Vandals in Israel

JOHN Lyons equates the shocking human rights abuses perpetrated by Hamas on the citizens of Gaza, as reported by Human Rights Watch, with the "Price Tag" vandals in Israel ("Precious little peace as extreme measures rise on both sides", 6-7/10).

The latter are a very small fringe group of youths born in the extreme culture of the settlements, who combine religious and political extremism with the fanaticism of young people.

In one Tel Aviv University poll, Israeli citizens almost unanimously condemn the Price Tag attacks, as do lay and rabbinic leaders of the settler movement, the chief rabbis, the Prime Minister, and the main newspapers.

The attacks carried out by the Price Tag hooligans usually consist of offensive graffiti. They are directed almost exclusively at property and rarely at people. On the other hand, Hamas, the governing authority of Gaza, carries out unlawful arrests, detention, torture and executions.