The leader of the militant group Hamas — the Palestinian faction that took power in Gaza in a military coup last year and ever since has been raining missiles down on Israeli border towns — has offered Israel a deal: we won’t kill your civilians if you don’t kill ours.

Even if a promise from such a group could be trusted and even if Israel could somehow be coerced into agreeing to what amounts to nothing more than a mob “deal” not to burn down your store in exchange for “protection” money, the problem with this offer is glaring. Since Hamas routinely situates its military targets in the midst of civilian populations, the “deal” would amount to nothing less than a complete shield behind which Hamas could continue to do whatever it wanted with impunity.

When people ask how I can continue to support Israel in spite of legitimate complaints about its treatment of Palestinians, the detestable nature of Palestinian tactics provides my reason.