Madam, – Israeli ambassador Dr Zion Evrony’s discusses how “impartial” historians will view the attack on the “Freedom Flotilla” by Israeli forces (Opinion, June 11th). A somewhat bemusing choice of words, given Israel’s refusal for an impartial investigation into the events, and its rejection of countless impartial reports, which have denounced the appalling living conditions of the Palestinian people within the occupied territories.
Historians will not, as Dr Evrony states, “wonder” at the persistence of claims of a humanitarian crisis in the region, rather, I believe, they will question how the nations of the west stood by and allowed such atrocities to happen to a people living on its doorstep.
Dr Evrony says that visual corroboration of “mountains” of eggs, fruit, poultry and fish can be provided for those historians seeking to clarify if the restrictions placed on the Palestinians were exaggerated.
Impartial first hand visual corroboration was available to our own Minister for Foreign Affairs when he visited the region a number of months ago. The Minister, Micheál Martin, stated, “What I witnessed in Gaza, amidst all the rubble and devastation, was a population traumatised and reduced to poverty by an unjust and completely counterproductive blockade.” The lady with the mountain of fish must have been on a day off when the Minister visited. – Yours, etc,