1. Ted Belman said:

The way I see it is that anything that can upset the "sellout process" is to be encouraged.

2. BobW said:

What is the conundrum? Hamas is both a political organization and a terrorist organization. When political parties have armed components - and a history of terrorism - how can they fit into the "democratic process"?

Kol tuv,
BobW

3. Bill Levinson said:

Hamas is a terrorist organization that attacks civilians. As far as I am concerned, any Israeli (or indeed anyone) should be free to kill any member of Hamas at any time and in any place, no questions asked. (Of course, those doing the killing must be held responsible if they kill the wrong people recklessly or irresponsibly.) In the Middle Ages, this would be known as "outlawing" Hamas, i.e. placing it outside the protection of the law.

I cannot conceive of how the IDF and Mossad allow a terrorist organization to operate in public and even have its members appear in public, and not do something like flying overhead in a helicopter and spraying them with machine gun fire and rockets. Those public funerals in which masked terrorists brandish AK-47s? Drop a cluster bomb in the middle of the next one, and then fly over in a helicopter and machine-gun anyone who is still moving afterward. Put a wire-guided rocket through the window of every known terrorists' house, after giving their presumably-innocent families fair warning that it would be a "good idea" to move out and live elsewhere. If they don't, too bad for them. IDF snipers should be ordered to kill any terrorist whom they can get in their crosshairs.

There is nothing wrong with a Hamas member that a cartridge costing perhaps twenty-five or thirty cents (when purchased in bulk) cannot fix. Simple solutions are the best ones.

4. Ed D said:

Bill, I agree with you in principle, but not in your solution. My position is to militarily, retake Gaza and the entire West Bank. This means war, full out while making certain that the Northern borders be protected.

After these areas are under control of the IDF, they should round up all members of ALL terrorist groups and either throw them into prison or deport them to other Muslim countries. I, also, believe that most Israeli Arabs be expeled and Jerusalim should be totally occupied by Jewish citizens and those who would belong to foreign embasies who decide to locate there. There would be some exceptions, those who would live in peace, in business, in governments and others who would be proud to live in this land.

The others who are still in Gaza and the West Bank and who wish to live peacefully and work for their own prosperity, would be allowed to live there but would not receive Israeli citizenship. The Road Map, the Oslo Accords and/ or any other agreements forced upon Israel, would be null and void. Only when Israel decides to stand on it's own feet will SOME peace will occur.

5. Leonard said:

People often forget that Hitler got elected by the Ballot, and once he was elected he gave himself emergecy powers where he banned the Communist Party and suspended Trade Union etc etc, so Democracy in itself can't be the end game if it leads to totalitarian forces such as Hamas seizing power and imposing Sharia law and suspending any free expression by merely accusing anyone of being an Israeli collaborator and subjecting them to torture and summary execution. The Palestinian authority isn't much better. Some naive individuals within movements like ISM,or the Scottish Church are blind to the realities of the region, when they masquerade under the guise of Human Rights.