More on Gaza and Palestine

Abbas' new emergency government may have legitimacy in the eyes of outside powers, but what about with the people? Abbas needs to balance foreign support with not looking like a puppet of the west, which would only empower Hamas further.

On a different note, for all its malevolence (e.g. using terrorism, dismantling Gaza), Hamas can sometimes look OK, especially in the case of treating journalists fairly. The last thing a political organization wants is to look bad to the world.

Hamas has issued an ultimatum for the Palestinian group holding BBC reporter Alan Johnston or else it has said it will use force to free the reporter, who has been held for quite some while. Governments reacted with alarm, stating how this situation is a delicate one. At least Hamas isn't encouraging the killing of the journalist, right?