Madam, - F. Baigel (August 22nd) claims that the El-Bureig massacre perpetrated by Ariel Sharon's Unit 101 in August 1953 was in response to "the constant 'Fedayeen' infiltrations resulting in many deaths of innocent civilians".
According to this logic it is acceptable for a purportedly democratic state to engage in massive reprisals - or collective punishment, prohibited by international law - against civilians for acts for which they are not responsible.
Two months after El-Bureig the same Unit 101 perpetrated an even more cruel massacre at the Jordanian village of Qibya, following the same logic of reprisal. The then Israeli foreign minister Moshe Sharett was moved to avow that "the stain will stick to us and will not be washed away for many years to come".
In the eyes of F. Baigel and other pro-Israel apologists the stain has never existed. Such an amoral logic continues to impede peace and justice in the Middle East. - Yours, etc.,
RAYMOND DEANE, Chairman, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Dame Street, Dublin 2.