Palestinians, Israelis Seek Land to Survive

Having just visited Palestine in April, I concur with all that Mustafa Barghouthi relates in his May 31 commentary, “Palestinians Won’t Be Forced Out Again.” There are 29 refugee camps in Israel where Palestinians live, 11,000 people in one square kilometer of land. The Jewish settlements are beautiful communities with green grass and swimming pools. The refugee camps have no grass and not enough water. They keep the keys to their homes and deeds to their land but are not allowed to even visit them.

We heard the shelling and visited the homes demolished in one night--275 homes have been bombed in Beit Sahour since September. A suicide bomber has known nothing but occupation all his life; not allowed even to go to the next village, he lives in squalor in a refugee camp--and he literally explodes. We heard from Israelis of the torture of Palestinian political prisoners. This is against all United Nations human-rights laws. If the Israelis had treated the Palestinians humanely in 1948, instead of demolishing 420 villages, they would be living side by side in peace now.

Gwen Johnson

Corona del Mar

I’m disappointed in Barghouthi’s commentary because it fails to mention the obvious. The Israelis went into Palestinian areas destroying buildings and orchards because they were routinely being used as cover by Palestinian gunmen to shoot at Israelis. The previous Israeli administration offered to withdraw from the settlements and instead was rewarded with lynchings, murders and a constant drumbeat of incendiary propaganda from the Arab media.

Israeli worries about survival led to the election of Ariel Sharon. Commentaries like Barghouthi’s that do not address the obvious only reinforce the perception that there is not an honest dialogue going on within the Arab community, without which there is no hope for peace.

Ralph Goldstein

Manhattan Beach