The recent decision by the Malaysian government to contribute US$16 million to ease Palestinian suffering is a noble one, indeed. In fact, all Malaysians would be ashamed if our government does not honour this responsibility.

The right to resist occupation through all available means is undisputable. This principle, I believe, cannot be challenged by all reasonable arguments. Hamas' refusal to recognise Israel and disarm themselves has been erected firmly on this principle. The fact that Hamas limits its operation to only within the occupied territories and the besieged lands says that its operations are acts of pure resistance, not terrorism.

Occupation is the mother of evils as it breeds terror, violence, deprivation of human rights, assassinations and hatred. Israeli occupation on the Palestinian lands is the worst of all occupations because the occupier gets funds and protection from the US, the mightiest and richest country on this planet, while the victims are almost totally defenseless and ignored by those closest to them, the Arabs and the Muslim world in general.

Some may argue that detonating bombs around civilians, as carried out by Hamas members, were pure acts of terrorism and nothing else. This could be true only if the issue of occupation does not come into the conflict. In reality, Hamas and Fatah do not differ much from each other in their involvement with armed groups and bombing operations, but Fatah is embraced by the West while Hamas is labelled a terrorist group.

For me, occupation is a much bigger crime which justifies any act of resistance. To limit the act of resistance will only legitamise occupation, which victimises the victims further. The only way to establish peace is to unconditionally end the occupation.

The US secretary of state once said, 'If they (Hamas) want to be democrats, they must behave as other democrats in the world " . But how could she unrealistically expect 'democrats under occupation' to behave like other democracts while the 'occupying democrats' are free to behave as they like?

For the world community to label Hamas as a terrorist organisation and thus punish Palestinians for rightfully and democratically electing Hamas to power, defies all logic. Israeli forces kill more civilians than all the Palestinians armed resistance groups do.

Hamas has also abided by a truce for more than a year and decided to enter democratic politics because it believes that establishing political and social order among Palestinians takes a higher priority than resisting Israeli occupation. But, the Western powers, especially the US, has failed to reciprocate this goodwill.

Indeed, many fear that if the decision by the Islamists to enter democratic politics is thwarted by the West, the real beneficiaries will be al-Qaeda which has long told Hamas that entering democratic politics is a dead-end road for an Islamist movement. The US may yet prove it right.