If the whole encounter were to be summarised: Ali Abunimah and Ian Black are shouting to Greg Roman, "It is the brutal military OCCUPATION, you stupid man!"; while he has his fingers stuck into his ears spouting the hasbara mantra.

This program offers a textbook example of how not to organise and conduct a rational discussion. The inclusion of Greg Roman may have looked like a sure-fire way to generate heat (and ratings) but it also guaranteed that little of value could be articulated. A discourse interrupted constantly by the need to refute bare-faced lies- and thanks for trying to correct the record and restore perspective, Ali- cannot proceed to any sort of productive conclusion. Roman's tactics are predictably destructive. His statements represent the rhetorical equivalent of spraying the studio with skunk water. Al Jazeera should rethink its policy, which seems to revolve around staging an encounter based on sheer antagonism. The presence of Ian Black is almost a cliche in itself- an "objective" mainstream journalist positioned in the middle between the main opponents, included as an afterthought and unable for the most part to be heard. The fact that he largely agreed with Ali Abunimah did little to dispel the effect of Roman's hasbara, which was to limit the discussion to an exercise in dispelling his lies.

The situation in Jerusalem is reaching a very critical and dangerous phase for Palestinians, and the program's producers did a disservice to the cause of constructive reporting by inviting a toxic figure like Roman to participate in this segment.

Congrats for keeping your calm in front of constant lies and denial of the facts.