From: Ismail Zayid
To: Globe & Mail

Sent: Friday, February 09, 2001 10:33 AM

Subject: What about international law?

The Editor,

The Globe & Mail

Feb. 9, 2001

Dear Editor:

Your correspondents, D.McKee and M.Resnick {" Pessimistic about peace" Feb.9} distort the facts. Ehud Barak's "far-reaching proposals on land and sovereignty issues" amount to no more than a fragmented dislocated Palestinian bantustans surrounded by illegal Jewish settlements and controlled by Israeli forces. The Palestinians are not asking for Israeli concessions. They are calling on Israel and the powers who claim to uphold international legitimacy, the US and its allies, to terminate the illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and dismantle all settlements, in compliance with international law and Security Council resolutions. Israel must not be allowed to remain above international law.

As to Mckee's statement that the Palestinians " dream of driving every Jew into the sea", no Palestinian leader ever made such a statement. However many Zionist leaders, including Herzl and Ben Gurion, articulated and effected plans to drive the Palestinian Arabs into the desert. Herzl stated in 1897: " We shall try to spirit the penniless[Arab] population across the border". Ben Gurion wrote to his son Amos in 1937 that when the Jewish state came int being " We will expel the Arabs and take their places."

It is time that Israel and its supporters recognise that there has to be a modicum of justice for the Palestinians for peace to be achieved. For without justice there will be no peace for Arab or Jew in the Middle East.

Yours sincerely

Ismail Zayid, MD.