Israel

The desperation of the Palestinians' move to win United Nations recognition was matched only by the pettiness of the U.S. refusal to continue funding UNESCO in order to punish that agency for standing up to Israel ("UNESCO vote on Palestine shuts off funding from U.S. " Nov. 1). For 65 years Israel and the Palestinians have been throwing metaphorical loads of dirt at each other. When will this spoiled child of an Israel loosen its stranglehold on American politics? Donald T. Hart, Baltimore

Now we hear President Obama declaring that Israel should give back captured land back. Should the United States give back all the land it captured from the Indians? The president should be worrying about lowering high gas prices here at home and confine his comments to things that are happening here, not abroad. The territories Israel took they have improved. If the Arabs still had them they would still be unimproved wastelands. Barry Apple, Woodlawn

Up to this point, sanctions against Iran have only caused it to accelerate its drive to build a nuclear weapons capability, with the stated goal of wiping out Israel. As long as Russia, China and India trade with Iran and are willing to pay the currently inflated prices for its oil, there will be no cessation of Iran's drive to build a bomb, and any sanctions imposed by the U. S. and its allies will be ineffective. Meanwhile, Israel is living under the threat of annihilation. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing for an effective military strike against Iran.

Jerusalem. -- It is Israel that will pay the price of the ''peace'' talks that begin tomorrow in Madrid. The way the Middle East equation is structured, Israel can only come out a loser.The parley is based on the long awaited acknowledgment by the Arab world of Israel's right to exist. Having always opposed peace, an Arab leader who announces he has changed his mind and now favors it is considered to have taken a major step that needs to be rewarded. If Israel stands up and announces that it, too, is in favor of peace, the response would be, ''so what's new.''This is where Israel's problems begin.

For the third time since the Persian Gulf war began a week ago, Iraqi missiles have fallen on Israeli soil, this time causing loss of life and intensifying the pressure for retaliation. Israel has long maintained that swift punishment of such attacks is the only effective deterrent.But while the impulse to strike back may be overwhelming, the wherewithal to do so may be lacking. One must ask, what can Israel do that the American forces are not already doing?Is Israel's military intelligence any better, its air force any more capable, its pilots more daring, enabling Israel to destroy Saddam Hussein's war machine any more quickly or effectively than the American military, which is indisputably the best in the world?

Any sovereign nation has the right to exclude any individual who might be considered to be a threat to that country ("Don't let Israel discriminate," April 30). Keeping its citizenry safe is a primary requirement of any country, including the U.S., as well as many other nations that do not accept another country's passport as an automatic granting of entry. Anyone who has indulged in foreign travel knows that a U.S. passport is not sufficient for visiting a country with many nations requiring a visa issued by that nation.

For 43 years, Israel has wanted face-to-face discussions with Arab neighbors. Only Egypt has reciprocated. Now Syria, Jordan and Lebanon tell the United States they would take part in a peace conference, implying direct talks with Israel afterward.For 43 years, Israel has wanted trade with the Arab states. Only Egypt obliges. The 21 Arab League members maintain a boycott of all businesses that trade with Israel, devoting their military intelligence to it. Now the wealthiest Arab promoter of the boycott, Saudi Arabia, tells the United States it would suspend the boycott if Israel suspended settling the West Bank and Gaza.

Peace between Israel and its neighbors is as unimaginable as the end of the Cold War was five years ago.Hostility has been the cornerstone of Middle East politics since 1948. Without it, the players would have difficulty knowing how to behave. The change is so fundamental, it would bring in a raft of other changes taking years to digest.The 21 members of the League of Arab States recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Only one of them, Egypt, also recognizes Israel's right to exist.

RAMAT DAVID, Israel -- Israel displayed the cutting edge of its air force at a northern base yesterday, and Defense Minister Moshe Arens promised retaliation in case of an Iraqi attack."