Is there no end to Marcus Gee's { Comment, May 24} knee-jerk praise for Sharon's and Israel's hypocrisy and defiance of international law?

The real violence, if Mr. Gee cares to know, is the Israeli illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, that has been allowed to stand ,for 34 years, in defiance of international law and repeated Security Council resolutions. This occupation has brutalised the Palestinians with violation of their human rights and every article of The Fourth Geneva Convention, including torture, extrajudicial execution, demolition of their homes, expropriation of their land and creation of illegal settlements.

If Mr. Gee has Sharon's ear, he should whisper to him that the real 'trick' , that he can play and stun Arafat and the world at large, is to announce that he will completely withdraw from all illegally occupied territory , in compliance with international law.