Letter: Enforcement of international law against Israel

Sir: The Independent carried a display advertisement, on 30 December, criticising in harsh terms the actions of the democratically elected government of Israel, which is of course the sole genuine democracy in the Levant.

The advertisement included a phone number, which I twice used in an attempt to express my views on the matter. On both occasions, I was told by the people who answered my calls that they did not know enough about Middle Eastern politics to comment on my profound disagreements with the views of an 'ad hoc group of individuals'. If this is indeed the case, one might be tempted to state that they should not have become involved in the exercise in the first place.

Prime Minister Rabin has taken - from his perspective - the minimum necessary action to ensure basic levels of security, and the continuation of the embryonic peace process. Israel's independent High Court of Justice, not to mention legal experts, such as Professor Julius Stone, has thus far ruled that Israel has acted within the framework of international law - unlike the terrorist murderers of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PLO.

Yours faithfully,

ANDREW TUNICK

Director

Yorkshire Israel Office

Leeds

3 January