Israel ignoring rules of war

It appears that Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are writing off the remaining hostages as casualties of the war. Because what they are doing will not save them. What they are telling Hamas is, “We will swap the hostages for some of your fighters and then will continue pounding you till you are all dead.”

Hamas are brutal terrorists, but they are not stupid. They will never agree to that. And when they are cornered and about to die do you really think these fighters, who all will have lost family members to bombs, will set the hostages they guard free?

The aim of the government, as stated by some members and some settlers, is to make the lives of Palestinians so miserable that they will voluntarily leave Gaza and the West Bank.

Toward that end, they are destroying civilian infrastructure and groves of trees. What military threat is an orchard? When they raid West Bank villages, they tear up the streets ripping out water and power lines. And the fact that they shot three of their own soldiers who were waving white flags proves they are ignoring the rules of war.

Alex Magdaleno, Camarillo

Stephenson good for democracy

2024 is a watershed year for democracy in Ventura County, just as it is for our nation. In the 3rd District race for Ventura County Supervisor, Kim Marra Stephenson is the candidate best aligned with county residents who want to maintain democracy in county government and ensure that all residents voices are heard.

In contrast, this year Supervisor Kelly Long removed some of the guardrails of democracy. Despite near-unanimous public opposition, including from elected officials and former elected officials, Supervisors Long, Parvin and Gorell rescinded the 20-year-old Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance. The ordinance limited donations to candidates for county offices, leveling the playing field and preventing “influence buying” by wealthy donors. Before the ordinance, “influence buying” had the effect of diminishing the voices of the average voter; without the ordinance the average voter will be drowned out.

County supervisor is a nonpartisan position. Party affiliations have never been secret, but they also haven’t been strong predictors of how each supervisor would vote. Watching Supervisor Long form a voting bloc with her partisan fellows on the board and seeing how quickly they moved to take partisan action on voting rights, I am concerned that her loyalty to party will win out over the wellbeing of county residents.

As an example, the county operates an integrated healthcare system of hospitals, community-based clinics, and a healthcare plan for county employees and dependents. Will the new partisan majority on the board continue to offer access to all types of health care, including reproductive care, or will this new majority impose its partisan ideas on county residents, and chip away at access and services?

Kelly Long is too big a risk. Vote for Kim Marra Stephenson who seeks the office to represent residents’ interests, not to score partisan political points.

Mary Ann Krause, Santa Paula

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: Israel disregarding rules; Stephenson will uphold democracy