Remember Hamas played by the rules, they won elections and they even seized all suicide attacks in Israel. Where did it get them? Boycotts, targeted assassinations, the kidnap of their ministers. At the same time Fatah has been corrupt, arrogant, inept and openly and unquestioningly supported by all the major players - Israel, the US and Europe. Fatah gets this support because they understand what rules of the game. Palestine is never to exist. The Palestinians are merely to be the untouchables of greater Israel. Fatah will be the mafia bosses who run the Palestinian slums in what’s left of the Palestinian land in the West Bank after the wall and major settlement areas have been completed. If the Palestinians behave themselves, they might be fortunate enough to provide some cheap labour for Israeli industry. But that’s only a maybe. In recent years Israel has preferred migrant labour from places like the Philippines.

So Hamas was left with two options, play by the rules and eventually disappear into oblivion, or take matters into their own hands.

Of course crimes have been committed, and there is no excuse for that. Ideally the people who have committed these acts should be punished. But the situation is so horrible that what would normally be common sense is mere fantasy now. Gaza is a harsh, cruel place. People with guns get the power. That’s what victimhood does to you.

So yeah frankly, I hate to say this, but Hamas did what from their perspective was the only logical course of action. They’re sending a pretty clear message, we’re a force to be reckoned with so speak to us. Stop calling us a terrorist organisation, we’re a political force whether you like it or not.

Just wondering if El Salvador and Honduras also follow a death cult. People were killing each other there also after US interference in their country.

If Hamas really cared for their people they would give up their pathetic ideological worldview and come to a genuine acceptance of a two state solution - not stupid hudnas or the such like - a real end to the conflict.

Unforunately, as if Gaza isn’t bad enough - things will only get worse - no aid to Gaza, an even tighter closure policy at the crossing points and pure misery. All so Hamas can maintain their ideological purty and not condescend to behave like normal actors in the international community.

For 59 years they have been trying to force this, for 40 years they have been brutalising the Palestinians and arming one faction or the other to kill each other.

The US sticks their ignorant noses in at every opportunity because they are led around by AIPAC and the other toadies who got it so very wrong in Iraq.

This is a terrible tragedy because Israel supported and armed and started Hamas to help them get rid of Fatah, now they are arming Fatah to get rid of their own hand made Hamas.

The reality is that Israel does not want and has never wanted peace - they simply want the arabs dead and gone so they can have the land.

So yet again, the bastions of civilization, democracy, secularism, etc have played a pivotal role in increasing the prestige of an Islamic political party. Sound familiar?