[nicky g]

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I said "fairly widespread view", not majority view. I'm saying (and I do know that a majority of Palestinians purportedly would support a 2-state solution) that there is still enough of a large and influential minority, who simply will not ever support a 2-state solution.

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There is such a minority; how large it ischanges in repsonse to events. There is an at least equally large minority in the Israel side that will also never accept a two state solution. There will always be major dissenting minorities on both sides in such controversies; the trick is not to allow them to control the situation.

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Hamas has made it clear it will never back away from its goal of the utter destruction of Israel.


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Just saying such things doesn't make them true and most serious analysts of Hamas would disagree with you - see Hroub, or Meshaal and Sela (Isreli academics) for instance. In addition to the truce Hamas figures have suggested that if a majority of Palestinians supported a peace plan in a referendum they would have no choice but to acquiesce, even if they didn't agree. Finally, people can be as committed to the destuction of Israel for as long as they want but even with a million year truce no Palestinian group is ever going to be able to achieve it.