Jonathan Freedland’s article (Netanyahu is an existential threat to Israel. He can be resisted – but only with Palestinian support, 3 February) gives me some faint hope that the extremists now in power in Jerusalem may be pushing their luck too far and thus may inadvertently help bring about a more conciliatory politics in their country (and abroad).
The two-state solution still trumpeted by Israel’s allies on both sides of the Atlantic has been dead for a long time, and Israel/Palestine has become a two-nation state where one of the two is oppressed and disenfranchised by the other. It’s about time we all woke up to this fact. The solution is conceptually quite simple: create a true democracy, ie one person one vote. Reconciliation may take a very long time, but that’s the only hope for a semblance of peace in the future.
Ursula Haeckel
Liverpool
• An excellent article by Jonathan Freedland. As he says, the “two-state solution” is all but dead. The only answer is for Palestinian Israelis to draw together and vote against Benjamin Netanyahu. If they have the same willpower that has seen Palestinians exist in refugee camps since 1948, they can certainly do that. And politically moderate Jews, I am sure, will support them in that endeavour. As Northern Ireland has shown, peace and justice can eventually triumph.
Joseph O’Sullivan
East Wittering, West Sussex
• Jonathan Freedland is on target in describing the “evisceration of the Israeli courts, handing unchecked power to the government”. His remedy is for Palestinian Israeli voters to go to the polls to ensure a change of government. Why not instead suggest a tactic that is in our own hands, and is in line with our treatment of other states that remove the rule of law and oppress a population seeking independence – namely boycott and sanctions? At a time when this policy seems taboo for mainstream UK political parties, shouldn’t the Guardian speak out?
Tony Waterston
Newcastle upon Tyne
