Sir, – The dramatic photograph by Bashar Taleb that accompanied Paul Kearns’s insightful article was itself an important reflection on the international media and the Gaza catastrophe (“Israeli indifference to the carnage in Gaza is striking”, Opinion & Analysis, June 6th).
A distressed Palestinian man is seen carrying a badly bloodied child in his arms while surrounded by people taking photographs and videoing the scene on smart phones. One professional camera can be glimpsed in the background.
It is a macabre scene, but this is how the world has been able to witness the horror of Israel’s assault on Gaza in the almost total absence on the ground of the international media. Palestinian journalists and civilians have sent harrowing images of death and devastation from their phones to the outside world, as international media outlets are forced to report from Israel or adjacent states.
On June 5th, the Committee to Protect Journalists counted 108 journalists and media workers confirmed killed so far in this war. Of these, 103 are Palestinian. The steadfastness and bravery of those Palestinian journalists who continue to report from Gaza can only be admired. – Yours, etc,
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FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – There seems to be a consensus that when the present war in Gaza is over that a Palestinian state will be set in up Gaza and the West Bank. The two-state solution has been put forward for many years and is viewed by many, including the UN, as the resolution of the wars between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ray Murphy considers the issue of who is going to keep the peace after the conflict (“Can outsiders keep the peace in post-conflict Israel and Palestine?”, Opinion & Analysis, June 4th).
I wonder where exactly this state is going to exist and how it is going to be set up. There are many difficulties forming this new state.
For a start, most Israelis do not want a Palestinian state on their border and the attack on Israel (October 7th) did nothing to improve this situation. This attack was very traumatic for Israeli Jews and it will be a long time before they are likely to tolerate a Palestinian state of any kind on their borders.
The West Bank which forms the major part of the new state has over 700,000 Israeli colonists living there. Is it possible to remove some or all of these people without starting a civil war in Israel?
At the moment security and administration of the West Bank is divided between Israelis and Palestinians. In Area C, which covers 61 per cent of the West Bank, the security and civil administration is handled by the Israelis. The Palestinians control Area A, which is 18 per cent of the West Bank, and Area B, which is 21 per cent of the West Bank, is administered by Palestinians and security is the responsibility of Israel. This situation suggests to me that the Israeli state has “annexed” most of the West Bank and has no intention of ever relinquishing it.
Who is going to enforce the changes necessary to set up a Palestinian state? The only country that could confront Israel and insist on the removal of settlements is the US, which is unlikely to do so.
The Palestinians should have their own state but I do not see it happening any time soon. – Yours, etc,
NICK ARMSTRONG,
Dundrum,
Dublin 16.