To the Editor:

Mahmoud al-Zahar's rhetorical devices cannot obscure the simple facts: Hamas is not committed to peace but actively seeks Israel's destruction and, rather than being freedom fighters, his organization engages in the wanton murder of civilians in order to achieve its hateful goal. ("No Peace Without Hamas," April 17).

Al-Zahar knows better than most what it would take for Hamas to become acceptable —accept Israel's right to exist and renounce the use of terror.  Hamas does not commit to these basic elements because its raison d'etre is opposed to living in peace with the Jewish State.

Hamas' ideology and behavior make a mockery of al-Zahar's efforts to compare his terrorists to Warsaw ghetto fighters and he knows full well that the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is a direct result of Hamas' extremism and violence toward Israel.

If there is any virtue to publishing an article by a terrorist it is to unmask him before the reading public.