Hamas supporters in the West Bank. Photo: Wikipedia.

Hamas’ announcement Sunday that it had removed key clauses in its charter — such as calling Jews the “descendants of pigs and apes” — was merely a “matter of semantics,” according to a correspondent for Israel’s Channel 2.

In a televised editorial on Tuesday from Washington, DC, Ohad Chemo explained what he considered the motive behind the tactical move on the part of the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip.

According to Chemo, there were a few main reasons for Hamas’ new direction, after 30 years in existence. Chief among these, Chemo said, was the group’s feeling of political isolation — its treatment by the world as a “leper” — and desire to return to the “family of nations,” at least among Arab states.

But, he added, since open expressions of Jew-hatred in its charter are used by Israel to point to the group’s true nature, and not let it say that it is simply against the establishment of the Jewish state, Hamas reached the conclusion that it had to start making a distinction between Jews and Zionists — though stopping short of recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

Last month, Chemo said, Hamas officials in the West Bank told him that “anyone who does not understand that the State of Israel is a fact of reality is stupid.”

However, Chemo added, “In public, [the leadership is] not willing to say that. There is a wide gap between Hamas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, and this is but one example.”