From: Ismail Zayid

To: Globe & Mail

Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:18 PM

Subject: Biased views

Jan. 17, 2008

The Editor,

The Globe & Mail.

Dear Editor:

Rabbi Dow Marmur, {"Can Israel's attacks on Gaza be justified?" Jan. 17}, makes incredible excuses for the Israeli crimes continually committed against the 1.5 million Palestinians, in the Gaza Strip, who are subjected to an oppressive siege denying them access to the outside world, all elements of basic life needs and health care, and subjecting them to daily humiliation and to daily bombardment. All this goes on within an illegal occupation that continues after forty years, despite the myth that Israeli has withdrawn from Gaza two years ago. Rabbi Marmur justifies this by the Qassam rockets from Gaza that cause minimal damage or human casualty. B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights group, confirmed in its report, dated Jan. 15, 2008, that Israel has killed, in the year 2007, 373 Palestinians, scores of them are children. In Gaza alone Israel has killed over 40 persons this month, 19 in one day, including children and elderly persons.

The bizarre claim, that Hamas is threatening the destruction of Israel and that Israelis are fighting for their survival, is laughable. Israel is the fourth strongest military power in the world, and Hamas has maintained ceasefires lasting many months without receiving any response except continuing attacks, including extra-judicial assassination, detention of thousands without charge or trial and demolishing of thousands of homes, all in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and are identified, by international law, as war crimes.

Rabbi Marmur states Israel is taking action to get home Gilad Shalit. There are about 11,500 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, many of them children. But they deserve no mention in his diatribe. Interestingly, the word occupation has no existence in Rabbi Marmur dictionary. Are the Palestinians under an oppressive illegal occupation expected to shower their occupiers with bouquets of flowers?

It is time that Israeli apologists must come to understand that peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, in this tortured Holy Land, will only be achieved if Israel will comply with international law and terminate completely its illegal oppressive occupation, that has been allowed to stand for over 40 years in defiance of international law and repeated Security Council resolutions.

Sincerely,

Ismail Zayid, MD.