To the editor:

In "3 Palestinians Executed in Gaza Soon After Call to Resume Death Penalty," Diaa Hadid noted "most Palestinians approve of the death penalty for those convicted of spying for Israel," obviously making such a position, supporting the ultimate punishment and one which has been executed frequently, mainstream in Palestinian Arab society.

Such a position is apparently not mainstream in Israeli society, given that it was considered news when a single Israeli parliamentarian generally described as extreme right wing, Avigdor Lieberman, expressed support for that punishment for convicted terrorists.

Hadid gave a reason for Arab support for the death penalty, the society being "long under the shadow of a military occupation." However, Gaza has been totally free of the so-called "Israeli occupation" for more than a decade and even in Judea and Samaria approximately 95 percent of the Arabs have lived under their own government, the Palestinian Authority, for more than two decades.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein