Sometimes a necessary comparison must be done.
First, Hamas in Gaza tightens its rule and undoubtedly increases the chances of human rights abuses:
Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip plan to introduce the death penalty for gangs getting rich off smuggled narcotics.
Security officials of the Hamas movement and human rights groups say drug smuggling through tunnels that bring in all manner of goods from Egypt to get around the Israeli blockade as increased alarmingly in the past few months.
Nearly a third of 300 prisoners in Gaza’s main jail are doing time for drug offenses, but officials say prison is clearly not a sufficient deterrent to the lucrative trade.
And the Israeli leadership accepts the illegality of the settlements but doesn’t give a damn:
Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with four West Bank council heads in his office on Wednesday, and stressed to them that “the settlement blocs are an inseparable part of Israel in all future negotiations with the Palestinians. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea are regions that are dear to my heart.”
Sometimes, it’s important to remember who is truly under occupation, who is persecuted and who is not and which side is more likely to abuse its own citizens (and others nearby).