Matt McCarten: Assassination latest act in nightmare without end

It's sad but not a surprise that we don't hear so much as a peep from our Government or the United States over the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Could you imagine the world outrage if Hamas stole the passports from other countries' citizens to use as cover for an execution squad?

Imagine the shrill condemnation if they tricked an Israeli military leader to travel to another country where he or she was ambushed and throttled to death.

Imagine a death squad of up to 26 assassins infiltrating a neutral country to carry out such an atrocity.

It seems we can't get over the myth we've created of the little plucky nation of Israel defending itself against the Islamic hordes intent on destroying them.

The fact is Israel has the fourth largest military machine in the world and is the only nuclear power in the region.

Israelis think it's acceptable to have their country, that was built on the theft of land and the homes of the original inhabitants and that imprisons the entire Palestinian people, and then arm themselves with nuclear missiles to intimidate any country that objects.

It is the sole superpower in the region backed up by the only world superpower. It's a different story for Iran, which has its two closest neighbours invaded and occupied by massive hostile armies.

It is surreal that our news of the killing of al-Mabhouh is focused on passport thefts rather than the cynicism of a rogue nation that feels a God-given right to assassinate its enemies as it sees fit.

The posturing from those nations, who had their citizens' identities used as aliases for terrorism, is pathetic.

The best they could come up with is calling in the Israeli ambassador for a telling off. Without doubt, these victims of passport theft will be on the international terrorist watch list whenever they travel.

When their governments are pushed about what actions will be taken against Israel for putting their citizens in danger, they retreat into gobbledygook. Israel is already gloating that these protests are just for show and will die down soon enough. That is until next time it decides to murder someone.

The international media seem more interested in the mechanics of murder. There's certainly no discussion about sanctions against Israel or calling for the murderers to be extradited to face justice.

It is almost accepted that it's okay for Israel to entrap and murder its enemies as some sort of pre-emptive strike.

I will assume al-Mabhouh was indeed a leader of Hamas prepared to import arms into Gaza. But this is a land where almost a million and a half citizens are walled off from the rest of the world by Israel and being bled into submission. Nothing goes in and nothing out.

The Palestinian people there are in desperate peril, yet the rest of the world ignores their plight. When these people try to fight back with home-made bombs they are invaded, their civilians massacred and their homes levelled.

Israel keeps the media away, then denies its atrocities and attacks anyone who tries to tell the truth.

So Palestinians see people like al-Mabhouh as freedom fighters fighting for them.

The twisted and ugly truth is Hamas was actually created and funded by Israel to undermine the secular, nationalist Fatah. Now it's backfired.

Fatah would do anything for a deal with Israel, but can't because of Hamas.

So everyone in Israel and Palestine is stuck in a revolving nightmare with no end.

Peace will only come when Israel admits it has visited a monstrous evil against the land's indigenous people and that a genuine settlement can only be reached if it gives up some of its stolen land, pays compensation for the rest and recognises an independent state of Palestine.

Instead it thinks it can continue to use brute force to impose its will on the weak and hunt down and murder those who dare to fight back.

This is a nation gone mad. It's worse than terrorism.