I am commenting on the article Battered but not beaten, Hamas will not stop building tunnels (July 24). Well, while Hamas is intent on trying to wipe out Israel, they are bringing death and destruction to the children of Palestine. These rockets and tunnels will not help anything. This whole thing is primitive. For anyone to think they are doing right in the eyes of God is even more sad.
Tricia Sutherland, South Africa
As US shuts its eyes, West must help Palestinians
Thank you James Zogby for the opinion article American media distorts the way Palestinians are viewed (July 27). It clearly shows how America chooses to close its eyes as injustices continue to take place.
Now the West needs to take a firm stand against the atrocities being carried out against Palestinians. It’s time Palestine is retuned to its rightful owners – the Palestinians.
Ameerah Jolene-Ann van Heerden, Dubai
This article shows how depraved the American media is. It’s unfortunate that commercial interests take precedence over truth so many times in the so-called land of liberty and freedom.
Sathya Narayanan, Dubai
Visa cancellation isn’t always easy
In the column Can UAE worker start new job before visa is cancelled by former employer? (July 25), Karen Bobker says: "The process of cancelling a visa is not complicated and there is no reason why it cannot be done in just a few days in the vast majority of cases."
I think companies pretty much determine the future of an employee in the UAE and if they want, they can delay or refuse to cancel a visa causing huge problems. There is little the employee can do to solve it except file a case with the hope that the new employer is understanding and will wait.
Name withheld by request
It depends on the company. In my case, the process took about a month, which delayed my joining my new workplace. You have to keep checking with the person doing it.
Samantha Attfield, Abu Dhabi
This refers to the article Dubai worker queries end of service gratuity payment after switch to full-time (July 27). Bobker says that according to Article 34, "the provisions of some laws regarding the granting of pensions and gratuities to employees of some establishments, the end of service gratuity shall be computed on the basis of last wage which the employee was entitled to, in respect of those drawing their salary per month".
Unfortunately, many people are unaware of this law and some employers take undue advantage of their lack of knowledge.
Mohamed Naeem, Abu Dhabi
Some companies reduce the basic after the employee completes five years and increase the housing allowance. They keep the total the same so the employees don’t complain. But such companies are cheating the employee. Ideally, 60 per cent of the total pay should be the basic.
Andrea Cornel, Sharjah
Why is BA igoring Israel warning?
British Airways continued to fly into Israel after rejecting the European Aviation Safety Agency warning. In a recent BBC report, airline pilots warned that a risk-based assessment of whether to fly to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport was imperative.
Until flights into Ben Gurion airport (which is approximately 59 kilometres from Gaza rocket emplacements) have been declared 100 per cent safe, which was clearly not the position a few days ago, international airline pilots were refusing to fly there. They were adamant that passenger safety was paramount and must always come before financial profit.
The UK national carrier’s decision to keep flying passengers into Tel Aviv when American and other European carriers had suspended their flights on security grounds raises an important question – what prompted it to reject the safety recommendations?
Anthony Bellchambers, UK