Attack in Beit Lid – Letter from Israel

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Fiftieth session Fiftieth year

MEASURES TO ELIMINATE

  INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

Letter dated 23 January 1995 from the Permanent

Representative of Israel to the United Nations 

addressed to the Secretary-General

I wish to draw your attention to the grave act of terrorism committed in Israel by Palestinian terrorists yesterday, in which 19 Israeli citizens were killed.  The following are the details of the attack:

(a) On 22 January 1995, at approximately 9.20 a.m., Palestinian terrorists detonated two explosive devices, timed several minutes apart, at a crowded bus stop at the Sharon Junction (Beit Lid), in central Israel.  Rescuers assisting the victims of the first explosion themselves became victims as the terrorists set off the second explosion;

(b) The attack killed 19 people, and wounded 66, 13 of whom are listed in critical condition;

(c) The fundamentalist organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said was carried out by two of its members from the Gaza Strip.  At the houses of the perpetrators in the Gaza Strip, thousands of supporters of Islamic Jihad gathered openly to express delight at the killings.

Since the signing the Declaration of Principles with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on 13 September 1993, 110 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian terrorists in 49 separate attacks.

These attacks were committed by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists affiliated with organizations that receive support and guidance from certain States in the region.  These, no less than the perpetrators themselves, bear responsibility for the violence and should be held accountable.

The grievous act of violence committed yesterday demands an unequivocal condemnation on the part of the international community.  Israel calls upon the parties in the region and the entire international community to cooperate in combating all forms of terrorism.

The fundamentalists are attempting to undermine the progress towards peace being achieved in the region.  To achieve their ends, they rely on indiscriminate violence and bloodshed.  The international community must not permit them to determine the fate of the peoples and future generations of the Middle East.

I should be grateful if you would have this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under the item entitled "Measures to eliminate international terrorism", and of the Security Council.

                                                (Signed) Gad YAACOBI

                                                   Ambassador

                                        Permanent Representative of Israel

                                              to the United Nations

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