Jerusalem – Statement by the LAS – Letter from Kuwait

LETTER DATED 10 OCTOBER 1990 FROM THE PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF

KUWAIT TO THE UNITED NATIONS ADDRESSED TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

I have the honour to transmit the statement issued by the secretariat of the League of Arab States on the massacre committed on 8 October 1990 by the Israeli authorities near the Al-Aqsa mosque.

I should be grateful if you would have this letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.

Annex

Statement issued by the secretariat of the League of Arab States

On the massacre at the Al-Aqsa mosque

The Zionist racist and fascist circles have profited from the Jewish religious festivals in order to try once again to destroy the holy mosque of Al-Aqsa, the first qibla and the third holy Moslem place and to lay the first stone of what they call “the third temple” on the site of this sanctuary.

Faced with these provocations, the Palestinians tried to protect the mosque and prevent its desecration.  The Israeli police force and army then intervened and committed a barbarous massacre among the civilian population; so far the casualties amount to 30 dead and a thousand wounded.

Without minimizing the dangers of the uncontrolled racism of the extremist circles, we are bound to observe that the official attitude, statements and justifications are even serious.  There is now no doubt that this fascism which knows no limits is encouraged by the official positions and directives of the Israeli Government itself.

The latest massacre, which is part of the logical sequences of Zionist practices aimed at placing increasing pressure on the inhabitants of the occupied territories in order to compel them to leave their homeland, is proof that the Israeli Government is preparing the ground for its aggressive designs, the aim being to crush the intifadah and to force the Palestinian population to leave so as to clear the ground for the influx of Jewish immigrants.

In order to preserve the higher interests of the Arab peoples and promote the cause of peace, it is therefore necessary to act in order to force Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and deprive the Israeli leaders, who are endeavouring to build a “greater Israel” in the Arab and Palestinian territories, of any possibility of fulfilling their wild expansionist dreams.

The massacres of which the Palestinians are victims and the policies and statements of the Israeli leaders are creating a dangerous situation which jeopardizes the lives of Arabs and Palestinians and gives free reign to racist tendencies.  The League of Arab States urges all States and international organizations to act swiftly to ensure that emergency measures are taken by the Security Council to ensure the international protection needed by the defenceless civilian population of the occupied territories, pending the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations, its objective being to ensure the full withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories and enable the Palestinian people to exercise its right to self-determination and found its independent State on its own land.  In order to achieve this, the rules of international law and international conventions must be implemented in a non-selective manner and steps must be taken to ensure that the international community supports the Palestinian people.