I find Roger Westmoreland's hate-filled diatribe (Israeli question, Letters, January 5) against Israel to be most offensive.

What an obnoxious display of ignorance.

My previous letters have merely tried to show that the Israel- Palestine conflict has a long and complex history, and people without an axe to grind about the existence of a Jewish state are fully aware of this.

His arguments show that he has absolutely no idea about what makes Israelis tick.

If the choice on the table was a real and secure peace in exchange for giving up the occupied areas, the Israeli population has already shown in countless polls that they would be prepared to make these painful concessions.

Nobody likes burying their children, Mr Westmoreland, not even Israelis.

David Lyon, Kingfisher Close, Huntington, York.