The article by AB Sulaiman and Z Sunday is the first balanced article written in Malaysian media on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As the article says, the Malaysian authorities and media have been obviously one sided, even to the extent of downplaying and denying the truths if they are related to Israel and the Jews.

The best solution is obviously a two-state solution as envisaged by the United Nations in 1948 when most of land of Palestine was given to the Arabs, including the territory known as Transjordan.

However from the beginning, the Arabs have vowed to eliminate Israel and to forcefully drive the Jews to the sea. The Arabs provoked several wars but each time Israel won more territory. Israel cannot afford to lose even one war, which is why security is of paramount importance.

Israel has biblical and historical roots to the land back 3,000 years. The word 'Palestine' derives from the name of the Philistine people and was only given by the Romans much later.

Never in history was there a sovereign and independent state called Palestine. It was successively ruled as a province by Romans, Byzantine Christians, Arabs from Arabia, Crusade Christians, Kurds (Sulaiman was a Kurd) and the Turks until the British came after the first World War.

The writers are right that the Arab countries could have done more for the Palestinians, especially the refugees. None of them have been willing to help in the resettlement.

There is one error in the article. For the last seven years Malaysian Christians or Muslims can obtain a two-week visa from our Immigration to visit Israel. I myself was among the earliest Christians to travel there.