Trump’s plan will not bring peace to Israel and Palestine. What will? | Letters
Quite apart from its gross offence to justice and basic humanity, the striking point about the Trump-Netanyahu plan is its complete lack of reality in relation to the situation in the Middle East ('Occupation normalised': Trump plan ticks every box on the Israeli wishlist, 29 January). Does the Israeli government believe for a moment that if the situation was reversed it would quietly accept Palestinian domination over its people's lives?
If Israeli citizens were constrained behind a wall, were forced to use separate roads, had land confiscated for Palestinian housing, had draconian rules on movement and had the Hebrew language treated as inferior, they would take every possible form of action against their oppressors, and they would be right to do so. Once again Israel makes the argument that these measures are for its security, but this is perverse: every action to constrain Palestinian life provokes increasing action against Israel. Israel will never be at peace with its neighbours while it represses them. If Trump really wants to help Israel's security, there is one simple way: to end the almost 3bn paid annually by the US to Israel, mainly to support its military. This would force Israel's government to come to the table and to discuss a genuinely fair and equitable settlement between the two neighbours.
Michael Meadowcroft
Leeds