Israel-Hamas War

Question the line

Your correspondent misses the point (‘‘Two protests are worlds apart’’, 25/11).

The commonality in the Vietnam rallies and the pro-Palestine marches is young people questioning the official narrative and being prepared to protest when they discover another side to the story and the difference that that can make.

Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn

Hamas must go

Nasser Mashni writes in his capacity as president of the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network about the pain of the Palestinian people, which I acknowledge. It is Hamas, however, who are responsible for the inevitable Israeli retaliation after October 7.

The advocacy network’s response to those attacks can be seen on their social media account displaying the following placard: ‘‘You can not deprive human beings of their basic rights and then call them terrorists when they resist.’’ It would behoove the Australian public to recognise the advocacy network’s justification of terrorism as a necessary means to achieve the goals of the Palestinian people.

Not only is this glorification of terrorism abhorrent, but terror also has the inverse effect on the dreams for Palestinian statehood. The heinous, brutal acts of October 7 have brought the Palestinian people further from their goals. Indeed, the Palestinian people deserve a life of dignity, but this will never be possible with Hamas at the helm.

Keren Zelwer, East St Kilda

The price of peace

I don’t get it. Why is Israel now portrayed as the villain in this war? Hamas indiscriminately slaughtered Israeli adults and children. Hamas’ stated intent is to annihilate Israel. Hamas will never accept peaceful coexistence with Israel. A non-terrorist Palestinian government might. Hamas indifferently uses its own citizens to shield its military centres.

Hamas cannot be beaten if Israel avoids attacking those centres. No matter how carefully targeted the Israeli attacks are, there will be, and have been, civilian deaths. If Israel does not eliminate Hamas’ strength, they will continue to wage war on Israel, now or later.

US president Harry S. Truman made the difficult decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, knowing that the casualties would mainly be citizens. The bombs caused about 200,000 civilian deaths. They stopped the war.

There is no such thing as a ‘‘clean’’ war. There is always collateral damage – a horrible expression.

Ordinary Palestinian people’s deaths may be the price of peace – as were the ordinary Japanese people’s deaths.

Paul Nisselle, Middle Park

Our compassion shines

People are questioning why we have decided to accept Palestinians as temporary refugees when others won’t. It is because we are not like Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria or other Middle Eastern countries who won’t. We are Australia and we are a compassionate caring society, although some people would have us not.

Greg Tuck, Warragul