MIDDLE EAST

ON TV I was watching the Israeli Defence Minister being interviewed about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict in which he stated that there was no political solution to terrorism.

Does he not recall how the state of Israel was created, by terrorism and by political pressure from the US on Britain?

From 1945 to 1948 the Jewish terrorist gangs began a campaign of terrorism in Palestine, murdering 450 British service personnel and Palestinians.

Mr Begin, who became Prime Minister of Israel, was the head of one of the gangs which went into the village of Der Yassin and killed every man, woman and child, 400 souls. So this slaughter has not just started of Palestinians, it has been going on for 54 years.

I read the letter (HAS, Apr 15) by Megan Robinson who calls the Palestinians terrorist scum. To her I suppose the Israeli terrorist gangs would be freedom fighters, not scum. What have the Palestinians got to fight with? They have no army, no navy, no air force, so they have to protect themselves some way.

I don't condone terrorism. I saw enough of it when I served in Palestine from 1946 to 1948. It is about time something was done on an international level to resolve it.

If there had been oil in Palestine the US would have been in there now and sorted it out.

In 1983 I went back to Israel to visit the graves of two of my colleagues who had been killed in Palestine and after leaving the war cemetery I was stopped by an Israeli soldier for ID. When he knew I was British I was threatened and abused. - Name and address supplied.

POLICE PENSIONS

The letter from P Weaver (HAS, Apr 15) makes a valid point on the rules on police retiring on the sick and taking a pension.

It used to have a clause which meant if the policeman who retired on the sick became fit again he could then apply to rejoin the force and come off pension. If the authority discovered that the policeman was now fit again he should be made to undergo a medical examination. If he was found to be fit he would be obliged to give up his pension and rejoin the force or his pension would be stopped. How often has this taken place of have the rules been changed? It seems as if unfit police can then take another full time job where fitness is required, but still draw an ill health pension. - E. Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

HEALTH RIP-OFF

ALTHOUGH I'm an admirer of the NHS being a fundamental right of all individuals in an advanced country, I gasped in amazement when a Labour MP commented that the NHS was 98 per cent good.

So why does there have to be an increase in taxation if it's that efficient?

Any manufacturing process with a 98 per cent yield would not require billions thrown at it. The two per cent waste or scrap would be analysed, pinpointed and small working groups given a remit for corrective action.

Britain's armed forces have faced severe cut backs and reduced tight budgets in the face of increasing worldwide commitments. Young lads face responsibility, which belies their age.

The extra managers the NHS now has need to show the nation the way.

What Britain should fight is the increasingly obvious view, that overall we are getting ripped off.

Yes, the continental countries pay more for health, but their lifestyles still surpass ours. The majority of commodities on the continent are much cheaper - fuel, cars, travel, eating out etc - hence they still have bulging back pockets.

Yes, the British paymaster is willing to stump up the cash for the health of all, but let's judge the continent on a level playing field. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland.

HEALTH SERVICE

CHRIS Lloyd's report (Echo, Apr 18) is based on conjecture and wait and see.

His chart on deaths in other European countries is misleading because health provision in these countries is based on what insurance the citizen pays, not about the tax they pay.

Since Labour came to power we have seen billions of extra money poured into the NHS without any improvement, and certainly not as far as patient care is concerned.

Therefore, I see no hope at all of any significant improvement. In four years time we will have the same platitudes and excuses and the hope that we will be patient enough to wait a few years.

Does this Budget mean that other public services are put on hold or is this tax increase just a start of Old Labour rearing its ugly side? - John Young, Crook.

VOLUNTARY SERVICE

DID you know that last year, over 100 MPs throughout the UK showed their commitment to their community by rising to Volunteers' Week VIP Challenge 2002? Over 140 MPs signed an Early Day Motion in support of the biggest event on the volunteering calendar.

This week the National Centre for Volunteering issues the Volunteers' Week VIP Challenge, challenging all MPs and leading local figures to volunteer for a day in their own communities, preferably during Volunteers' Week (7-13 June).

Those wanting to know more about the Volunteers' Week VIP Challenge, how to get in touch with their local politicians and more about the week in general should visit www.volunteersweek.org.uk or write to us at Regent's Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London, NI 9RL. - Fiona Shadbolt, Head of Volunteering Promotion.