Should Israel negotiate with Hamas?

Introduction

Over the past year the conflict in Israel between the Arab nationals who claim autonomy over an area known as the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government and its military has become a major international concern.  The Israeli government has been under severe scrutiny for not only its conduct, but its refusal to negotiate with the forces currently in control of the area.  This conflict stretches back many decades, and is part of the larger conflict between the Jewish people and the Arab world, a conflict which is itself nearly 4 thousand years old.

I will be looking specifically at whether the Israeli government is justified in its refusal to negotiate with Hamas.  To his end I will be making 3 arguments as follows:

1.  Hamas is a terrorist organisation

2.  Hamas demands the destruction of Israel and the kulling of the Jewish people

3.  Following from argument 2, and Hamas's actions towards this end, Israel is under real threat

With these three arguments I will demonstrate that not only is Israel justified in not negotiating with Hamas, but that Israel can not, and should not negotiate with Hamas.

The need for a secular government

Intoduction

All over the western world we have largely secular governments.  In the middle east we have theocratic governments, and in China and several other far eastern nations we have antitheistic governments.  But all over the world we have various arguments on whether we should have secular or theocratic governments.  I will be tackling this matter head on, stating my standpoint, explaining my thoughts on the matter and giving reasons for why I say what I say.

My Study Methodology

Introduction

Here in Potchefstroom it is now officially research time.  Yes, the exams are but 17 days away and it is the time that most students are hitting the textbooks, catching up on their reading and studying their butts off for the coming papers (I hope).  I thought this would be a brilliant time to waste a few minutes typing, and to explain to the one or two people who might read this in the future, how exactly it is that I study.