By Andrew L. Jaffee

Hamas has taken the meaning of sophistry to a new level. It claims that an attack by a crazed Palestinian homicide bomber on a falafel restaurant on the Passover holiday was an “act of self-defence.” Nine innocent civilians were killed and 50 injured. According to the BBC:

Sami Abu Zuhri, the official spokesman for Hamas, said the attack was “a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes” against Palestinians.

“Our people are in a state of self-defence and they have every right to use all means to defend themselves,” he added.

Speaking of sophistry, here’s the BBC’s “analysis:”

The group [Hamas] does nothing to stop other militant groups from attacking Israel, but the tone of the official government statement was, by Hamas standards, quite muted, says the BBC’s Alan Johnston in Gaza.

Just a minor footnote that Hamas “does nothing” about other terrorist groups, eh? DOH! Hamas is a terrorist group, albeit democratically elected — and what does that tell us about Palestinian society? At least the U.S., Canada, and the EU have cut off funding to Hamas…