You have to understand that Israel and Hamas are deeply in love

Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword! Oscar Wilde For thousands of years Jews and Arabs have competed for power in the Middle East. Obviously, this is a relationship of very long standing. And, obviously these two groups have much in common. The course of true love rarely runs smooth, so they say, and, so it is with Israel and Hamas. True Hamas has tortured and killed many Israelis, and for this, Israel is bombing and exterminating much of the population of Gaza. Of course, the Israelis have been oppressing and killing the population of Gaza since Israel was founded, in 1948, so, it's not as if Hamas started all this. Of course, the Arabs were attempting to drive the Jews trying to colonize Palestine out of the region once it became clear precisely what the Jews had in mind. What a relationship! Still, I don't think it would be accurate to say that the Jews really do want to kill all the Arabs, or that the Arabs really do want to kill all the Jews. I think it would be more accurate to say that each side is seeking to dominate the other on its own terms, and that these terms are by no means ever mutually acceptable. Rather like a typical marriage, don't you think? I remember a joke I read in a 1940 joke book once: "After they were married, he brought her to their first new home, and he said 'Honey, here's a little world all our own.' And, they've been fighting for the world's championship, ever since." The fact is, Israel and Hamas have a lot of respect for each other. Both sides recognize that the other is tough, creative and effective. They like to learn from each other, and compete with each other. But, from time to time, as the competition escalates and gets out of hand, they tend to be inclined to kill and destroy each other. Just like in any extremely close and intimate relationship. So, from time to time, it's necessary for the international community to say to Israel and Hamas -- "Hey, time out! Lighten up a bit, guys! Stop killing each other." And, that's exactly what's happening, right now. But, not to worry. These two lovers do actually know how to get along, very well indeed. They just have to be reminded of that, from time to time, like any true lovers do.