As a Palestinian I first want to thank you Mr. Christopher Hitchens for all the efforts you've put over the years on behalf of the Palestinians.

I thank you so very much, sir. A hug, and if you don't mind, a kiss on the cheek.

Having said that, methinks you're way too concerned about Hamas' religious bent.

They did, after all, pitch over 20 female candidates and 6 Palestinian Christian candidates during the biggest and freest elections in the history of the Arab world back in January of 2006.

To compare this movement to Catholic Spain and Nazi Germany is dead wrong. Of course these two European movements hated Jews but that's because they hated everyone!

To say that they were purely Judaeophobics is only partly right. These folks would have done, and in fact did do, the same they did to the Jews to anyone else who were not a Catholic or a Nazi.

Would Buddhists have fared better under those two regimes? Of course not, of course not.

Another huge difference is that Catholic Spain and Nazi Germany did not live under Jewish occupation but rather went out of their way to persecute a people who had done absolutely nothing to them.

Each and everyone of the members of Hamas was born and raised their entire lives under the ruthless Israeli military occupation.

Mr. Hitchens, et al, 41 freaking years of occupation has got to count for something.

For crying out loud it simply has got to count for something and it cannot and should not be dismissed as an anomaly.

Please have some respect. I beg of you.

As a fellow atheist myself (card carrying member of American Atheist, Inc. since 1982) I perfectly understand your frustrations for anything religious but please understand the traumatic effect this occupation has had in every Palestinian mind including mine.

I, too, fantazise about being able to wipe out Israel but that's because it's a feeling born out of anger at this needlessly ongoing conflict.

There was never a need for two states in the area, and if they insist why didn't the Zionists back when formally ask the Arabs for a Jewish state? Give it a try, damn it, talk to the freaking Arabs and see if they agree with the idea instead of working around them with the help of colonial powers to usurp their land!

There was never a need for 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1982.

And certainly not 41 fucking years of occupation and transfering half a million Jews on our land , intifadah or not intifadah, terrorism or no terrorism, peace agreements or no peace agreements.

Are even secular Jews happy to be living there under the rules of Fundamentalist Jews? They can't be much happier than secular Iranians in Iran, can they?

The beauty of Hamas is that despite everything they've suffered along with their families and their compatriots they are an inclusive and practical movement.

The beauty of Hamas is that even if they never existed at all the Palestinian resistance would have continued all the same and in the exact same way, you freaking like it or you freaking don't.

I could never recouncil the ideals of liberty, self determiniation, ethical and moral principles we fought for in WWII, after war forced on us, with our/Truman's instant support for the fledgling israelis, who were in violation of all those principles and ethics.....

Israel deserve much criticism to be sure, and there have certainly been legitimate resistance movements within the Palestinian community. But if you preach that god gave you the land and authorizes you to kill and expell all non-Mulsims you're not much better than tha fanatical settlers on the West Bank. And if you endorse the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, you're a bigot, a conspiracy theorist, and are guilty of incitement to murder. Palestinians would do themselves a favor if they renounced anti-Semitism unequivically rather than making alliances with it.

Again, I am an atheist and as such I don't believe gods give things away.

Again, I'm on Hamas side because they've shown to be pragmatic and inclusive. And again, everything they've said and done in anger I would have done, too, just to piss off the other side in the same way they piss us off every freaking hour of every freaking day of every freaking year after year after year.

The Protocols is bullshit but not as much bullshit as the 41 year military occupation of our lands.

I mean, talking about "conspiracy theory"! It's the Israelis who have come up with the most fucked up conspiracy theory arguing day in and day out that if we Palestinians are allowed to have the same rights everyone else in the world are born with that will be the beginning of the end of Israel!

So we have to live forever under occupation or do what that piece of shit Ehud Barak wanted to do: To keep permanent control of all our borders, our airspace, and our shores.

I've never read the Protocols but it can't be worse than what the Israelis think of us.

The Palestinian-Israeli issue is not about Arafat or if he wanted to recognize Israel or not, it's not about Abbas being "irrelevant" as that whore Livni called him once, it's not about Hamas folks reading the Protocols, it's not about me and my desire to crush the balls of every Israeli soldier and rightwing politician, but rather it's about the implementation of international law which puts the onus on the occupying power to do so.

Everything else is bullshit.

The Spaniards got tire of the jews mainly because they never integrate not with the muslims nor the spaniards and acquired a great amount of wealth. It was a power and economical move. I guess, they steel do that, that's what they steel have problems, when you live in a society, you integrate or...

Well the Mexicans here in CA don't agree with you. In a few more years they will have taken over society without the need to intergrate.

While I'm not a fan of many of Hamas' methods, I certainly appreciate hearing the other POV, given how the American media and far Right constantly bombard us with Zionist propaganda.

As you suggest, Hamas isn't the problem, Israel's occupation of Palestinian land is the problem. Always has been.

...to his Sec'y of State, George Marshall. A fine military leader and the innovative author of the Marshall Plan, he opposed recognition of Israel but was overruled by Truman.

Given that the Palestinians were LIVING on the land I'd say they had a bit more claim to it, even if there was no involvement by Yahweh or Allah...

I am just an average American, but I do feel your pain. What would be your solution to this never-ending religious/political/economic war that envelops the whole world. We need a resolution, not more vitriol. Personally I believe that the US should step in and demand of the Isreali Govt that they remove all settlements from the West Bank and provide adequate economic aid to sustain a Palestinian State and declare their full support for a viable Palestinian State or, we, the US, will stop all weapon sales to Isreal and withdraw our support, and to the Palestinians I would say that if Isreal does this we would demand that they stop all other attacks upon the State of Isreal or we will wipe them off the face of the earth. This may seem simplistic, but it is even handed. What do you think?