Both Hamas and Israel are playing a high stakes power game and are sacrificing civilians. Hamas wants to be the negotiator with Israel like the PLO was in the 1990s and Israel wants to prevent that possibility through its ongoing ground invasion. Hamas is reminiscent of the Taliban, which had political roots and legitimacy of a limited kind, and the Americans may have to negotiate with Hamas
RICHARD PENDLEBURY: One million foreign tourists visit Bethlehem each year. But, on October 7, some five hours after Hamas launched its murderous rampage, the streets of the Old City had emptied.