OK, just finished watching the Frontline special on Hamas. While I can't claim anti-Israel bias because there was no intention to get the Israeli point of view, I do think the reporting was incredibly shoddy and failed to provide any historical perspective at all. If one didn't know anything about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict you would have learned the following:

Hamas were the original Palestinian terrorists but a year or so ago they declared a cease fire and no longer attack Israel. They are the party of peace - all they ask is for the Israelis to pull back to the 1967 borders.

Hamas can't be held responsible for any of it's actions. Fighting would end tomorrow if it didn't have to fend off agressors like Fatah, Islamic Jihad and the Israelis. Palestinian economic problems would end tomorrow if it weren't for the Israelis and Americans.

Qassam rockets are inaccurate and therefore cause no real threat to anyone in Israel.

I think the most uncomfortable thing to watch was when a friendly looking Hamas supporter led the reporter (Kate Seelye) through the streets of Gaza where Fatah political slogans were written on all the walls. The Hamas supporter laughed at the "Elect Fatah" slogans commenting that there is no reason given to actually vote for them. All Seelye could do was laugh along with him like a little girl with some kind of commentary along the line of "Youre right, how silly of them!"

I don't want to give the impression that Hamas was portrayed as liberal democrats that just want everyone to get along, but I'm sure the piece is not what many expected, myself included.

UPDATE: I just delved into the more detailed Frontline website on their Hamas report. There seems to be some better reporting from others and it's worth taking a look at the site in it's entirety. However, someone's going to have to explain to me how this obviously contradictory reporting came to be placed in pieces that are adjacent to each other on the "Dispatches from Gaza" page.

Idiotarian Kate Seelye: "Realizing I wasn’t entirely prepared, I did a quick Google search on Qassam rockets. Named after the Hamas militia, the homemade projectiles are among the Palestinian militants’ favorite weapon. With a range of about 12 miles, Qassams frequently were launched at Israeli settlements and into Israel proper during the second intifada...Hundreds of Qassam rockets have rained down on Israel over the last few years, and although they succeeded in sowing terror, they have done relatively little damage. Qassams lack a missile guidance system and are famously inaccurate."

Reporter Marcela Gaviria: "Every so often, a Qassam makes its way across the security perimeter, killing or wounding Israeli civilians. According to B’Tselm, an Israeli human rights organization, since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in September 2005, 34 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets."