News of the formation of a Palestinian national unity government instantly altered the mood in the Gaza Strip. Residents, commentators and even Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's bodyguards sounded optimistic about the chances of the new government to lift the international siege on the Palestinian Authority.

One Fatah man added, by way of reservation, that the optimism stems from the fact that people in Gaza have no choice but to hope. By contrast, Haniyeh adviser Ahmed Youssef claims that European countries conveyed clear messages to the Hamas government that they intend to work on lifting the siege when the national unity government is formed.

Ostensibly, the European Union has no reason to change its attitude toward the new government, since it does not meet the three demands posed to the Hamas government. Haniyeh's political plan seems like an attempt to have the cake and eat it, too: to adopt the Arab peace initiative as the government's platform, but to reject repeatedly the possibility of recognizing Israel; to ask for Europe's support, but not to renounce any form of terrorism; to honor signed agreements, but only those "which serve the Palestinian people," as Youssef put it.

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The political plan brings no tidings for Israel either: the second Haniyeh government will offer a hudna - a temporary cease-fire and nothing more. Peace talks or any other political talks will be placed in the hands of Abbas, but Hamas has managed to tie them. Under the unity government's platform, even if Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were theoretically to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, it would have to be approved by the Palestinian government and parliament, both of which have a large Hamas majority.

Skepticism is rife among Haniyeh's people regarding Abbas' chances of breaking the political stalemate with Israel, and therefore the Israeli issue is not central to the formation of a unity government. The reason why Haniyeh decided to include the Arab peace initiative in the new government's platform has to do with his desire to survive the winter in office. The general strike launched on September 1 paralyzed government offices, schools and even non-governmental organizations. Last week thousands of armed members of the security services marched through the streets of Gaza calling for Haniyeh to resign. "We want a man," they shouted.

In the six months since Hamas took power, Gazans learned the hard way that even the so-called corrupt Fatah men had provided better solutions to their plight. Without salaries and a budget, even Haniyeh and his men understood that they must be flexible, or at least sound flexible. To that end Haniyeh is prepared to give up the ministries that do not deal with internal affairs: foreign, finance, information. The new government will have 24 ministers, 12 of them from Hamas and Fatah and the others from the smaller parties and unaffiliated experts.

But the flexibility does not end with the ministries and it is impossible to ignore the change in the stated positions of Hamas leaders, though they dislike talking about it. Agreeing to the Arab initiative, which calls for ending the conflict with Israel, is not a minor matter. Hamas is undergoing major changes, albeit under heavy pressure, but the bottom line is that the phrase "direct negotiations between Hamas and Israel" no longer frightens Haniyeh's people as it did in the past.