Thanks bobad and thanks Robert too.

I was only thinking last night of the fact that there is not always an unambiguous definition of a 'terrorist'.

The IRA, the ANC and Hamas flourished and bombed in the oxygenated atmosphere of inequality and/or repression.
Remove that oxygen and.......who knows...

Today some of these 'terrorists' have been redefined by history as 'freedom fighters' and have become respected statesmen others, who suffered 'judicial execution' (like James Connelly) or met an illegal execution (like Steve Biko) have become national heroes.

from a recent article in The Guardian

'Hamas condemns the Holocaust'

We are not engaged in a religious conflict with Jews; this is a political struggle to free ourselves from occupation and oppression

'One recent approach, which seems to be part of the wider attempt to isolate the elected Palestinian leadership, is to portray Hamas and the population of the Gaza strip as motivated by anti-Jewish sentiment, rather than a hostility to Zionist occupation and domination

The Palestinian people aspire to freedom, independence and peaceful coexistence with all their neighbours.

No less than 700,000 Palestinians have been detained at least once by the Israeli occupation authorities since 1967. Hundreds of thousands have so far been killed or wounded. Little concern seems to be caused by all of this or by the erection of an apartheid wall that swallows more than 20% of the West Bank land or the heavily armed colonies that devour Palestinian land in a blatant violation of international law.'

quoted from Bassem Naeem, the minister of health and information in the Hamas-led Palestinian administration in Gaza.

There is hope for a 'reconciliation' process.