[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by Chris

I quite agree that ultimately, you can't overcome guerillas without some form of negotiated arrangement being agreed, however that shouldn't detract from a couple of unfortunate pieces of misinformation in your post.

Firstly, it's misleading to say that Hamas has 'the majority support of the populace', because that's to ignore the fact that they don't have the majority support of the Palestinian people as a whole. They may command support in Gaza, but that doesn't grant them legitimacy any more than the SNP would have the legitimacy to start creating an independent Scotland by force in Banffshire, just because they have a majority vote there.

Secondly, it's all very well saying that the vitriol must be put to one side, however, by implication your post is critical of Israel, rather than Hamas, whose founding principles include the destruction of Israel. Plenty of vitriol to be put aside there, wouldn't you agree?

Just to clarify, Gaza is the matter at hand and there are people who will provide moral and material support to the organisation, this doesn't mean to say that they should automatically be sentenced to death. And I quite agree, founding your principles on the destruction of a nation is wholly unacceptable and it's equally important that any member of Hamas who wishes to have a voice in the Palestinian state or the international community needs to renounce this sort of attitude.