Mideast Peace

Re "Exiled leader of Hamas sets foot in Gaza Strip ," Dec. 8, and "The party's over for some in Gaza," Dec. 9 Hamas leader Khaled Meshall is quoted as saying: "This is just the beginning. Today is Gaza. Tomorrow will be Ramallah, Jerusalem and then Haifa and Jaffa. " Meshaal's sentiment that Hamas will someday destroy Israel is regrettable. Unfortunately, Israel will use his comment to justify its refusal to negotiate with Hamas. The blind spot in Israeli perceptions is the country's continued colonial expansion in the West Bank.

Re "Obama's Israel visit," Editorial, March 19 Your editorial's subheadline says that "the U.S. must keep pressing for a two-state solution. " I agree, but 100% of that pressure should be on the Palestinians. There has never been a real "peace process" because the Palestinians' goal has been the destruction of Israel. This was the Mideast Arabs' goal (including the Palestinians') in 1967 before any "occupation" and settlements, in 1948 when Israel declared independence after the partition of Palestine (when the Palestinians refused to declare theirs)

Re "Obama's Israel visit," Editorial, March 19 Your editorial's subheadline says that "the U.S. must keep pressing for a two-state solution. " I agree, but 100% of that pressure should be on the Palestinians. There has never been a real "peace process" because the Palestinians' goal has been the destruction of Israel. This was the Mideast Arabs' goal (including the Palestinians') in 1967 before any "occupation" and settlements, in 1948 when Israel declared independence after the partition of Palestine (when the Palestinians refused to declare theirs)

WASHINGTON - President Obama's involvement in the tortuous Middle East peace process can be divided into three chapters, two of which opened with high-profile speeches to audiences of young people. The first began four years ago in Cairo, where Obama called for a "new beginning" in U.S. relations with the world's Muslims. The push for new peace negotiations that ensued ended in failure, followed by a second chapter in which Obama distanced himself from the Israeli-Palestinian arena.

Re "Complaints pour in to Israel," Dec. 4 Israel's European allies are up in arms about a settlement project and say that this is an impediment to the peace process. What peace process? With which Arab entity? Brokered by whom? Does the act of building homes really overshadow the murderous acts committed daily by Syria against its own Arab population, unending rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel, the use of Palestinian children as human shields by terrorists and the attempted creation of nuclear weapons by Iran?

Re "Renew the peace process? Not now," Opinion, Nov. 25 Chuck Freilich is correct that the prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians are small. But in his entire piece he neglects to mention the root cause of the problem: the Israeli occupation and colonization of the West Bank and its blockade of the Gaza Strip. Instead of facing the facts on the ground, Freilich blames Palestinian ideology. He misses Israeli ideology that says Israel has rights to all the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

Perhaps it's time to see if James Baker might be willing to come out of retirement and negotiate a Middle East peace agreement. JULIE DUNBAR Rancho Mirage

Nearly 40 years ago, I spent time with the late Conor Cruise O'Brien, one of the 20th century's most formidable intellectual journalists. Like many naturally contentious men possessed of restlessly great minds, he could be spectacularly wrong, but his firsthand experience of the world was vast, and he had a politician's gift for aphoristic profundity. He patiently explained to me, for example, that all the worst international controversies could be divided into "problems" and "situations.

Re “ Moving past stalemate ,” Opinion, Feb. 19 Maen Rashid Areikat relies on what has become the standard Palestinian rationalization for refusing to return to negotiations with Israel until the settlement issue is resolved. He relieves the Palestinians of any responsibility to resume negotiations unless either Israel or the United States takes some action.  Israelis haven't become indifferent toward the peace process; successive polls continue to demonstrate their strong desire to achieve a lasting peace.

WASHINGTON - The rough road to confirmation facing former Sen. Chuck Hagel if he is nominated as expected to be the next secretary of Defense was made clear Sunday as conservatives denounced his anticipated selection and painted the Vietnam veteran as out of step with mainstream foreign policy views. Speaking on CNN's “State of the Union,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina predicted that Hagel would be “the most antagonistic secretary of Defense toward the state of Israel in our nation's history” and called his pick by President Obama an “in-your-face nomination.” Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, describing the choice as “very peculiar,” said on “Fox News Sunday” that Hagel did not have “a particularly distinguished record.” And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, while promising that Hagel would get a “fair hearing,” said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he would get “tough questions” in a confirmation process.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Frustrated by two decades of an unsuccessful peace process largely orchestrated by the United States, the Palestinians will take their case for statehood back to the U.N. Security Council, the Arab League chief said Saturday. “We cannot continue with the same process of the last 20 years,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said in Ramallah after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “This is just a waste of time.” He said the Palestinians will seek the help of the Security Council in resolving their conflict with Israel, though not without first consulting with governments of influence such as the Obama administration.

Re "Complaints pour in to Israel," Dec. 4 Israel's European allies are up in arms about a settlement project and say that this is an impediment to the peace process. What peace process? With which Arab entity? Brokered by whom? Does the act of building homes really overshadow the murderous acts committed daily by Syria against its own Arab population, unending rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel, the use of Palestinian children as human shields by terrorists and the attempted creation of nuclear weapons by Iran?

Re "Santa Monica Nativity scenes to move to private land," Dec. 4 Attorney William J. Becker Jr.'s dissatisfaction with the relocation of the Santa Monica Nativity scene to easily accessible private land not far from the disputed location proves that his interest is not in ensuring that people will be able to view it if they choose, but in forcing his beliefs on others. Christmas is a strange time of year; otherwise reasonable people become bullies who believe everyone should enthusiastically celebrate their holiday.

Re "Battling for his daughters," Dec. 2 I admire the steadfast love that Luis Ernesto Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant deported multiple times to El Salvador, has for his daughters. All the sacrifices he made for his girls have been incredible, and I don't think I could have done what he did. But I think that it is time for him to let the children go. Yes, it is very difficult, but the foster family can provide a better life for his children. They don't have to think about what will be on the table tonight and how to avoid the gangs lurking in front of Rodriguez's house.