I am deeply disturbed to read David Tan's letter on the Middle East conflict. Especially disturbing is his wish for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be eliminated.

His statement that "all Israeli leaders have been terrorists dedicated to the destruction of Palestine" shows either an anti-semitic strain or a lack of knowledge of the facts on the Middle East. Does his statement include assassinated Israeli PM Yithzak Rabin who tried to create peace with the Arabs in the Oslo peace process?

Does it include the efforts of former Israeli PM Ehud Barak during the last days of the Clinton administration to essentially give the Palestinians their own state?

If Mr Tan had read up on his facts, he would have known that Barak was so desperate to have peace with the Palestinians that he more or less gave everything the Palestinians wanted during his peace talks with Yasser Arafat.

Unfortunately Arafat instead started the intifada (uprising) hoping to get more from the Israelis. Arafat had what he wanted in his hands but he gambled it away, hoping for more. After that incident, the Israeli's voted out Barak and voted in Sharon instead.

And yes, lest we forget, Israel is the only democratic country in the entire Middle East. Their prime ministers are democratically elected leaders unlike the autocrats and 'leaders for life' in other countries in that region.

Reading Mr Tan's suggestion about a 'republic of Palestine' where Israelis and Palestinians would live together side by side is ludicrous at best. Israel is already a recognised country at the United Nations.

It is the aim of everyone, I hope, to create a situation where the two states of Israel and Palestine would be able live peacefully side by side as outlined in the 'roadmap' and the Oslo accords.

Unfortunately, views like those held by Mr Tan do not contribute to that. To be fair, maybe he is not fully informed on all the facts. I suggest a good place to start is by reading the works of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman among others.