Letters: Roadblocks to Mideast peace

Re “Exiled leader of Hamas sets foot in Gaza Strip,” Dec. 8, and “The party’s over for some in Gaza,” Dec. 9

Hamas leader Khaled Meshall is quoted as saying: “This is just the beginning. Today is Gaza. Tomorrow will be Ramallah, Jerusalem and then Haifa and Jaffa.”

Meshaal’s sentiment that Hamas will someday destroy Israel is regrettable. Unfortunately, Israel will use his comment to justify its refusal to negotiate with Hamas.

The blind spot in Israeli perceptions is the country’s continued colonial expansion in the West Bank. From the Palestinian perspective, building Jewish-only colonies connected with Jewish-only roads is the flip side of the same coin: Hamas wants to destroy Israel, and Israeli expansion destroys the Palestinian state.

Hamas has no chance of destroying Israel. The same cannot be said about Israeli “facts on the ground” because of unchecked colonization of the West Bank. As the saying goes, peace is made with enemies, not friends. Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Israel need to sit together and talk.

Arch Miller

Arcadia

The Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip amaze me. Under the leadership of the Hamas terrorists, they have known nothing but misery, but they continue to support them. They celebrate their “victories” as a mosquito celebrates biting a human who could at any time swat it dead along with thousands of compatriots with the simple wave of a hand.

Until the Palestinians realize that their only chance for peace and prosperity is by making peace with Israel, they will continue to suffer.

Paul Goldman

Porter Ranch

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