Reaching a peace agreement would be an impossible task even if Binyamin Netanyahu were to be replaced by a dovish politician, more amenable to the notion of peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis (Netanyahu claims Israel election victory, 18 March). The belligerent parties do not agree on any of the thorny issues, from Jerusalem to refugees, borders and settlements. Nearly all Israeli prime ministers except Yitzhak Rabin have been territorial maximalists, who never recognised the Palestinian claim to statehood and who have been aggressively engaged in building more Jewish settlements on the ruins of Arab homes, making the Palestinian dream of a sovereign and contiguous state more distant than ever. Hamas on the other side remains one of a multitude of rejectionist organisations. The arduous work needed to overcome obstacles should not be underestimated. However, we need courageous leaders like Rabin, King Hussein, Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, ready to make painful concessions for the sake of a just and durable peace. In the words of Rabin, “to begin a new reckoning in the relations between people, between parents tired of war, between children who will not know war”.
Dr Munjed Farid al-Qutob
London
• Who will be the first now to again tell the Palestinians to have confidence in a peace process leading to the end of the post-1967 illegal occupation, continued settlement building, and a sovereign independent Palestinian state alongside Israel?
David Winnick MP
Labour, Walsall North
• Brilliant rhetoric from the US over Netanyahu re-election – “deeply concerned” etc. But “the unprecedented security cooperation between US and Israel, including our strong military and intelligence relationship, will continue”. Plus ça change.
Anna Tognarelli
Stockport, Greater Manchester
