YP Letters: Only Hamas and Abbas are to blame for suffering in Gaza

Bradford West MP Naz Shah's speech on Gaza has been criticised.

NAZ Shah MP (The Yorkshire Post, July 7) speaks of Gaza as “occupied territory”, but it is occupied by Hamas, a terrorist organisation, not Israel.

Yes, the unfortunate inhabitants are suffering severe electricity shortages.

But that is because Hamas is using the money needed to pay for the electricity to spend on armaments and tunnelling in order to attack Israel and in fomenting terrorist groups attacking Egypt – and also because Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinians, has now refused to keep paying for the Gazans’ electric supplies.

She talks about “10 years of blockade” (apparently of Gaza), but the Israeli and Egyptian governments are only stopping supplies of materials being used by Hamas to make attacks on their countries.

She complains of “bombardment”, but she knows that there has not been a single Israeli attack which was not in response to a rocket and mortar attack on Israel.

There is no reason for there to be “conflict without end”.

There is already considerable co-operation between Israel and parts of the Palestinian administration and anyone can see the growing prosperity of the majority of the Palestinian population.

But to secure peace in this tiny corner of the Middle East requires the use by Muslim leaders of their influence to support steps to secure a recognition by the Palestinians that working with and building friendship with the Israelis is the way forward – and that includes Naz Shah.

From: Michael Ross, Weeton Lane, Harewood, Leeds.

THE speech by Naz Shah can appeal only to those who have an inbuilt hatred of the Jewish State, of whom admittedly, there are many.

Naz Shah also fails to mention the huge number of Mercedes-Benzes roaming the streets and guns being toted in Gaza, all purchased by the billions of dollars pumped into the lawless land by the misplaced but good intent of the international community.

Instead of being used to improve the lives of the people of Gaza by way of schools and hospitals and other necessities, it has gone mainly to Hamas members to line their own pockets, and to purchase arms, build rocket launchers and tunnels by which and through which to attack Israel and achieve their admitted object of destroying the Jewish State.

Naz Shah is badly in need of a refresher course on the facts.