No similarity between Israeli and Russian actions

Perhaps the answer to Gordon Cunningham’s query as to why the Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan was so vocal in his call for sanctions against Russia, and not against Israel (Letters, October 20), is the tacit recognition by the government that the imperative behind the two actions was different.

When the two actions are compared, it should be clear to an objective observer that Russia's aggression against the Ukraine was the modern-day manifestation of an imperialist land grab conducted under the imprimatur of its new tsar, Vladimir Putin. While Operation Protective Edge was an Israeli reaction to years of provocation from Hamas, the elected representative of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

It was a response to multiple rocket attacks and a formidable series of cross-border tunnels, which saw multiple incursions by Hamas terrorists into Israel with the sole purpose of harming its citizens. Finally, it was a response to the kidnapping, torture and murder of three Israeli teenagers in July.

The government clearly recognised the underlying distinction between Russian aggression in the Ukrain and Israel's reactive response to multiple threats.

Dr Kevin McCarthy

Seán Hales Terrace

Kinsale

Co Cork