One-sided views" Letter by Ismail Zayid. The Chronicle Herald. Jan. 31, 2007

 

One-sided views                   The Halifax Herald.                Jan. 31, 2007

In your Jan. 26 editorial "MacKay’s foray," you display the one-sided views that have become characteristic of those expressed by our political leaders and media in relation to the Palestine/ Israel conflict.

Regardless of the views and statements made by Mahmoud Zahar, which you easily castigate, there is not a single word about Israel’s oppressive, illegal occupation of Palestinian land and its brutal practices, including extrajudicial assassination, holding thousands of prisoners without charge or trial, torture, daily humiliation, demolition of thousands of homes and expropriation of property for the creation of illegal colonies (settlements). All these actions are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are identified by international law as war crimes.

As for Mr. MacKay’s foray, he declined to meet with Mr. Zahar because of his extremist views, but was happy to meet with the Israeli deputy prime minister, Avigdor Lieberman, whose policy calls for the completion of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland, including even the Muslim and Christian citizens of the state of Israel.

Is Israeli extremism, in the views of your editorialist, acceptable and its war crimes inconsequential?

Ismail Zayid, MD, Halifax