Madam, - The announcement by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, then he intends to dismantle illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank is not the breakthrough it seems. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal. Mr Sharon has only stated his intention to dismantle the tiny minority of Israeli settlements (usually nothing more significant than a collection of caravans) that do not have an Israeli building permit.
If the present and previous Israeli governments were really interested in peace with the Palestinians, it would be reasonable to presume that they would have halted their colonial policy of settling the Palestinian territories.
However, since the signing of the Oslo Accords with the PLO in 1993, not only has Israel refused to stop colonising the Palestinian territories, it has actually accelerated the settlement land grab. Between 1993 and 2002, the number of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories has increased by over 50 per cent, from 247,000 to 380,000. In the Gaza Strip, home to 1.1 million Palestinians, 7,000 Israeli settlers occupy 25 per cent of the land.
If a lasting peace is to be achieved in the Middle East, Israel must obey international law and withdraw its military and its colonists from the Palestinian territories. Israel must also support the establishment of a viable, independent, Palestinian state.
A sovereign, democratic, Palestinian state, comprising all of the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is the only long-term guarantee of peace, security and stability in the Middle East. The United States, the EU and the international community must, in the interest of peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians, ensure that the "road map" leads to such a state. -Yours, etc.,
MARTIN GLEESON, Illaunree Drive, Coolough Road, Galway.