Letter: Israel not to blame for current conflict

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 | 7:30 a.m.

Did the Sun print Dale Quale's vitriolic letter in its July 22 edition just to provoke a rational response? If so, it succeeded in getting my dander up.

Mr. Quale justifies any Arab response to Israel under the pretext that Israel, although withdrawn from Gaza, still is in control. What he forgets, or prefers to ignore, is that Israel occupied Gaza as a result of a war started by the Arabs.

When Israel made peace with Egypt, she tried to return Gaza to Egyptian control, but Egypt didn't want it. It seems that Israel can't do right in the twisted thinking of some. Israel controlled Gaza against Israeli wishes and left unilaterally. She is still vilified.

Mr. Quale's ridiculous statements that Israel bombs the area at will are patently false. Israel does whatever it can to minimize civilian casualties, even though those civilians are used by terrorist groups as frontline protection for them.

Mr. Quale also alleges that Israel drops bombs and shells the Lebanese infrastructure. He again forgets to mention that northern Israel has been shelled for years from these structures in Lebanon.

How do you reason with someone who sees events without looking at the entire picture? It would be the equivalent of vilifying the U.S. declaration of war on Japan without any mention of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Merle Roth, Las Vegas