29 April, 1998

The Editor,

The Globe & Mail,

444 Font St. W.

Toronto , ON.

Dear Editor:

Re "The World: The Palestinian people remember" {April 29}.

To describe the terrorist gang that committed the massacre and butchery, in cold blood, of virtually the entire population of the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin,on April 9 ,1948, as " commandos", is mind-boggling and the height of mendacity.

Jacques de Reynier, the French representative of The International Red Cross in Jerusalem witnessed the massacre and reported in these words:

" I reached the village with my convoy. The gang were wearing uniforms with helmets. All of them were young, some even adolescents, armed to the teeth: machine guns, grenades and large scimitars in their hands, most of them still blood-stained. A beautiful young girl, with criminal eyes, showed me her knife still dripping with blood ; she displayed like a trophy….This was obviously the "cleaning up’ team ,that was obviously performing its task very conscientiously… Virtually the entire population of the village had been deliberately massacred in cold blood, for as I observed for myself, this gang was admirably disciplined and only acted under their leaders’ orders".

I think that says it all.

Yours sincerely

Ismail Zayid, M.D.