IN a recent response to D E Margrett, Julian Thake claimed that "the Palestinians were actually offered co-citizenship of the new Israel" and accused people in the west of downplaying the Jewish holocaust.

His letter equally and conveniently made no mention of the fact that the Palestinians lived in the region for almost 2,000 years, or the previous British government's foreign policies, which brought the state of Israel into being.

Judging by the views of some letters to this page, the British public was none too pleased in allowing the recent influx of asylum seekers and economical migrants to settle in this country and share our health and welfare system.

Therefore, how can we seriously expect the Palestinians to co-exist with the Israelis as second-class citizens in their own country?

L SPITERI,

Worcester.