SIR – Once again, Bob Storey (Plan to deny Palestinians a viable state, December 28th) is lacking in rationale and context. For Storey, everything is Israel’s fault. The Palestinians in Gaza are not to blame for anything.
The fact that their charter calls for the destruction of the tiny Jewish state is irrelevant. The fact that Israel completely withdrew all its military and settlements from Gaza (in 2005) is immaterial.
The fact that when Israel withdrew, it left the Palestinians a viable horticultural industry (which they promptly trashed) is not mentioned. The fact that they continually fire rockets aimed at Israel’s population centres is ignored
The Palestinians do not need nor deserve our (or Storey’s) sympathies. The simple reality is that they could long have had independence, peace and prosperity. All they had to do was to renounce their traditional belligerence and violence against Israel.
But sadly, it seems that even that is too much for them. They crave the world’s support whilst, at the same time, reserving for themselves the right to aggression. That is entirely unacceptable.
Joshua Rowe
Manchester.
