AS far as I know, the people of St Ives don t send suicide bombers to murder the residents of Huntingdon. If they did, of course, a wall might be a sensible idea, says Sam Mainzer, trying to justify the Separation Wall (Letters, December 27). No, and

AS far as I know, the people of St Ives don't send suicide bombers to murder the residents of Huntingdon. If they did, of course, a wall might be a sensible idea," says Sam Mainzer, trying to justify the Separation Wall (Letters, December 27).

No, and unlike imprisoned Bethlehem, St Ives isn't suffering 70 per cent unemployment and economic strangulation.

The International Court of Justice ruled the wall illegal and ordered Israel to dismantle it and pay for the damage. The court also reminded all states that they were "under an obligation not to recognise the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and ... to ensure that Israel complies with international humanitarian law as embodied in the Fourth Geneva Convention".

Israel's response has been to speed up the building, while those who prattle about freedom every five minutes - Bush and Blair - sit back and watch.

I have visited the Holy Land and seen for myself the cruelty of the occupation and the criminal "facts on the ground" that Israel has established on a massive scale in the hope of making her land seizures, expanded settlements and re-drawn borders irreversible.

The wall has little to do with security and zigzags deep into the Palestinian West Bank to annex lush lands and vital water resources. It shunts the dispossessed into impoverished and disconnected enclaves, where they have no chance of building a viable Palestinian state and are doomed to permanent subservience to the Jewish State.

The wall is a key tool in an evil scheme and I, for one, fully support Fr Paul's brave move to focus attention on it.

Mr Mainzer mentions the Second Intifada (uprising) of September 2000, which was sparked off by Ariel Sharon's provocative visit with 1,000 bodyguards to the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Since then, 3,971 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis and 453 Israelis killed by Palestinians in cross-border attacks. Another 464 Israelis have been killed within the Occupied Territories by Palestinians rightfully defending their homeland. The Israelis' kill-rate is at least four to one.

They do even better against kids: 806 Palestinian children have been slaughtered, compared with 119 Israeli children. These figures come from B'Tselem, Israel's own Information Centre for Human Rights.

STUART LITTLEWOOD

St Ives Road

Hemingford Grey