Sir, - for all of the talk about religion, jihad and shuhada (martyrs), the Israeli-Palestinian question revolves around justice. From my apartment in Bir Zeit, I can see the settlement of Beit El across the valley. When the West Bank loses electricity, a sanction occasionally imposed as collective punishment by the powers that be in Israel, Beit El glitters smugly through the darkness like some mini Shangri-La. While the Arabs of the West Bank swelter through another water shortage, the lawns of Beit El are carefully sprinkled, to keep the desert blooming.
Israel whinges: "nobody loves us." Israel says: "We have no partner for peace." Israel announces that it will build 4,000 new units for settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. Ehud Barak says he has left no stone unturned in his search for peace. Many stones will be turned to build accommodation for the exclusive use of Israelis in Arab land.
The world, as usual, will ignore another blatant violation of international law. America will continue to fund the Israeli military machine. The Palestinians will grow more frustrated. The world will wonder why the Oslo process will not work. The Palestinians would answer that since 1993 Israel has doubled the population of illegal settlements. Nobody will listen. Israel will continue to act with impunity and wonder why refugee camp teenagers throw rocks at their boys behind their flash jeeps and flak jackets. The ordinary Palestinian does not need to be incited or encouraged by Yasser Arafat to rail against this injustice.
For the sake of peace, the settlements have to go. Not just Psagot and Netzarim. Every single one. The apartheid of the settlements must not be allowed to continue. There are over 3 million Palestinian "facts on the ground" who agree. - Is mise,
Cathal Rabbitte, Bir Zeit, West Bank, Palestine.