Sir, While many would say that a central tenet of the Balfour Declaration demanding mutual tolerance between Arabs and Jews was always unattainable, the current situation imperils the region as never before and it is surprising that Israel’s normally astute Government has reacted as it has.

From Palestine, an attack by Hamas on Israel is seen as an attack by the elected Government. In the case of Lebanon one reads of no such suggestion, even if Hezbollah forms a small part of that Government. When Hezbollah fired the first shots, Israel should perhaps have demanded that the Lebanese Government control its citizens or face consequences. This would have bought time and allowed Lebanon to ask for international help to weed out the miscreants. Such a stance would have given Israel the high ground. Hezbollah would have been undermined without Lebanon being razed or fostering yet more anti-Israel hate.

Israel is now surrounded by governments and factions which, as never before, are determined to remove it from the map. This Middle East desire for annihilation is not just by Muslims for Jews but, as we see in Iraq, among Muslims.

Governments which allow sections of their society to wage unauthorised war must deal with this cancer or call for help to do so, or face retaliation. These embedded fanatical minorities cannot be given the satisfaction of seeing their actions spawn so much destruction and division which the wider world then has to repair.

If Israel is to help put an end to this and soften attitudes towards it, perhaps it should put up with some pain without always fighting back instantly. This would allow a better background for forceful diplomacy involving Tehran, Damascus and others in the region. Israel is not going to disappear and nor is Arabia. They had better train their peoples to live with the fact.

LORD BALFOUR
London SW3

Sir, John Bowis writes “Israel must pull back and then Hezbollah and Hamas must respond in kind” (letter, July 18). To where should Israel pull back? In 2000 Israel pulled back from every inch of Lebanon. The result: continuous shelling from Hezbollah and the killing and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Last year Israel pulled out of Gaza, yet hundreds of Hamas rockets fell every week on to civilian centres, culminating, again, in cross-border killing and kidnap.

Hamas and Hezbollah have made it clear that only Israel’s extinction will satisfy their goals. Politicians such as Mr Bowis would do well to believe them, and also to recognise the justification for Golda Meir’s dictum that Israel “is not prepared to commit suicide for anyone”.

DAVID BENDER
London N12

Sir, Tens of thousands have already died in Darfur, with the prospect of tens of thousands more dying in the months to come, yet G8 leaders do nothing. A few hundred have died in Israel and Lebanon and Tony Blair is getting publicity and credit for suggesting the possibility of putting an international peacekeeping force in place there. Will he ever get his policies into proper perspective? I doubt it. There is no world stage for Darfur.

ALEX MACFARLANE
Wadebridge, Cornwall

Sir, For the first 20 years or so of the Troubles neither the Democrats nor the Republicans would act to prevent fundraising in support of the IRA for fear of losing the IrishAmerican vote. We now have the situation where neither American party will criticise Israel for fear of losing the American-Jewish vote. If they united in a peace plan with the ultimate threat of withholding or reducing the $5 billion of aid and military materiel, the threat from the American Jewish vote would be nullified.

Perhaps then Israel might react to provocation with greater responsibility.

JEFFREY BOX
London E1

Sir, I am appalled to hear that the Israelis have given the Royal Navy a “safe window” to bring refugees out of Beruit and we have accepted it. If an Israeli ship or aircraft fires on a British warship in Lebanese or international waters under any circumstances, it should be destroyed. This should be made clear now to Israel and to its international supporter, the US.

EDWARD GREEN
Lichfield, Staffs

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