K [first name undisclosed] Gannon’s letter equates the invasion and mass murder by Russia in Ukraine with what he calls the ‘occupation of Palestinian territory.’ Not malevolence surely, but ignorance of facts perhaps. Let me help him. The Kremlin dictatorship, inflicting murder and destruction on Ukraine, has behaved just as the Nazis did before the Second World War.

Any attempt to draw a parallel with Israel is naive at best, or just badly ill-informed.

Israel left Gaza 15 years ago. Since then Gaza has been run by Hamas, internationally acknowledged as a terrorist organisation, who continue to rocket neighbouring Israeli towns.

Read more: Why a hard line against Russia when praise is lavished on Israel?

As to the West Bank, it has never been a Palestinian State. That is not to say it should not be in time. It was occupied by Jordan for many years, then was captured by Israel a a result of the Six-Day War.

Israel’s offer to return all territories for peace was met by her neighbours with the infamous ‘No peace, no recognition, no negotiation’ statement. Jordan later disclaimed all rights to repossess the West Bank when offered.

Numbers of Arab citizens of Israel - Christian, Muslim and Druze - serve in the country’s police and army. Meanwhile terrorist attacks, many in recent days, continue with the murder of Israeli citizens.

To summarise, the attempt to show moral equivalence between the war on Ukraine involving war crimes and Israel’s actions is just silly.

That is not to say that recent Israeli governments have acted wisely.

The present post-Netanyahu coalition, with Israeli Arabs in the Knesset, may do better. Of course if Hamas were to remove from their manifesto a commitment to wiping Israel off the map that might help.

That, ‘K,’ is why we take, to quote you, “a hard line against Russia” with which you appear to disagree. A “hard line”? Sadly we should have have done that during previous Putin invasion of other neighbours just as we should have stood up to Hitler earlier.

Barry Hyman

Bushey