Madam, – Lara Marlowe writes that we all need to understand the motivation for suicide attacks by terrorists (Opinion, January 13th). Surely it should be obvious to everyone by now that no cause and no motivation justify deliberate, systematic use of terror against civilians. In the words of the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon: “Terror is an unacceptable political weapon.”
Furthermore, Ms Marlowe’s analysis and conclusions are wrong. She subscribes to the “self-blame” school of thought, according to which people in the West are supposed to blame themselves for what terrorists do. According to this view, the deeper fault somehow lies with us rather than with global terrorism, and the victim, not the attacker, should feel guilty.
She also refers to Gaza and Operation Cast Lead in December-January last year. She ignores the fact that Hamas, which rules Gaza, is internationally recognised as a terrorist organisation; that Hamas, ever since its foundation, has dedicated itself to destroying Israel; that Hamas terrorism murdered more than 1,100 Israelis since the second intifada, including 134 children; and that for eight years Hamas and its affiliates from Gaza bombarded Israel with 12,000 rockets and mortars before Israel responded with Operation Cast Lead.
She also fails to point out that the majority of Palestinians killed in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead were Hamas military and police personnel, not civilians, and that no civilians were deliberately killed by Israeli forces.
Ms Marlowe claims that if a Palestinian state was established, this would stymie the appeal of terrorism. Hamas leaders claim differently. They themselves have made it clear, time and again, that their terror will not stop until the state of Israel is destroyed.
Moreover, even this is not their final goal, which is a kind of society where, for example, women and homosexuals would have no rights. Are we expected to respect these motivations as well?
The terror campaign that Israel suffered after completely withdrawing from Gaza in 2005 proves that Israeli concessions do not result in less terror. In 2000 and 2008 Israeli governments twice offered far-reaching and unprecedented concessions for a comprehensive peace; the Palestinian Authority refused both offers.
In 2009 prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu committed his government to the creation of a Palestinian state. He has repeatedly appealed to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to come to the negotiating table without preconditions on either side; Abbas refuses to do so.
In truth, what is delaying the creation of an independent Palestinian state is not Israel, but rather the obstructionism of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the rejectionist stance of its arch-rival, Hamas, which rules Gaza.
Ms Marlowe articulates the oft-repeated claim that Israeli policy is somehow to blame for Palestinian terrorism. In reality, Arab and Palestinian terrorism against Israeli civilians existed prior to Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, and even prior to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
Hopefully, there will be peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But that can only come about by negotiation, by dialogue, and by compromise on both sides. It will not happen as long as Hamas continues to deny Israel’s right to exist, and while the Palestinian Authority refuses even to come to the negotiating table.
As for the wider problem of worldwide radicalism and terrorism, that can only be defeated by a combination of vigilance and resolution of democracies, and by the effects of education and modernisation. – Yours, etc,