A research by an international group has shown that Palestinian Hamas movement and the West have an opportunity to redefine their relationship, but only if both sides are willing to exhibit pragmatism and realism.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report Tuesday that the new dynamics at play in the Arab world showed that theUnited Statesand theEuropean Unionshare a common horizon with the new Islamist movements in the region.

Robert Malley, the group's Middle East and North Africa program director, said these changes are considered to be "a third chance" for the West that it should not miss. The Western countries " should make sure it is not, once more, left stranded at the dock."

Malley added that the West failed twice in the past to have a good relationship with Hamas, once when the Islamic movement won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections and the second time when it reached a power-sharing pact with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in Mecca in 2007.

The Mecca agreement held only for three months. In June 2007, Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces, ousted his Fatah party, and took over the Gaza Strip, leaving Abbas' rule confined to the West Bank.

The Western countries, particularly the United States, ban any official contacts with Hamas unless the latter recognizesIsrael, renounces violence and accepts interim peace deals between thePalestineLiberation Organization (PLO) and Israel.

The changes in the Arab world have affected Hamas, some negatively like the upheaval inSyriathat has led Hamas to quit their Damascus headquarters, placing their relationship withIranat risk. Until recently, Iran has been the largest state supporter to Hamas.

On the other hand, Hamas has seen its ties improved with U.S.- allied states such asEgypt, Turkey and Qatar, said the report, entitled "Light at the End of their Tunnels? Hamas and the Arab Uprisings".

According to the report, the West should seize the opportunity and try for some realistic objectives, including a more formal Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement; efforts to stabilize Egypt's Sinai, which borders the Gaza Strip, especially after last week's deadly attacks against Egyptian soldiers in the peninsula; and Hamas' reaffirmation, as part of a unity deal with Fatah, Abbas' mandate to negotiate a final status agreement with Israel.

In return, Hamas could benefit from reciprocal Israeli guarantees over a Gaza ceasefire; an improvement in the Gaza's economic status; and an assurance by the United States and the EU that they would engage with a Palestinian unity government that carried out those commitments.