EUGENE Parte continues to accuse me of perpetuating the "talking points of the Israeli propaganda department" (February 19). To the best of my knowledge no such department of 'propaganda' exists in Israel. However, the same cannot be said for Hamas controlled Gaza. Consistently throughout last summer's conflict the only 'facts' reported from Gaza were dictated by Hamas. This has been substantiated by senior western journalists. It has been 10 years since Israel withdrew from Gaza in the vague hope that there might have been a semblance of peace. Instead Hamas has consistently attempted to drag Israel back into the fray by firing missiles into civilian centres on a daily basis.
Why then would Israel want to take control of an area it left only a short time ago? The answer is simple, it doesn't. Israel simply strives to protect its civilian population as any nation state should do as a first priority. Hamas, on the other hand treats Gaza's population as pawns in their cynical game. Israel's withdrawal from that territory in 2005 was a brave step on its part. It was, however, perceived by Hamas as a display of weakness. It is only through constant conflict with Israel that Hamas can distract attention from its own ineptitude as an administration in Gaza.
Israel wants only peace for its people. Hamas wants only dead Palestinians to perpetuate its victim mythology.
