It's in the way of becoming a new skill among Western commentators - that of probing the deeper significance of the public positions which Hamas adopts. You know: Is an organization with a blatantly anti-Semitic programmatic document anti-Semitic? (And other such challenging questions.)
Here's a modest contribution to deciphering Hamasian meanings in a different department; I mean the Tom Lehrer ('Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?') department.
By clicking through the following links, you will be able to ascertain that Hamas is proud of its armed resistance. As reported here:
The Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, said that the UN vote was in parallel with what many Palestinians see as a victory over Israel in Gaza earlier this month. He told Reuters that armed struggle was necessary in conjunction with diplomacy.
"Negotiating without powerful cards on the ground has no meaning," said Meshaal. "It will turn into begging. This enemy doesn't give anything unless under pressure."
One key to understanding these statements is provided here (£):
Firing rockets from Gaza on to Israeli civilian targets is beyond doubt a war crime.
So, in the present case, the deeper meaning (for the attention of Western fans of Hamas-led resistance) is: committing war crimes is integral to the way in which Hamas understands furthering the Palestinian cause. I will add, for good measure: war crimes and crimes against humanity.