Madam, - While claiming to acknowledge the Holocaust as a shameful chapter in Europe's history, the Palestinian representative to Ireland, Dr Hikmat Ajjuri, (January 12th) continues to insinuate that there is some comparison to be drawn between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Holocaust committed against the Jewish people.
Need I remind the delegate general that the Holocaust was a premeditated, racially motivated genocide of 6 million innocent Jews, while the other is a conflict between two national movements which has incurred suffering on both sides.
Dr Ajjuri refers to the events of 1947/1948 but completely ignores that Israel supported the creation of two states for two peoples under UN Resolution 181. It was the Palestinians and the Arab states which rejected this opportunity for statehood and started a war with the nascent state of Israel.
To blame Israel today for the suffering of the past 60 years and the war of 1948, which the Palestinians call the Nakbah, is a blatant misinterpretation of historical fact.
For Dr Ajjuri to allege that Europe ignores Palestinian suffering is surprising, given that the EU is a major financial donor to the Palestinian Authority and last month committed millions in aid and other supports.
Furthermore, the delegate general must surely be aware of the widespread media interest and coverage that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict receives daily, not only in Europe but across the world.
Let me be clear that we support the establishment of a viable independent Palestinian state as the homeland for the Palestinian people living side by side in peace with Israel. All Israel asks is for the Palestinians to renounce terrorism, dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, accept previous agreements and recognise the right of Israel to exist.
At Oslo, Camp David, Taba and most recently Annapolis, Israel has shown its willingness to make painful sacrifices for peace and to discuss all the fundamental issues, from future borders to refugees.
While Israel is firmly committed to the current negotiations, it is also imperative that the daily rocket attacks against the Israeli city of Sderot by Palestinian militants based inside the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip must stop. - Yours, etc,
NADAV COHEN, Counsellor, Embassy of Israel, Dublin.