In translation, the document is close to 9,000 words and is replete with Koranic references instructing Muslims to wage jihad (meaning holy war or struggle) against the Jews on every last hilltop of historical Palestine - not just the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but also Israel proper, as established in 1948.