Sir: Michael Adam's attack on your excellent editorial on Israel
of April 20 accused Israel of overthrowing the principles of International Law by continuing to occupy Arab land.
In stating this Mr Adams appears to have forgotten the origin of the conflict. It is perhaps worth examining this from time to time to keep the matter clear in one's mind.
The United Nations passed a resolution in November 1947 partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The idea being to solve the problem of Jewish and Arab counterclaims on the same land. The Jews accepted this decision, but the Arabs promptly tried to overthrow it by force and lost the war. As a result of this, refugees went both ways, as in all wars. Israel absorbed her refugees but the Arabs shut up theirs in camps for propaganda reasons. As a result of this, there formed slowly over the years a Palestine National Identity. At the same time the Arab states refused to carry out the normal practice and negotiate a peace treaty. Now when peace comes the already Balkanised Arab nation may have to be divided still further with the setting up of a Palestine state.
At the time when there are signs that the Arabs are at last moving in the direction of negotiations it is very shocking that Mr Adams writes a letter which can only encourage them to move away from the negotiations which are the only means to peace in the region.
David M. Jacobs
22a Thurloe Street, London SW7.
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