Warren Kennedy, Mullumbimby
There are two things wrong with Danny Wakil’s letter in defence of Israel.
First, he never acknowledges that Israel is the cause of the violence in Gaza and the West Bank. It’s Israel’s illegal, 52-year-long occupation of Palestinian territory that is the cause of the violence.
Secondly, despite what the US and Israeli (and Australian) governments assert, Hamas is not a terrorist organisation. Hamas has the same moral authority as the French Resistance had in opposing German occupation during WWII. They are freedom fighters resisting a cruel occupation but it suits the US/Israeli narrative to characterise them as terrorists because that implies that Israel is the innocent party, which it is not.
Israel can end the violence any time it wishes by ending the occupation but that’s not going to happen because Israel is clearly preparing to annex most of the West Bank. This seems likely to happen during Trump’s second term as US president.
It is clear that Trump and Netanyahu have continued the US/Israeli plan to make the Middle East safe for annexation by removing or sidelining administrations that support the Palestinians – Libya, Iraq, Syria, and now Iran.
America’s attacks on Iran gain urgency as Trump’s second term approaches. There will be no two-state solution. Palestinians will not be allowed to achieve statehood.
Danny Wakil sheds tears over the plight of Gazans but until he accepts Israel’s culpability for the violence and the extent of Palestinians’ suffering at the hands of Israel they’ll remain what they’ve always been – crocodile tears.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
