Dear SR:

"...you have to remember Hamas' rockets were retaliations for the brutal shootings of scores and the kidnappings of hundreds of Hamas members in the West Bank..."

I'm sorry, but you have to be reminded that the arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank were a direct result of the campaign of terror launched by Hamas shortly after the Oslo accords were signed. Deeply worried that peaceful relations might actually break out between Israel and the Palestinians, making them (Hamas) and their philosophy of hatred largely irrelevant, they were determined to demolish the agreements reached using any means necessary.

Dear Avw,

I'm not sure going back through the history books will get us very far since the innumerable 'begats' would have us back to Zionist terror squads ethnically cleansing Arab villages.

Perhaps in the interest of brevity we can keep our focus on the current conflict. We all know that prior to the brutal slayings of a number of Palestinian teenagers this year then the horrific kidnapping and killing of the three Israeli teenagers the rocket fire from Gaza by Hamas was zero. Not only that they had managed, with only the very rare exception, to keep the other militias in Gaza under tight control. Israel used the kidnappings of the 3 teenagers as an excuse to come down brutally on Hamas in the West Bank in order to knobble the moves toward a unity government.

So this from you;

“Deeply worried that peaceful relations might actually break out between Israel and the Palestinians, making them (Hamas) and their philosophy of hatred largely irrelevant, they were determined to demolish the agreements reached using any means necessary.”

Could just as well be written;

'Deeply worried that peaceful relations might actually break out between Fatah and the Hamas, exposing them (Likud) and their philosophy of hatred, they were determined to demolish the agreements reached using any means necessary.'

Dear SR:

I agree with you, going back to the early 20th century when armed Arab gangs were massacring Jewish civilians, well before the formation of the IZL and LHI that I assume you are referring to, will not get us very far. This is why I made no reference to that period in my previous post. Let’s concentrate on more recent history.

Sorry, we do not actually know that “rocket fire from Gaza by Hamas was zero” at any time this year. In fact we actually do know that well over 150 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel from Gaza between January and June. It’s a little more than zero, and at an average of about 1 rocket every day it’s a lot more than “[a] very rare exception”. They obviously did not manage, or even attempt, to keep militants under any kind of control. We also know that Hamas have been trying for the past 2 decades to scuttle any agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, with a large degree of success. Don’t take my word for it, listen to what Hamas are saying about the Oslo accords. Read about their policies and their plans to eradicate Israel.

We could, of course, re-write my paragraph as you suggest, but that does not change the fact that Hamas exist with the sole purpose of destroying any chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Furthermore, Israel took action in June against Hamas militants in an attempt to locate the kidnapped teenagers. Are you suggesting that they should not have tried to locate them? Are you suggesting perhaps that Israel was actually behind the kidnapping using an elaborate twisted plot to act against Hamas?

"Why Israel's impunity goes unpunished by international authorities".

Just to be pedantic, how does one punish 'impunity'?