Middle East

Re “Arafat Dismisses Easing of Travel, Warns of Disaster,” Aug. 15:

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu eases the border closure imposed following the carnage wrought by the suicide bombers in the Jerusalem marketplace, but Yasser Arafat damns him anyway, warning of disaster. Thus, Netanyahu is placed in a “damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t” dilemma.

Why should the Western world mount pressure on Israel to get on with the “peace process” when we all know deep down that it’s a “war process”? Arab goals are revealed in their nakedness when they wipe Israel off their state maps, as if Israel does not exist. They simply can’t accept a non-Muslim, Jewish state in their midst.

If Arafat’s intention is truly peace, then--for starters--let him delete all those passages calling for the destruction of Israel from the Palestine National Covenant.

JULIAN M. WHITE

Los Angeles

* Re “Bold U.S. Steps in Mideast Should Raise Hard Issues Now,” editorial, Aug. 13:

I was disappointed by the double standard inherent in your statement, “Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat lacks either the interest or the strength to impose his political will on the anti-peace extremists in his camp.” Why isn’t there ever a call for the same pressure on Israeli “anti-peace extremists” by Prime Minister Netanyahu? These are the armed settlers and other Israeli right-wing fanatics who time and time again take the law into their own hands and murder or injure innocent Palestinians, simply because they were defending land they are entitled to. Why are these stories never reported in the mainstream media, along with the continuous human rights violations against Palestinians by the Israeli government? These are not exaggerated or made-up claims--just consult any human rights organization in the world, including ones based in Israel run by Israelis. Isn’t it about time the “balanced reporting” standard was applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

MONA ZIADA

Garden Grove