I'm not opposed to engaging Hamas, actually—I think there is significant evidence that a portion of both its cadres and supporters would accept a two state peace agreement with Israel, and I think that's a trend that should be encouraged. It is also clear that current policies of complete isolation aren't helping much.

That being said, this paper seems to focus on mediation for mediation's sake, and says strikingly little about who exactly would be targeted for what purposes. It not only says little about mediation and negotiation theory, but it also fails completely to contextualize Hamas, or its current political position. Most strikingly, it seems to ignore a decade of detailed attitudinal survey data from the West Bank and Gaza on what Hamas supporters think, what issues are important for them, attitudes to violence and Israel, etc.