[vasilipupkin]

well, it's not as banal of a point as you think because plenty of players treat Hamas as a legitimate organization, including Turkey and others. Palestinian politicians from the West Bank are on record, for example, that future governments should and will include Hamas. Once you agree it's very bad, there are further implications that follow from this assessment and then we arrive at where we are now.

[tptacek]

Anybody who treats Hamas as a legitimate organization has disqualified themselves from the public debate. That is a values statement I am unafraid to make.