Opinion: Why must Palestinians condemn themselves for daring to fight back?

In a column for Middle East Eye, author Geo Maher and editor and writer Nicki Kattoura argue that Palestinians are "condemned to hell on earth" and must not expected to condemn Hamas. 

They write: "In the street, on campus, or in those rare moments when a Palestinian, or a supporter of Palestinian liberation, is interviewed by a mainstream media outlet, the question inevitably comes. On one level, we know why: by holding all Palestinians responsible for Hamas, Palestinian resistance as a whole can be discredited by proxy.

When Israeli military and political officials, literal agents of military violence against Palestinians, are paraded on CNN, they are not asked to condemn carpet bombing, collective punishment, or the targeting of civilians as a precondition to beginning a conversation.

The Palestinian interviewee faces a different reality, however. When they rightly shift focus to denounce a brutal, military occupation, they are quickly rebuffed, forced to recalibrate to the mandatory initial task: condemnation."

You can read the full column by clicking the link below. 

Opinion: Why must Palestinians condemn themselves for daring to fight back?