I WOULD like to have my final say on the episode of the Israeli-Arab (Palestinian) problem in reply to George Abendstern (Postbag, Nov 9). I am taken to task for my ignorance and the utter contempt I am supposed to have for the Palestinians.

Firstly, I agree that Lawrence of Arabia and King Hussain's grandfather did drive the Turks out of the Middle-East, and it is a matter of record that, for this help, approximately 93 per cent of the land promised to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration was in turn taken away and given to King Hussain's family as a thank-you by a grateful British government. It is this land that became the Kingdom of Jordan. Secondly, he goes on to quote the blatant lie that the fledgling State of Israel attacked the Arabs.

Israel had been warned by Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan that if they declared statehood these five powerful Arabian nations, all armed with state-of-the-art modern weaponry, would invade. What seems to stick in his craw is the fact that this little state fought these well-armed nations to a standstill, giving them a bloody nose, over and over again, which made them think long and hard about their shortcomings. This was with mostly home-made weapons, army surplus and a few old Spitfires.

This nonsense about a Palestinian entity did not come into being until many years later, after a number of attempts by the aforementioned nations had been defeated over and over again. At that time they left the "Palestinian people" to their fate, rotting in refugee camps and using them for propaganda fodder instead of helping them as decreed in the Koran where it refers top Muslims in distress.

I have always been taught that those who disseminate propaganda and lies eventually begin to believe the lies themselves. It would seem that I am preaching to the converted, however. Should Mr Abendstern and others disagree with the facts I have quoted I have a well-stocked library of history books of that period and later, written by Jewish, Christian and Muslim authors, should they wish to borrow them.

A. P. TOBIAS