Sir, – Michael McDowell (Opinion, November 1st) asserts that the UK and like-minded governments are “writing Netanyahu a virtual blank cheque in his dealings with Hamas”. This is neither true nor fair.
Israel has suffered the worst terror attack in its history, and Palestinian civilians in Gaza are experiencing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. The UK is calling for a humanitarian pause to facilitate delivery of critical humanitarian aid and is working intensively to get that aid into Gaza; to support the safe return of hostages; to prevent a dangerous regional escalation; and to support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defence, in line with international humanitarian law.
We have pressed Israel to ensure its campaign is targeted against Hamas leaders and military infrastructure; to allow aid to enter Gaza; to end settler violence; and to work with the UN to improve the humanitarian situation. The UK has repeatedly called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and we are clear that it is incumbent on all parties to ensure that their actions are proportionate, necessary and minimise harm to civilians.
But we are also clear that Hamas can have no future in Gaza after their appalling terrorist attacks. They must release all hostages, stop endangering the lives of Palestinians and surrender. Hamas could stop the war today and end the suffering of the Palestinians if they wanted to.
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The legitimate aspirations of innocent Palestinians, to security, prosperity and statehood, will never prosper when their fate is in the hands of murderous thugs committed to the destruction of a UN member state and its people.
There must be two willing partners for peace, and there must ultimately be a political solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The UK will continue to work with all our partners, including Ireland, to ensure this vision finally becomes a reality. – Yours, etc,
PAUL JOHNSTON,
UK Ambassador to Ireland,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Yeats had words for Robert Gregory, airman for Britain in the first War, while Britain’s Black and Tans murdered his father’s tenants and a pregnant young mother Eileen Quinn, nearby here. And for us today:
“Where may new-married women sit
And suckle children now? Armed men
May murder them in passing by
Nor law nor parliament take heed.
Then close your ears with dust and lie
Among the other cheated dead.”
What a fruitless tragic life for Israel’s and Hamas’s young recruits. Time now for the ‘international community’, led by the US, to insist on a ceasefire. – Yours, etc,
LELIA DOOLAN,
Kilcolgan, Co Galway.
Sir, – While the international community is complicit in the destruction of Gaza by not persuading Israel to desist and instead devise political solutions, people’s pleas for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities still have some public impact in a situation where the number of casualties, especially children, is infernal.
Since Ireland joined the UN in 1955, the Irish identity has been expressed through a tactful preference for decolonisation and disarmament. Ireland’s peacekeeping missions for the UN have earned international respect. After insisting on support for the Ukraine war to the approval of interested power blocs including the US and the EU, Irish politicians have broken with this puppet pattern for Palestine, and have found their voice of indignation about the horrific scenes unfolding there in flagrant breach of international law. Groups congregating in visible solidarity have been tolerated.
This shift to moral human values as traditionally upheld has relieved the hearts of many citizens and will not be forgotten.
Following this epiphany, it is timely to embrace and extend Irish neutrality according to Article 29 of Bunreacht na hÉireann regarding working for “the pacific settlement of international disputes”. In contrast to parties with conflicts of interests misusing the word “security”, Ireland’s independent viewpoint, if preserved, could continue to work for true peace and reconciliation, without which the world is lost. – Yours, etc,
CAROLINE HURLEY,
Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary.
Sir, – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stood at the demilitarised zone separating both Koreas. Correctly, he referenced the almost 70-year Cold War over that area.
Two other regions also suffer from lines drawn by others. Ourselves and the residents of Gaza. Palestinians never needed a voice more than today.
I note the Taoiseach standing beside the US flag and the UN flag. He could use his power to ask the US to let the UN do what it was set up to do – bring peace between warring factions, but the US won’t permit that.
Having visited Ukraine to express abhorrence at Russia’s attacks on a nation state, Mr Varadker should now visit Gaza. History would be kind to him. Not sure what visiting South Korea, a pawn on America’s chessboard, says about Ireland’s current priorities. – Yours, etc,
JOHN CUFFE,
Dunboyne, Co Meath.