Letters | 10 May 2008

Israel and Palestine

Sir: Melanie Phillips (‘Happy 60th birthday, Israel’, 3 May) denies Israel one of its greatest successes over the last 60 years by deliberately ignoring its status as a regional military and economic superpower. The image of Israel as a David to an Arab Goliath is massively outdated. Arab states have long since given up any notion of trying to defeat a US-backed, nuclear-armed Israel, but have offered Israel a full withdrawal for full peace option.

Another blind spot is Phillips’s routine denial of Palestinian identity. This is as idiotic as denying an Israeli identity. Even Israel’s leaders have begrudgingly accepted this. In addition, she continually condones all Israeli actions, effectively justifying everlasting military occupation and colonisation and the collective punishment of an entire civilian population. This continues today with Israel still occupying both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, now little better than open-air prisons with Israeli soldiers as wardens. These wardens have little hesitation in using massive force. So far between January and March this year, the Israeli army has killed 40 children alone in Gaza, three times more than the entire Israel casualty count as a result of Qassam rockets since 2001. Neither is justified, but Israel’s actions are vastly disproportionate and counterproductive.

If Israel is around in 60 years’ time, it will not be by following the sort of warlike anti-Arab policies Phillips advocates but by coming to terms with its neighbours and recognising their legal rights. Peace requires mutual recognition and a final complete end of occupation. This is the only option if both peoples are to have any meaningful future.

Chris Doyle
Director, Council for Arab-British Understanding, London EC4




Sir: I expect you will be deluged with angry letters a result of Melanie Phillips’s excellent 60th birthday card for Israel.