Re: where is the government?

Maybe I was hasty. The sight of Palestinians being executed in the streets by other Palestinians is horrible to me, though it was perhaps inevitable given the total absence of any other law and order in Gaza. As a Western liberal milksop, you can't expect me to be in favour of the death penalty under any circumstances whatever. But I do have political disagreements with Hamas. If Fatah have not covered themselves in glory when it comes to democracy then neither have Hamas. But whereas Fatah are theoretically in favour of civil, democratic governance, and the rule of law, the same is not as clear with Hamas. I understand completely that Westerners' view of Hamas is likely to be skewed; that many Westerners might be surprised to find that many Hamas members see Erdogan's Turkey as a model, for example. Ultimately, however, I am in favour of resistance but not of terrorism. Armed resistance to Israeli violence is not terrorism, but self-defence, and the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have every right to arm themselves against Israel. The international community ought to defend them militarily as well against the Israelis, drive Israel's militias out of the West Bank and Gaza and establish Palestinian self-rule. But the targeting of civilians, or suicide bombings, in Israel cannot be represented as self-defence. A decent respect for the value of human life requires that those who do not immediately threaten violence or are not part of the military should not be attacked. A group that is cavalier about human life is not likely to have much respect for those who oppose its rule in the territory over which it governs, and is not a promising group to lead the way to a more civil and democratic rule. This was (and, I presume, still is) the position of Marwan Barghouti, and he is, after all, by far the most popular and potentially unifying figure in the whole of Palestine. Polls show that he would win a presidential election across all Palestine, both the West Bank and Gaza, hands down. That is why the Israelis won't release him. I know what you are likely to say in response: the Israelis don't spare civilians, so why should Hamas? All I can say is that if you take your opponents' morals as your standard, you become their mirror image. The crimes of the Israelis no more justify the targeting of civilians than the October 7 attack justifies Israel's subsequent genocide. That way madness lies, for all of us. But perhaps I should concentrate on what we are likely to agree on. What I would most like to see is for the Palestinian people to live under a sovereign, independent and democratic Palestinian state. The path to this must involve all Palestinian parties in a political process of state building. This is not beyond the bounds of possibility, but, unfortunately, the Trump plan doesn't bring it any closer. And without a Palestinian state, there is no possibility of an end to this conflict.