Palestinians deserve that G&T in Jerusalem also

Dermot Walsh (Irish Examiner letters, May 17) seems to miss the fact that the Israeli state has been systematically oppressing and denying basic human rights to Palestinians since its formation.

Allow me to quote from International Centre for Transitional Justice who say “Israeli abuses include targeting civilians and their living spaces; unofficial executions; unjustified detention, torture, forced displacement, land grabbing and restricting freedom of movement.”, and Amnesty International’s 2015/2016 report: “In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israeli forces committed unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians, including children, and detained thousands of Palestinians who protested against or otherwise opposed Israel’s continuing military occupation, holding hundreds in administrative detention”. They added that the Gaza Strip remains under an Israeli military blockade that imposes collective punishment on its inhabitants.

Comparing one human rights abuser, Israel, with another, Saudi Arabia, in an apparent attempt to justify the actions of the former, misses the point. The issue is not whether Westeners can walk unhindered in Jerusalem, or drink a gin and tonic there. The issue is that Palestinians cannot.