----- Original Message -----

From: Ismail Zayid

To: Halifax Herald

Cc: Bev Dauphinee

Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2007 3:31 PM

Subject: Double standards.

May 26, 2007

The Editor,

The Halifax Herald.

Dear Editor:

Mr. A. Mark David makes, in his letter, May 24, ludicrous statements, in defending Israeli actions and policies which stand clearly in defiance of international law. He attacks Hezbollah and Hamas for the capture of three Israeli soldiers, in military clashes, but makes no mention of over 10,000 Palestinians and Lebanese, men women and children, kidnapped by Iarael and held for decades in Israeli prisons, mostly without charge or trial.

He describes the Israeli invasion of Lebanon last year as " overwhemingly restrained." That attack on Lebanon brought about the killing of over 1,200 men, women and children and the destruction of the infrastructure of South Lebanon and the demolition of hundreds of homes.

He accuses Hamas and Hezbollah of violating the Geneva Conventions. This is the height of audacity. The Israeli practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories stand in violation of virtually every article of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and include extra- judicial assassination, torture, daily humiliation, denial of health care, demolition of thousands of homes and expropriation of property for the creation of illegal Jewish settlements. These violations are defined, by international law, as war crimes, and have been condemned by all international human rights bodies as well as the Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem.

He castigates Hezbollah for failure to implement UN resolution # 1701, but makes no mention of Israeli defiance of hundreds of UN reolutions and over 70 Security Council resolutions, including 242, 338, 446, 1405, amongst many others.

How long must Israel be allowed to remain above international law/

Your sincerely,

Ismail Zayid, MD.