I was very impressed to read about professor David Heap’s participation on the ship Tahrir, which attempted to breach, non-violently, the Israeli blockage of Gaza and draw attention to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories (“The man who won’t go away,” Nov. 24).
I think the brutal decades-long Israeli occupation and gradual expropriation (thorough settlement building) of the Palestinian territories is a complete disgrace, about which Israel should be deeply ashamed. The occupation is also a huge error of Israeli foreign policy, which should surely be directed at establishing a secure and peaceful place for Israel in the Middle East rather than actively stimulating hostility among the citizens of virtually all its neighbours.
I applaud Heap’s participation in efforts to shame Israel and its allies into a more civilized and productive policy.
John D Landstreet
Department of Physics and Astronomy and Armagh Observatory (Northern Ireland)