Here is a clever test to see if you can tell the difference between Fatah (the good guys) and Hamas (the bad guys) by their respective charters.
The PLO-Fatah charter can be read in full here.
The Hamas charter can be read here.
Now you can’t pretend you don’t know what they have to say.
I’m reading an engaging book by Michael Burleigh called Blood & Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism. The book got mediocre reviews, but it’s not as bad as its critics want you think. Above all, it’s a decent one-volume introduction to its subject, not the final word.
In one chapter, Burleigh narrates the assassination of Jordanian prime minister Wasfi Tal in 1971 by a Palestinian “Black September” terrorist. The prime minister was gunned down in front of his hotel in Cairo. In Burleigh’s account one of the murderers, Manzur Khalifa,
“knelt down to lap up blood from the pool spreading beneath Tal’s [the prime minister’s] body. His lower face smeared red, Khalifa shouted: ‘I am proud! Finally I have done it! We have taken our revenge in a traitor.”
This is, of course, a particularly gruesome episode, if only for the blood-drunkenness. Murder in cold blood no longer even has the power to shock us.
I leave you to sort out the difference between Fatah and Hamas for yourself.
Marc Di Martino 
Yes, it’s interesting that many people portray Fatah as being ‘moderate’. In fact, their position is no different to that of Hamas. Only recently, Fatah announced it would not in fact recognise Israel as a Jewish nation. It’s not much of a surprise though. The real difference between the two is that while Fatah shields its claws, Hamas openly states it desires the end of Israel. But Fatah, and indeed the Palestinian Authority also, teach young children the same as Hamas: namely, that it is a ‘religious duty’ to kill Jews. Note: Jews. Not Israelis. (not that the latter would be OK either!)
Want to read a brilliant article?
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2009/05/who-needs-palestinian-state.html
Check out that blog, I think you’ll like some of the articles on it 🙂
Also, for anyone out there interested in what the various Palesitnian groups really teach their children about Israel and Jews, Palestinian Media Watch is a superb site:
http://www.pmw.org.il/