Part 2/12:
The recognition of Palestine as a nation is portrayed by opponents as a symbolic act that significantly fails to correspond with the realities on the ground. Instead of advancing peace or stability, such recognition arguably rewards the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas for its violent and murderous actions. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has demonstrated time and again that its objectives do not include a two-state solution or peaceful coexistence. Rather, its declared mission is the complete destruction of Israel and the subjugation or elimination of Jews, Christians, and other non-Islamist groups.