Misleading to suggest Israel is without empathy

Zoe Lawlor criticises Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh for not showing ‘one shred of empathy or sympathy for the more than 2,200 people killed’ (Letters, November 13) in this summer’s tragic conflict in Gaza. 

But again Ms Lawlor is attempting to deflect attention from the main point of Ó Raghallaigh’s argument, that the biggest impediment to peace and prosperity in Gaza is Hamas.

Over the past decade, Israel has pumped millions of dollars into Gaza in an effort to raise living standards of Palestinians. This was done in the belief it was the best way of ensuring long term stability, however, time and time again this money was appropriated by Hamas and used to subvert the security of Israel by, for example, building tunnels to mount terrorist attacks on Israel. Is it therefore surprising Israel is reluctant to engage in the rebuilding process, that is the point Ó Raghallaigh was making. Moreover, to suggest that in doing so he has no empathy for the suffering of Palestinians is not alone offensive but also misleading.