I refer to the article by Gwynne Dyer headlined 'Israel still tasting bitter fruit of victory' (South China Morning Post, June 13), which contains a highly selective historical analysis of the past 35 years. Salient facts cannot be ignored.

The 1967 war was not launched by Israel. It was a direct response to manifest Egyptian belligerence and threatening military activity, enthusiastically supported by Jordan and Syria. In the aftermath of defeat, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, encouraged by all the Arab states, rejected outright any negotiations and vowed not merely to re-establish the status quo but to drive Israel into the sea.

Indeed, the destruction of Israel is and remains an objective of many Arab factions for whom the prospect of a peaceful solution to the dispute is anathema.