DAVID Lyon is clearly irritated by Nick Hall's letter (Letters, April 8) but what Mr Hall writes is unquestionably true.

If you have any doubts, read The Birth Of The Palestinian Refugee Problem by the Israeli historian Benny Morris.

There will be no progress until the historical facts are acknowledged.

Certainly the Arab invasion of the new Israeli state in 1948 was unjust and profoundly unwise because it allowed Israel to conquer half of the territory that had been allocated by the United Nations to the Palestinian state: Israel had control of 78 per cent of the land rather than the 55 per cent awarded by the UN.

Military conquest is no longer an acceptable means of defining borders but Israeli expansion, and brutal suppression of the Palestinian people, has continued ever since, leaving the Palestinians now with only about ten per cent.

Yes, there has in recent years been a violent response from some Palestinians. That too is most regrettable but is it surprising?

There will be no end to terrorist activity on both sides unless these truths are openly acknowledged and reconciliation is reached in a settlement that is fair and just to Palestinians and Israelis.

David E Pegg,

St Paul's Square,

York.

Updated: 11:13 Monday, April 18, 2005