Letters: The scale of destruction and death by Israeli action is impossible to justify

Irish Independent

12 hours ago

Many believe the killings are intentional, despite the excuses or lies used by Israel to justify its killings. They regard it as the Israeli state's way of stopping the flow of on-the-ground news that captures the horrifying spectacle we see on our TVs each and every day.
How can the intentional targeting of 1,400 medical staff, working in hospitals in Gaza, since the October 7 attacks by Hamas and its proxies, be justified?
Where is the justification for the targeted killing of 61,430 people and over 200 who have starved to death, or those who have been killed in the process of trying to get food?
While we need to see the end of Hamas and its militant comrades, with the release of hostages, how can America or those who supply weapons to Israel justify so much death and destruction?
While we have condemned atrocities on both sides of this conflict, with a hamstrung and ineffective UN Security Council incapable of doing anything to stop this conflict, and an America under Donald Trump a willing participator that supplies weapons to this genocide, who will be held to account when this war is finally over?
Christy Galligan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
The Tricolour is a symbol of unity between the green and orange – be proud of it
Darragh McManus's piece 'Other countries fly their flags without embarrassment – it's time we did so too' (Irish Independent, August 11) is timely.
The original Tricolour, handmade by a group of French-Irish women – descendants of the Irish Wild Geese – was presented to Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848.
The tragedy of the Irish Tricolour emanated in 'political' hatred in the aftermath of the Civil War and the 1926 split in Sinn Féin.
Post 1922, there was little official teaching of the origins, or symbolism, of the national flag in local museums or libraries. Its description varied according to the tutor, some refusing to accept the 'Orange' – opting for Green, White and 'Yellow'/ 'Gold' due to ingrained misunderstanding of the symbolism.
Mr McManus's points out: 'The whole point of our flag's design, after all, was to promote reconciliation, not division: orange and green, the white of peace between them.'
Politicians of all parties allowed the Irish national flag to be usurped by the murdering PIRA post 1970, instead of taking ownership of the flag and all it symbolises.
We are all proud of the aeons of history of the island of Ireland; it is time every Irish person took complete ownership of a great symbol with pride.
To do so would create a genuine reason for a united Ireland; a genuine reason that requires truth, decency and respectful acceptance of each citizen of the four provinces.
Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia
A Putin win signals that borders are negotiable if you use enough brutality
Your editorial warns of the dangers in sidelining Ukraine in any territorial negotiations ('Throwing Ukraine under the bus is not a legitimate solution', August 11, Irish Independent).
History shows us that once a precedent is set, others are quick to exploit it. The world learnt this in 1938, when ceding the Sudetenland to Hitler in the name of peace only emboldened his appetite for conquest.
Within a year, Poland was invaded and Europe was engulfed in war.
To reward aggression by granting land is to signal to every autocrat that borders are negotiable if you bring enough force to bear.
If Ukraine is carved up under diplomatic cover, the next decade will see a rise in opportunistic invasions – not only in Europe, but in regions where old disputes lie dormant, waiting for a signal that the strong may once again take from the weak.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh
Presidential hopefuls remember: the office is supposed to be impartial
The programme that aired on TG4 last Sunday night discussing president Patrick Hillery's tenure over his two terms in office showed the principles regarding impartially that the next president should uphold.
Mr Hillery was asked by taoiseach Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael to dissolve the Dáil and call a general election in January 1982 when the budget failed to be passed.
He refused to speak to several high-ranking politicians within the main opposition party, Fianna Fáil, who wanted to persuade him to not call a general election in order for it to try to form a government.
As Mr Hillery was a former Fianna Fáil politician, I am sure he was under severe pressure to speak to his former party members. He showed great respect for the impartially of the office in calling a general election.
We will hear a lot over the coming few months regarding the personalities and political ideologies of the citizens looking to become the next president, but once elected the president is bound by the Constitution.
Eamonn O'Hara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal
Bureaucracy suffocates democracy and does so at great cost to the taxpayer
By definition, 'democracy is a system of government where the power is held by the people'.
The reality is that democratic values of public engagement have been replaced in recent years by a complicated maze of bureaucracy.
Elected governments have farmed out the role to EU regulations and directives to unelected civil servants, who in turn act on the promptings of government-funded NGOs and vested interests who in turn profit from government investment.
Local democracy has become redundant.
Bureaucracy is the real thief of democracy and taxpayers' money; it creates a multiplicity of laws and regulations, which bamboozles the average citizen.
It breaks one of the most basic rules of the law – that 'the law must be clear and precise'. It must be understandable to all who are bound by it.
In Ireland's case, the president, who is the last signature on every bill brought into law, should keep this in mind.
That would ensure that our courts are not taken up by petty squabbling among barristers and judges as to meaning of laws passed.
It's often too costly for the average citizen to challenge any law or get justice, but not for those with deep pockets.
Nuala Nolan, Bowling Green, Co Galway