Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight.
Well there was fear and loathing after my verbal shootout with PLO spokesperson Abdel Hassan Rahman.
That's the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.
I like Mr. Rahman. He spins but he's a nice guy in person. However, I can no longer listen to insane rationalizations of murder.
There is no question that extremists among the Palestinians do not want peace, they want to kill Jews. Babies, women, it doesn't matter.
And every time Mr. Rahman is confronted by that fact, he condones the slaughter by saying the Jews are bad too. Well, that argument is hooey. You cannot justify murder by pointing to injustice. If that were the standard of behavior in this world, we could all be killers because all of us have experienced injustice.
So last night I decided to call Mr. Rahman on it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE OF INTERVIEW)
Mr. Rahman, you would concede now that there are people inside the Palestinian state that want to destroy any peace process, would you not?
ABDEL HASAN RAHMAN, CHIEF PLO REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, there are Palestinians who are against peace, but there are also Israelis who are against peace.
O'REILLY: All right. Let's just answer the questions and stop deflecting to Israel, all right?
RAHMAN: Yes, I answer the question.
O'REILLY: All right. So you would...
RAHMAN: I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), why I can't...
O'REILLY: ... concede that there are certain...
RAHMAN: ... why I cannot...
O'REILLY: ... PLO people...
RAHMAN: ... say anything about Israel?
O'REILLY: Because it's stupid, that's why, Mr. Rahman, with all due respect.
RAHMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
O'REILLY: Every time I ask you a question about the PLO, you deflect it into Israel. I know Israelis do stuff wrong. But we want to talk about the PLO, homicide bombing that took place hours ago. So don't give me it's OK to blow up civilians because Israel did something five months ago. That's just wrong. And it continues to be your party line.
I hope I've made myself clear.
(END VIDEOTAPE OF INTERVIEW)
Now, The Factor has been very fair in reporting on the war in the Middle East. When Israel does something wrong, we report it. When the Palestinians commit murder, we are outspoken.
But Talking Points believes that Israel will make peace, if given the chance, while radical elements among the Palestinians will never stop killing.
That is the heart of this matter. Israel will compromise, Hamas and the other killers will not. To be fair, Ariel Sharon is not Ehud Barak. He is not a peacemaker and tends to be vindictive in his attitude towards the Palestinians. But again, Sharon can be reasoned with.
Hamas attacked Israeli civilians yesterday solely to make any peace process more difficult. Abdel Hasan Rahman knows that. But he will not condemn it.That is tragic and irresponsible and uncivilized. Condoning murder because of past and present injustice is anarchy! The killing will never stop until men like Mr. Rahman come to their senses.
I'm sorry I had to scold him. But I stand by my actions. And that's the memo.
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Time now for the "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"
The Radio Factor debuted today from coast to coast. A list of the more than 200 stations that are carrying it is posted on our web site. Some people didn't like it. The pace is fast. It's not a political program, per se. But most of the feedback has been good.
Craston Scott, Omaha, Nebraska says she was very pleased and Rush Limbaugh should look out. Well, Mr. Limbaugh has nothing to worry about. We're doing a different kind of thing here, which may or may not be ridiculous. We'll find out in the ratings period.
— You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox