I am writing in response to Anav Silverman’s hate-filled propaganda, “Israeli civilian expectations low when cease-fire ends” (BDN, Dec. 1). She writes that the Gazans are teaching their young Palestinian children to hate the U.S. and Israel.

I’m not denying that the Palestinians are probably very upset with decades of abuse from their Israeli occupiers. We tend to think of the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a sort of benevolent oversight of their neighbors when nothing could be further from the truth.

They managed the Palestinian territories like a giant internment camp, and whenever the Gazans would “misbehave” the Israelis would punish them, either by shutting off their electricity, their water or food supplies, or by guided missile attacks and military incursions.

Sliverman admits that the Israeli military invaded the Gaza Strip in early November. And they killed some Gazans, but she then blames Gaza for breaking the cease-fire by retaliating, firing over 60 ineffective rockets harmlessly into Israel during the 12-hour period following that Israeli attack.

Israel claims that they must occupy Palestine in order to put down the rebellion coming from there, and the Palestinians, in turn, are rebelling against Israel’s occupation of their land … It’s an endless loop.

Eliot J. Chandler

Bangor