so, let me see if I understand you correctly:

you're saying that because of US failed attempt to skewer elections, Hamas won the elections and became stronger in Gaza.

OK. What I'm saying is that their consequent coup in Gaza that drove out Fatah is illegal, and makes it questionable whether they are still "democratically elected."

BTW, I don't dispute that originally they formed a democratically elected government. But the legitimacy of this government -- or Abbas's government, for that matter, is now questionable.

Hamas does not represent Palestinian people and does not even represent Gaza people.

@omoex:

yes, I incorrectly said PLO when I should have said Palestinian Authority. My apologies. I think you knew what I meant and what parliamentary elections I was talking about.

It is a fact that Hamas declined to formally extend the six-month ceasefire that recently expired. Their leader in Syria, Meshaal gave the order, even though their leaders in Gaza seemed to be more inclined to think about it. Egypt tried desperately to broker the new ceasefire deal and failed. You can argue about whether the actual ceasefire was in effect, what kind, who violated it, whatever. Fact of the matter is, Hamas ordered a barrage of rockets towards the end of ceasefire and declined further negotiations. And now Meshaal in Syria is finally calling for ceasefire. A little late.

I'm tired of reading this tripe that because Israel never opened fully its borders with Gaza, then this constitute violation of cease-fire or even an "act of war". Israel never agreed to fully open borders with Hamas until Hamas returns Shalit, the soldier they kidnapped 3 years ago. Israel only agreed to allow limited supply of humanitarian goods as part of the last, expired case-fire. Even that agreement was controversial in Israel, because many felt it means giving up on Shalit. To claim now that somehow the only issue is the rockets and Hamas was fulfilling its obligations while Israel was not is simply ignorant or dishonest.

You seem to forget that Egypt also borders Gaza. Are they also occupiers in your view? Why don't they establish relationship with Hamas and trade with them? It's a rhetorical question, I know. And it's not only because of Israel and US pressure -- they want nothing to do with Hamas, because they have their own terror groups to worry about.

But the real answer is that Egypt is afraid of becoming responsible for Gaza. Israel would like nothing better than for Egypt to absorb Gaza into its territory or to become responsible for its population. Instead you want to keep Israel responsible for Gaza, even though it is currently ruled by Hamas, which proclaims as its goal Israel's destruction, which has kidnapped Israel's soldier, and which continues to bombard Israel with rockets of increasingly greater range.

First of all, you don't really know if Israel allows in "bare minimum" or possibly more. Recently, they let in a lot more supplies, and could let in more, but from what I read there were not enough donors.

Second, Israel is perfectly justified to keep pressure on Hamas until they return Shalit. It is their only leverage. Yes, the Gaza people are suffering, but apparently their suffering is not enough for them to demand that Hamas return Shalit in return for ending the blockade.

Third, I don't think Hamas can be described as "democratically elected" since the time they kicked out Fatah and installed their own militia to control Gaza. When you perform a coup, you are no longer "democratically elected" to anything.

You know, after you throw around words like genocide, Germans' WWII, and 'racist Jews', I'm not sure if I even want to talk to you. You don't sound like a rational person. Is that what you want?

And what is this

It is common knowledge among anyone who has even the most rudimentary knowledge of the situation that Israel is perpetrating genocide on Palestine

?

I have plenty of knowledge. What is your source? Do you live in Gaza? Do you have relatives in Gaza? If you talk so smugly, maybe you would be good to reveal your sources?

From what I know, Israel supplies 70% of electricity in Gaza, so at least they have that. I also knows that Hamas has performed several stunts to convince the world of Palestinian sufferings. It is also a known fact that Hamas has stolen fuel meant for Palestinian power stations. Who knows what else they have stolen? Or how much they managed to smuggle through tunnels from Egypt?