Madam, - Philip O'Connor of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (Opinion, August 21st) defends the assertion that Israel's blockade of Gaza constitutes "collective punishment" and a violation of international law, but fails to engage with a single one of my arguments to the contrary (Opinion, August 21st).
He contents himself instead with quoting an assortment of statements by UN, EU and Irish Government officials in support of his position, an appeal to consensus which calls to mind the adage "100,000 lemmings can't be wrong."
For the reality is that the international community is routinely forced into climb-downs regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and issues of international law. In March 2002, for example, the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, had to retract his claim that Israel's presence in the territories was an "illegal occupation". Five months later, the UN conceded that claims of Israeli "war crimes" and "gross violations of the Geneva Conventions" during the battle of Jenin were unfounded.
Long-standing claims of Israeli non-compliance with Security Council resolutions, notably UNSCR 242, have been withdrawn - not least, it seems by the IPSC itself, which, despite accusing Israel of over 70 such violations as recently as 2007, now puts the figure at 30.
Last year's report by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the territories, which charged Israel with racism and apartheid, has been quietly shelved. Claims regarding the illegality of aspects of Israeli security policy have also been retracted or, at the very least, tacitly sidestepped.
The charge of "collective punishment" regarding Israel's lock-down of Gaza will also doubtless be dropped, especially as the international community has itself imposed draconian political and economic sanctions on countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr O'Connor's demand for what amount to trade sanctions against Israel through the suspension of the Euro-Med Agreement in the context of his condemnation of the Gaza embargo is also entirely incongruous.
Meanwhile, on the Letters page of the same edition, Liam Quaide decries the effects of the blockade of Gaza and asks whether supporters of Israel's policy are "blind to the logical and moral absurdity of their position".
However, the Palestinians must, like electorates the world over, take responsibility for their democratic choices - in this case the handing of power to a jihadist terrorist organisation that has murdered over 500 innocent Israelis as part of its campaign to "liberate all historic Palestine from the impurity of the Jews." - Yours, etc,
SEÁN GANNON,
Irish Friends of Israel,
Ontario Terrace,
Dublin 6.