Tell Mr Shaw exactly what any, blinkered or otherwise, Israeli Administration has "to negotiate with the newly-united Palestinian factions? Recognition of the State of Israel's right to exist perhaps? Recognition of the right of the citizens of the State of Israel to life their lives in peace free from threat of attack?

Perhaps Mr. Shaw you could give us the Hamas view point on those issues.

1: "Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors."

2: "Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take. The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said:

The time(16) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry:

0 Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will not apply to the Gharqad(17), which is a Jewish tree (cited by Bukhari and Muslim)(18). - excerpt from Article 7 of Hamas Charter 1988

3: "The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries, and no Arab King or President nor all of them in the aggregate, have that right, nor has that right any organization or the aggregate of all organizations, be they Palestinian or Arab, because Palestine is an Islamic Waqf throughout all generations and to the Day or Resurrection. Who can presume to speak for all Islamic generations to the Day of Resurrection? This is the status [of the land] in Islamic Shari'a(20), and it is similar to all lands conquered by Islam by force, and made thereby Waqf lands upon their conquest, for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection." - excerpt from Article 11 of Hamas Charter 1988

Comment: As it would appear to be perfectly acceptable in the minds of Hamas for Islam to take land by force, then they can hardly deny the same right to others - True?? - They could of course just be proven hypocrites.

4: "[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement [Referring to HAMAS here Steve]. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad: "Allah is the all-powerful, but most people are not aware."

5: "There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. The initiatives, proposals and International Conferences are but a waste of time(27), an exercise in futility."

So tell me Steve what are they going to negotiate?