The stand, by Mr. Irwin Cotler, other MP's and our government opposing the statement, by the signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention, calling on Israel to abide by the terms of the convention, is extremely surprising {Graeme Smith:"MP's say liberals unfair to Israel', Dec.6.}. Canada and Canadians claim to stand by international law and respect for human rights. The Fourth Geneva Convention was formulated in 1949 to prevent the recurrence of Nazi crimes against civilians under occupation. All world nations, including Israel, are signatories to this convention. Ironically, Israel has been in violation of virtually every article of the convention, in its treatment of Palestinians and Syrians under occupation for over 34 years. These violations include imprisonment for years without charge or trial, torture, deportation, demolition of thousands of homes, expropriation of property and transfer of its citizens into occupied territory, i.e. creation of illegal settlements.