Mideast situation/Palestine question – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 27 September 1985 from the Permanent Representative of Israel

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I wish to bring to your attention the latest PLO outrages against innocent civilians in Israel.

On 22 September 1985, a booby-trapped car loaded with four gas cylinders was discovered in the Mea Sharim neighbourhood of Jerusalem.  The bomb was defused minutes before the car was to explode.

On 26 September 1985, a bomb exploded at a bus station near Hadassah Hospital injuring two people.

On the morning of 25 September 1985, three PLO terrorists stormed a small private yacht moored in the marina of Larnaca, Cyprus.  Aboard the yacht were three Israelis, one woman and two men, who were on vacation. In the course of a siege lasting nearly 10 hours, the terrorists murdered all three Israelis in cold blood.  The bodies of the victims were found with their hands tied behind their backs and shot several times in the back of the head.

The PLO claimed responsibility for the first two attacks. Initial reports indicate that the slaughter in Cyprus was carried out by "Force 17", a personal bodyguard unit of Yasir Arafat.

In the last 45 days there have been 32 PLO terrorist  attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.  As a result of these attacks eight people have been murdered and 25 women and children wounded.

This savagery is further evidence of the PLO's continuing campaign of terror directed solely against civilians. Israel will continue to take appropriate measures to defend the lives of its citizens against these brutal attacks.

I have the honour to request that this letter be circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under items 38 and 130, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Benjamin NETANYAHU

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

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