We do not need to remind you that Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people in a free and a democratic election, to speak for them against corruption and secure freedom for them from an oppressive brutal illegal occupation. Hamas had already declared and maintained a ceasefire since last february, while Israel continued to commit its acts of violence and illegal acts against the Palestinian people. Are you making the demand on Israel to cease its acts of violence and acts of state terrorism against the Palestinian people?

The demands on the new Palestinian government to recognise Israel require clarification; which Israel is the new Palestinian government required to recognise? Israel has refused, since its inception, to define its borders, as a part of its continuing aggressive expansionist ideology, reflected by statements and actions of its leaders and repeated wars of aggression, in 1956,1967,1978 and 1982, against its neighbours. As well, Israel is persisting in building its apartheid wall, built on illegally occupied Palestinian land, and this has been condemned by the International Court of Justice. Thus one may ask, which Israel is Hamas being asked to recognise?

Israel's practices, under this illegal occupation, including extra-judicial assassination, torture, collective punishments, denial of health care, demolition of thousands of homes and expropriation of property for the creation of illegal colonies [settlements], are in violation of virtually every article of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These violations are defined by international law as war crimes, and have been condemned by all international human rights bodies, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israeli human rights groups, including B'Tselem and Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights.

It is time for Canada and all countries, which claim to uphold international law and the UN Charter, to call on Israel to terminate completely and unconditionally its illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land, that has been allowed to stand, since 1967, for over 38 years, in defiance of international law and repeated Security Council resolutions.

Yours sincerely,

Ismail Zayid, MD.

President, Canada Palestine Association.