Palestinian chaos has undermined their just claim to East Jerusalem
Re: “Gracious change of heart?”, Have Your Say, December 25.
Paul expresses his “shock” that I criticised Palestinian behaviour yet also recognised the Muslim and Arab character of East Jerusalem. But these two ideas are not contradictory. I do believe in Palestinian rights, including their right to a state of their own with East Jerusalem (except the Jewish holy sites) as its capital. While the current Israeli government is incapable of and indeed unwilling to strike a deal, claiming there is no partner for peace on the Arab side, the Palestinians have done nothing to create any confidence-building to refute that very claim.
A pertinent and relevant question about Jerusalem is why it did not become the Palestinian capital between 1948 and 1967 while it was under Arab (Jordanian) rule. But blaming Israel is always the answer to any such question.
Paul also takes issue with my worries regarding Muslim extremism, claiming that it might not be “inherent” to Islam. Only an ignoramus would say that: the idea of jihad – holy war – is one of the five pillars of the Muslim faith. The blame game in this case may be futile, but one of the main scourges of the modern era is terrorism.
Andy Leitner
