PETER Mullen has rarely produced a more one-sided column (Echo, Apr 30).

Mentioning the sad fact that four Jews were murdered in Hebron, he ignores the fact that about six Palestinians are murdered for every Israeli.

He states: "The Arabs wish only to drive Israel into the sea." But he ignores the fact that the stated desire of the recently assassinated Israeli cabinet minister was to drive all of the Palestinians into the same sea.

He mocks the idea that Israel should "give land for peace", but have not the Israelis been taking land which 60 years ago was all Palestinian land and continue to do so with their building of settlements in occupied land in defiance of 1967 agreements?

Many of the neighbouring Arab states are, of course, military or theocratic dictatorships but that has no bearing (except in Peter Mullen's eyes) on the current tragedy.

In his attempt to emphasise the religious dimension to the conflict, he seems to be unaware that a minority of the Palestinians (including their spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi) are Christians, but are suffering just as much as the Muslim majority. - Eric Gendle, Middlesbrough.

THE latest slaughter in the Middle East was initiated by the Israeli nation. Further encroachment into agreed Palestinian lands, deaths of innocent men, women and children.

I can still remember the murder of a young Arab boy and his unarmed father shot by Jewish conscripts while seeking refuge against a wall.

Now the massacre in Jenin and the refusal of the Israeli government to allow UN forces inside to help the survivors.

Is it any wonder Arabs retaliate? You get the terrorists that you deserve.

For too long the West has bent over backwards for the Jews in some misguided belief that we could have prevented or ended the Holocaust before we did. That is now history. Enough is enough. It is now time to intervene and halt more deaths on both sides. - Joe Welthorpe, Middlesbrough.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

YOUR report that the Northern Assembly campaign has stepped up (Echo, May 4) merely furthers the one-sided propaganda assault that organisations such as the Campaign for a North-East Assembly (CNA) are happy for you blissfully to promote.

Articles, equally one-sided, appear now almost daily in local and national papers, giving the desired impression that there is no contrary opinion.

Many correspondents to The Northern Echo and other papers highlight repeatedly that the purpose and thrust behind the push for regional governments is not to create greater local autonomy through devolved power, but to implement the desire of Brussels that the UK become a country of the regions (12 in fact). These regions will not be devolved from Westminster, but answerable to an unelected, unaccountable (and therefore undemocratic) and centralised body in Brussels known as the Committee for the Regions.

Why then is this aspect of the debate never mentioned in any articles, features or editorial comment? Why must it be left to individual citizens to highlight these dangers via the limited range of letters columns in the press?

Should not the newspapers themselves be seen to act more democratically? - Dave Pascoe, Press Officer, UK Independence Party, Teesside Branch.

MAYORAL ELECTIONS

WHAT was the Labour Party thinking about when it introduced the elected mayor system?

It has to be a joke that we now have Robocop, a monkey and a Tory wreaking autocratic, presidential-style decisions for North-East councils.

It is the daftest and least thought through political turn the party has taken for a long time. Thank goodness most councils of all political persuasions are against it.

What is wanted? Is this new arrangement going to encourage more young people to join the party and take on the seriously responsible and time-consuming job of being a modern-day local councillor.

The only thing the new mayors will be doing is working to get re-elected in a few years time. Wouldn't you be on £53,000 a year? - Anne Telford, Whitley Bay.

WELL done Ray Mallon on a simply fantastic victory after all the venom you received. I hope you go on to be a huge success as mayor.

The public obviously thinks you will after that majority and, now you have achieved your aim, go out there and make every post a winning one. Prove all your critics wrong. They must all be squirming now after your great victory.

Give it your all Ray. I think you are a breath of fresh air and will do a great job. - George Rowe, Houghton-le-Spring.

LABOUR IN OFFICE

ALL that is necessary for the Conservatives to triumph at elections is for the electorate to suffer mass amnesia. We had 18 years of Tory rule, with inflation running at eight per cent or thereabouts per annum, soaring mortgage repayments, negative equity with thousands of house repossessions, unemployment averaging 2.5 million and peaking at over three million, a wipe-out of our manufacturing base, the near destruction of our NHS with treatment only for those who could afford it, and ending up with a national debt so huge that the interest payment on it exceeded the gross expenditure on education.

After five years of Labour Government our national debt has all but been repaid. Inflation has been squeezed out of the economy, unemployment is less than one million, expenditure is pouring into the NHS and the schools, and pensioners are now better off than ever before.

Yes, there is a lot of room for further improvements, especially in the operation of our public utilities, but remember, it was the Tories who flogged them off for a song. Do you really want to see them back in power? - Alan Benn, Bedale.