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Graeme Hamilton quotes Boaz Atzili, a professor at the American University in Washington, as saying, “Once the intifada (the previous one) started, the (Israeli Defense Forces) reacted in a way that resulted in many Palestinian casualties, many dozens killed in the first few days, and that basically moved the conflict to a whole new level. I think without it the violence would have been much more limited.”

In other words, if the Jews would just allow themselves to be killed, the Palestinians would have backed off. Jews must just accept some of them must die, be murdered or maimed in order “to keep the peace”? If this is not ridiculous, I don’t know what is.

Logically to me, if the Jews did not fight back, more would be killed by emboldened terrorists, knowing they would not defend themselves. This would suit the Jew-hating world perfectly.

Jerome Henen, North Vancouver, B.C.

The picture of Palestinian protesters with knives raised during a demonstration Friday in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza is yet another example of why their road to statehood will always be blocked.

When Muslims attack Jewish men and women going about their day-to-day activities, and for no apparent reason except they are Jewish; and when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas further inflamed emotions by erroneously claiming Israelis had “summarily executed” a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who had stabbed two Israelis (he was recovering in hospital), things can only go from bad to worse for the Palestinian cause.

Paul Stevens, Milton, Ont.