Dear Editor:

Reading Serge Schmemann's heavily flawed essay "Israel Can Do More to Prevent Civilian Casualties," I can agree it's always possible for a government to do more. Unfortunately, Schmemann carefully avoids the truths that Israel already does more to prevent civilian casualties than any other country and the entire purpose of its actions in the territories governed by the Palestinian Authority is to prevent the civilian casualties terrorists operating from those areas continually and far too often successfully try to inflict on Israelis.

Ignoring the legal question of whether the territories now governed by Palestinian Arab governments were ever "occupied" by Israel, they clearly haven't been occupied by Israel since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority nearly three decades ago. When Israel is forced to act in those areas, it is entering enemy territory in order to defend its own civilians from attack.

The New York Times may not care, but Israeli Lives Matter and the Israeli government has an obligation to protect them.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein