From: Ismail Zayid

To: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca

Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2000 5:24 PM

Subject: Violence in the Occupied Territories

The Editor
The Daily News
Halifax

October 14, 2000

 

Dear Editor:

Gwynne Dyer’s article ("The Oslo Peace Process Might Be Dead", Oct. 14) highlights the issues behind the recent violence in the Occupied Territories succinctly and correctly.

The West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are under illegal Israeli occupation, which continues in defiance of international law and Security Council Resolution #242. This thirty-three year occupation is brutal and accompanied by expropriation of Palestinians’ property, demolition of their homes and the creation of illegal settlements and annexation of East Jerusalem, all in violation of Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Oslo agreement of 1993 is a charade that, in essence, legitimized this illegal occupation and allowed the issues of East Jerusalem, settlements, borders and the right of refugees to return to their homes open to negotiation. The Palestinians are demanding the right of self-determination, an inherent right to all peoples, and the termination of this illegal occupation.

It is time that the U.S., which falsely claims to be an honest broker, together with other governments, like our own, that claim to uphold international legitimacy and the U.N. Charter, should demand the immediate implementation of Security Council and U.N. resolutions. Such implementation must not be open to negotiation or bargaining. This is the practice that was adopted against the Iraqi illegal occupation of Kuwait.

Yours sincerely,

Ismail Zayid, M.D.