Can you possibly entertain the idea that Hamas has ARISEN in response to 70 years of persecution of the Palestinian people, and if Israel had only been content to SHARE the area of Palestine with the Palestinians, or to insure that they had enjoyed the same rights as Jewish Israelis, there would be no need for Hamas? I have been listening to the Israelis saying for 40 years that the Palestinians have been the stumbling block in arriving at a two-state solution (b/c a one state solution where everyone enjoyed equal rights is anathema to Israel since they fear Palestinians would eventually become the majority and that would be a threat to Israel remaining a Jewish state). However, there seems to be increasing evidence that Israel never wanted a 2-state solution, and, perhaps through the help of the U.S., was so adept in laying the blame at the feet of the Palestinians. With 700,000+ settlers illegally occupying the West Bank, encouraged by the Israeli government, bolstered by the Israeli military, the evidence for what the Israeli government was about is clear.