The efforts of Pope Francis to promote peace between Palestinians and Israelis demand our utmost support. But your correspondents (Letters, 7 June) make some incorrect observations. Diana Mills says that the occupation must end in order for peace talks on an equal footing to take place. This is a very natural observation; but the truth is the opposite – the sole cause of the persistence of the occupation is the failure to make peace, for which both sides bear responsibility, but especially the Palestinian leadership.Michael Knowles argues that the sole cause of Muslim attacks on Christians in the Middle East is anger at the Christian West’s support for Israel’s “oppression” of Arabs; and therefore the responsibility for these attacks is Israel’s. This i