When asked of Israel's role in the assassination of Ayyash, Prime Minister Shimon Peres refused to comment directly. He responded: "If somebody thinks that he can kill Israelis and Israel will remain indifferent, that's a slight exaggeration." Peres also dismissed charges that the assassination placed Arafat in a difficult position.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Israelis killed Sheqaqi, a Palestinian leader, in Malta. When the Zionist Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated, we thought at first that certain factions of the Palestinian group had taken revenge. The whole Arab world heaved a sigh of relief when the perpetrator of the crime turned out to be a rabid Zionist against the peace process.

Israel's hands are never clean. Ever before its inception the Zionist entity was responsible for the cold-blooded murders and killing and maiming of innocent people. They slaughtered sleeping Arabs - thousands of men, women and children. And they terrorized Arab communities into leaving their ancestral land.

The Zionists blew up the King David Hotel, killing innocent civilians and British soldiers after the creation of Israel and the Israelis intensified their campaign of terror. Not only Arabs but even pro-Arab elements were wiped out.

But, after World War II and later on, the Arabs became the culprit. It was the Arab who was portrayed as a ruthless assassin trying to stamp out the poor Israeli. The Zionist state was perceived as a little "bastion of democracy" facing 'hordes' of Arabs who were trying to wipe it out.

And, to prove this theory, Israel had committed many acts of terrorism and blamed it on the Arabs. In one well-known instance, the Israeli Defense Ministry staged a masquerade of the bombing of Western interests in Egypt. The game was exposed, but it did not in any way deter the Israelis. Thus Israel's hands are full of blood.

Arab utterances, poor media positioning and a lack of understanding of lobbying and public relations contributed to their negative image which became entrenched in the minds of the West.

Inter-Arab conflicts and internecine struggle added to the theory that Arabs were the "terror movers" while Israelis were a people who upheld the law.

However, the recent actions of the Israelis and their open gloating of the murders prove that Israel itself is no less a terrorist state than the organizations it brands as "terrorist".

It is time that research is done by Arab and neutral groups to determine how many innocent people became victims of Israel's deadly games.

Rabin, the man now being hailed as a dove born with a mission of peace, himself had started his life as a terrorist when Palestine was Arab land. Later, both as a man who had shaped the Israeli military machine and as a product of that military establishment, he had directed military operations against Arab countries and was responsible for violation of human rights in the occupied territories and displacement of the Palestinians. he was also responsible for damage to many Islamic holy sites.

But now we are asked to forget the past of Rabins, Shamirs and Ben Gurions. Don't remember those crimes, we are told, they are past and done with. What we must look ahead is to the new dawn, when the Palestinians and Israelis will reach out, across the sea of shed blood, to join in an embrace of eternal friendship.

So, we are advised, don't look at past records. Let them be erased.

Yea, but only Israeli records. Palestinian records will be kept open. The calculated first blow, delivered by the Israeli, will be forgiven. The instinctive reaction, coming from the Palestinian, will not be. Those responsible will be pursued, shot to rags in Malta or blown to pieces in Gaza Strip.

It is important that the proposed researches should highlight what havoc Israel's secret services have caused to innocent people.

These incidents should, therefore, be for all to see.

There are so-called Israeli experts on "Arab terror". There are bodies to counter such terror.