DAVID Lacey's proposed solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is a little fanciful (HAS, June 30). Egypt is not going to "march in and take over"

Gaza, and it would cause considerable resentment if it did.

Gazans want to be part of Palestine, not part of Egypt.

Creating a viable Palestinian state on the West Bank is also unachievable. The Israelis will not allow it. They refuse to remove their illegal settlements on the West Bank - in fact, they are still expanding them and continue to steal Palestinian land with their "separation barrier". Also, the West Bank alone is too small. Even the whole of the West Bank and Gaza amount to barely enough for a viable state.

I agree that the response to the Hamas election victory by Israel, Russia, the US and the EU was predictable, but it was not inevitable. Alvaro de Soto, then the UN's special envoy to the Middle East, condemned Hamas violence, but favoured dialogue. He said the economic boycott was "at best extremely short-sighted", and that the Quartet had set "unattainable preconditions for dialogue".

If there is to be peace, Israel must talk to her enemies as well as her friends.

Pete Winstanley, Durham.