Sir, – Raymond Deane (Letters, December 2nd) says Hamas has dropped its aim of the eradication of the state of Israel. He goes on to say that they have replaced this with article 16 in its 2017 charter which asserts that “its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews”. To what does Mr Deane think the “Zionist project” refers? – Yours, etc
PAUL WILLIAMS,
Kilkee,
Co Clare.
Sir, – While there is much to debate in the complex geopolitics of the Middle East, the fact that Hamas is a genocidal death cult is not one them. Since taking power, Hamas has spent years radicalising a generation of Gazans, stealing billions of dollars in aid, oppressing the population, building up arms instead of helping its citizens, acting as a proxy for the West-hating state of Iran, persecuting members of the LGBTQ community, suppressing women’s rights, using Palestinian women and children as human shields to create more martyrs for their holy cause, and ultimately, causing the destruction of the Gaza Strip. It is hard to understand how a naive and polarised view of this conflict has led many, including much of the media and Government Ministers, to shy away from accepting Hamas for who they really are, an extremist, fundamentalist, terrorist organisation that has no interest in peace in the Middle East or the people of Gaza. – Is mise,
SEAN MOONEY,
Dublin 5.