Thank you to all in the community from both sides of the conflict that have thanked me for my letter regarding coexistence and that Israelis and Palestinians have far more in common as people than not.
John Scrivener and Gareth Smith yet again responded in their usual words, ranting many fictitious claims against Israel that can be easily debunked by minimal investigation and I urge people to do that. If the claims were actually factual, that would be a good place to start as with every war there are valid claims to make.
As I have always said, people who do not have the ability to sympathise with both the people of Israel and Gaza are not worth listening to. They simply manufacture more and more hate with their echo chambers.
We can only hope that this war will end soon and that both sides see a different way forward. Israelis are not going anywhere; the Palestinians are not going anywhere.
Hamas has stated over and over and over again that they intend to repeat their October 7 invasion of Israel on larger and larger scales and they simply can’t be given the opportunity to do that. A ceasefire where Hamas can rearm and repeat the torture, rapes and murders of Israeli families of all religions (including Muslims) is simply not enough.
Palestinian civilians don’t deserve to have this war repeated and need assistance in replacing their leaders for ones who actually care about their futures and quality of life.
Peace between Israel and a Palestinian nation is the only way forward, let’s all be a part of the solution.
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. 
