Nice post, Frank Hamilton.

But from the Palestinian point-of-view I believe you are correct although isn't Hamas Muslim based?
Isn't it their interpretation of the Koran that acknowledges a "jihad"?

From what I've been able to learn about Hamas, it appears to be an organization that forms itself around the Islamic religion, but does so for political purposes. From what I've seen, the tighter the government of Israel squeezes the Palestinians, the more Palestinians, who would not under other circumstances ally themselves with Islamic extremists, become radicalized and look to Hamas to help them accomplish their goal, which is independence from Israel.

Hamas also provides the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories with help and services that they are desperately in need of with the conditions in the Occupied Territories being as deplorable as they are (and becoming worse all the time). So it's probably fair to say that Hamas would not recieve much support from most Palestinians if they weren't under occupation by the government of Israel.