From: Ismail Zayid

To: Halifax Herald

Cc: Bev Dauphinee

Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:29 PM

Subject: Distortion of facts.

Feb. 12, 2008

The Editor,

The Chronicle Herald.

Dear Editor:

Mike Forsythe, in his letter:{"Media biased" Feb. 12}, displays extraordinary distortion of facts and bias. He relates the injury of six in Siderot as a result of the barrage of  rockets fired by the Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the tragic killing of the elderly innocent woman in the suicide bombing in Dimona. However, he takes no note of the continuing Israeli forces killing of Palestinians and the brutal practices and violation of human rights to which the Palestinians are subjected to under the illegal occupation.

The Israeli human rights organisation, B'Tselem, confirms in its report of Dec. 31, 2007, that the Israeli forces killed, in 2007, 373 Palestinians, 290 in Gaza and 83 in the West Bank, of whom 131 were non-combatants and 53 were children. During that period, 13 Israelis were killed. In January 2008, B'Tselem reports that 108 Palestinians and 3 Israelis were killed.

The killing of innocent civilians, be they Israelis or Palestinians, is abhorent and must be condemned by all. It is time that Israel and its apologists must come to understand that Peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians will be assured only when Israel is willing to comply with international law and the UN resolutions and completely terminate its illegal occpation of the Palestinian territories, that has been allowed to stand for over 40 years.

Yours sincerely,

Ismail Zayid, MD.