The war in Palestine is particularly pernicious in how it crosses ideological lines.<p>I can't support the actions of Hamas at all, but Israel cannot frame itself as innocent in that, as I see it, politicians such as Benjamin Netanyahu and Arial Sharon have been playing a long game towards the elimination and marginalization of the population that was there before 1948 that can easily be compared to the Roman dispersal of the Jewish people that culminated in 73 AD or the "solution" that the Nazis had to an unwanted culture in Europe. The difference is that Israel can't do anything so drastic and decisive but instead will manage a series of crises that will gradually disperse, divide, and weaken the Palestinians.<p>Israel has within it one of the most modern and liberal societies in the world and it also has a terrible dark side. It's a problem that is very difficult to confront.