WHOSE OCCUPATION?

I empathize with Breaking the Silence spokesman Dean Issacharoff’s description of his (Gaza) war experiences (“Best interests,” Letters, November 16). Yet I wondered: Was a mistake possibly made?

His letter says: “The people who really had my back were the ones trying to put an end to the occupation and do whatever they can to make sure my little brother and another generation of Israeli soldiers aren’t sent to Gaza like I was.”

If my memory serves me correctly, Israel removed all Israeli citizens from Gaza 13 summers ago, and all soldiers left as well. So when he writes about the occupation of Gaza, perhaps he means by Hamas, which has built a military force on the backs of the Gazan people and with resources meant for their betterment?

In fact, there were many who pointed out before the Gaza “disengagement” that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would lead to a takeover by extremists and that rockets would soon fall on Israeli towns close to the border and then Tel Aviv. (How right they were.) And for this reason, Israel would be required to send Issacharoff’s “little brother” and many more to stop the rocket fire.

While not directly pertinent to the letter, since the writer is also indirectly speaking about the “West Bank,” then one should add that the “territories” are the location where Jewish villages were built prior to the War of Independence, and which were built again after the 1967 war.

One could also remind Issacharoff that the Palestinians have already turned down at least two offers of additional land (including Jerusalem), and still “pay to slay,” which is why – if not in Gaza – his brother (and other young men) are still required to bear arms (not to mention our neighbor to the north, Hezbollah, which now has 160,000 missiles, after we failed to destroy it in the Second Lebanon War).

Unfortunately, the sounds I hear most “Breaking the Silence” are the sounds of missiles exploding.

BARRY LYNN Efrat