First of all, I do not stand up for Hamas. But I do understand why they do what they do, and I don't agree with anyone's assertions that what Hamas does is any worse than what the government of Israel does. Nor do I accept the assertion that what Hamas does is unprovoked. I do disagree with their methods of waging their resistance, but their resistance is legitimate.

Secondly, they cannot help but store weapons near civilians. There is no part of Gaza that is not near civilians. Gaza is the most densely populated patch of land in the world. And I don't agree that the Palestinians should not have weapons with which to defend themselves.

Hamas is more concerned with ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem than they are with spreading hate toward Israel. They have said that if the Palestinians vote in a referendum for a two state solution using the pre-1967 borders (with some possibility of some land swaps), Hamas will not oppose it. The government of Israel needs to demonize Hamas because it is using them to prevent a negotiated peace settlement. The government of Israel has no intention of allowing the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem to remain there. They intend to either remove and/or kill them all, and then annex those areas without having to risk losing their Jewish majority.