Mideast situation/attacks – Letter from Israel

LETTER DATED 31 DECEMBER 1985 FROM THE ACTING PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

OF ISRAEL TO THE UNITED NATIONS ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Israel wishes to comment about the recent events which led to yesterday's presidential statement by the Security Council condemning the attacks against civilians at the airport in Rome and Vienna (S/17702),

The Palestinian terror, whose source and inspiration flows directly from the PLO, constantly prided itself on its "armed struggle" against Israel and her citizens. Once again it has illustrated its readiness to perpetrate acts of mass murder against civilians of different nationalities in its obsessive campaign against the very existence of Israel.

In these most recent atrocities, Palestinian terror has resulted in the ruthless and deliberate killing and maiming of women, children and babies intentionally during the holiday supposed to be a season of peace and brotherhood,

in order to maximize the civilian casualties.

The PLO was the first terror organization to initiate, already in 1966, attacks on civilian air transportation. This has become its trademark since; these locations have continued to be the arena for acts of international terrorism such as the attacks on passenger terminals in Rome and Vienna.

Currently the PLO continues to brazenly attack civilian targets.  Thus, there is a blatant contradiction between the stance that many countries have adopted against international terrorism and the permission some of them give to the central terrorist organization of the world to operate "missions" in their capitals.

Countries which give support and shelter to the terrorist gang which perpetrated the latest criminal atrocities have to be condemned; and in particular Libya, which has become the world centre of international terrorism and whose news agency praised and glorified the Rome and Vienna atrocities, as "courageous operations"'. It should be noted that these criminal gangs also find shelter and backing in Iraq and Syria.

The international desire to end atrocities and to adopt measures to prevent these heinous deeds has been growing. It becomes imperative now that all those countries that oppose acts of international terrorism unite and take decisive action to effectively fight against this cancerous evil.

I have the honour to request that this letter be circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Johanan BEIN

Ambassador

Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations