And it is exactly that attitude -- the "we must wipe Israel off the map" -- that makes it seem like there is little hope of any negotiated solution or meaningful dialogue that can happen with a group like Hamas. I understand that they were the democratically elected government in Gaza, and that (for whatever reason) the people there felt they were better represented by them than by Fatah. But when Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, when they consider it a religious duty to wipe all the Jews off the map and return every cm of soil in the region to Islamic control, then it's kind of hard to have an intelligent conversation or reach any kind of compromise.