but the Israeli army targets and kills far more civilians than Hamas and related groups do (just look at how many civilians were killed during the Friday protests the past few years).
but "jihad" and "martyrdom" are the same things we talk about when we pump up our soldiers to fight in our wars. what's the difference between that and how we talk in the US about what an honor it is to lay one's life down for his country?
every country and every army in the world tells it's soldiers that sacrificing their lives for the sake of the war they are fighting is honorable and noble and that their families, friends, and nations are proud of them for doing so. how is that so much different than telling soldiers they will be rewarded in heaven for being martyrs? For those who are religious, if you sacrifice your life for the greater good (for the good side in a war between good and evil), isn't that a good deed? and don't good deeds get you into heaven?