I WAS pleased to see the "Courier" give coverage to the Protest march for a ceasefire in Gaza held in Exeter on January 20, which was supported by more than 1,000 people in Devon.

The need for a ceasefire in Gaza should apply to the West Bank area as well.

I was there for three months in 2005 and saw at first-hand the suffering of the Palestinians who had been under a military occupation since 1967.

Since October 7, the Israeli Army has been working in tandem with the "settlers" to persecute and in some cases kill civilians in the West Bank (358 according to UN figures).

Sadly neither the Conservative nor Labour party are pressing for a ceasefire. They are, in Sunak's words, supporting Israel to win and supplying British made arms, despite the enormous suffering caused to the civilian population.

Our local MPs Mel Stride and Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) both support these policies. Only the Lib Dems and Greens are calling for a ceasefire.

Gerald Conyngham

Old Tiverton Road

Crediton