Letter: Begin did not start up the settlements

Sir: I am certainly no fan of the late prime minister of Israel Menachem Begin. However, if only in the interests of historical accuracy, the letter of 1 March from your correspondent Philip Stewart must be corrected.

It was not Mr Begin who 'licensed Zionist settlements in the occupied territories'. The process began immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel won back the areas seized by the Arabs in 1945.

It was then that the settlements were set up with the approval and support of Israel's Labour government led by, among others, its current Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres.

Yours truly,

CHARLES CORMAN

London, EC4

2 March