Letter to the Editor

Arab-Palestinian community must recognize Israel

To the editor:

Make no mistake, Israel must abandon the occupied territories. However, no matter how many concessions Israel makes, nothing substantive can be accomplished until the Arab-Palestinian community declares authoritatively that Israel will not vanish from the Palestine area. Only the Arab and Palestinian community can do this. No one else can. Until Palestinians accept this reality, not much can happen in negotiations. All other considerations are secondary.

GILBERT DEGENHARDT

Cape Girardeau