Sir, – While the senseless deaths of four young Palestinian children playing football on a beach in Gaza should give the government of Israel and the leaders of Hamas sufficient reason to reflect on the tragic consequences of their actions and agree to an immediate ceasefire with a halt to the wanton violence on both sides, Palestinian ambassador Ahmad Abdelrazek could have provided answers to many of the questions raised in his letter (July 17th).
For example, in response to Israeli ambassador Boaz Modai's observation (July 16th) that "the difference between Israel and Hamas boils down to this: we are using bomb shelters and the Iron Dome system to protect the residents of Israel", Mr Abdelrazek's describes how "The people of Gaza (1.7 million) have no bomb shelters, no Iron Dome, and indeed no air raid alarms". However, he neglects to mention how instead of these they have a large number of tunnels which have been used to smuggle arms and rockets into Gaza. If Hamas really wanted to protect the citizens of Gaza from Israel's efforts to stem the barrage of rockets fired at them across the border, then surely a far better use of their international financial aid would have been to build underground bomb shelters rather than tunnels?
Without the tunnels, the supply route for bringing rockets into Gaza would have been cut off and Hamas would have been unable to attack Israel in the first place. Consequently Israel would have had no need to defend its citizens, the Palestinians would have had no call for shelters, and the international aid could have been used to help improve Gaza’s infrastructure as western donor countries intended.
Mahmoud Abbas has often repeated that his government will abide by all previous agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In 1995, when Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, and Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO, signed the Oslo II accord, one of the key commitments in relation to Gaza was that it should be free from rockets. Had this been adhered to, then today Hamas would not have had any rockets to fire at Israel. But, over the intervening years, this pledge was not honoured and the world’s leaders chose to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of weapons and allow Hamas to rearm. This makes one of the latest suggestions coming from Hamas – a 10-year truce – simply laughable.
If the IDF commanders believe Hamas can be defeated by military action, then they, too, are mistaken. As in Northern Ireland, the only viable solution to this problem will be through diplomacy. This will require strong leadership from both governments, along with support and encouragement from countries across the world. Finally, international media outlets – including The Irish Times – need to play a more active role in the quest for peace in the Middle East by reporting on the conflict in a far more objective and balanced manner than has been their custom and practice in the past. – Yours, etc,
DAVID M ABRAHAMSON,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The Irish Times should be ashamed of itself for publishing the letter by Israeli ambassador Boaz Modai. Your newspaper needs to recognise that what is happening in Gaza is not some sort of academic debate where opinions are offered in good faith, but a deeply moral challenge that requires all people of conscience to stand with the oppressed against the oppressor. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD IRVINE,
Leicester Court,
Carrickfergus, Co Antrim.
Sir, – Once again the international community has decided to stand idly by as Israel rains down death and destruction on the Palestinians. Even when the major western powers call for a ceasefire, they do so in terms that put most of the blame on the Palestinians. The greater the level of Israeli terror, the more the Palestinians are told to end their resistance.
Israel has continually shown itself to be opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state and it doesn’t believe in extending to Palestinians the same rights it claims for Israelis. Unless Israel is genuinely prepared to negotiate a just and lasting solution with whatever representatives the Palestinian people elect, the cycle of violence will continue. Let us hope that Israel soon produces leaders who genuinely seek peace. – Yours, etc,
JIMMY CORCORAN,
Bakers Road,
Gurranabraher, Cork.