Mideast situation/Lebanon – Letter from Lebanon

GENERAL ASSEMBLY    SECURITY COUNCIL

Fifty-first session    Fifty-first year

Agenda item 33

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Letter dated 15 November 1996 from the Permanent Representative of

Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

On instructions from my Government and further to our earlier letters concerning the Israeli attacks and arbitrary practices that are repeated on a daily basis against the civilian population of southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa, I have the honour to inform you of a series of such attacks that took place during October 1996.

1 October 1996

At 1230 hours the vicinity of Shaqra and Bra'shit in the Bint Jubayl district came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

At 1230 hours the vicinity of Jarju', Ayn Bu Siwar and Jba' came under Israeli artillery bombardment from Israeli positions inside the border strip.  At the same time, Israeli warplanes overflew the Iqlim al-Tuffah area at medium altitude.

At 1245 hours Israeli warplanes overflew the town and encampments of Sidon at high altitude.

2 October 1996

At 0130 hours the vicinity of Arabsalim, Jarju', the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi came under artillery bombardment from Israeli positions inside the border strip.  No injuries were reported.

At 1530 hours the vicinity of Arabsalim, Jarju' Ayn Bu Siwar, Luwayzah, the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

At 1600 hours Israeli helicopters attacked the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi.

4 October 1996

At 1130 hours the area between the cold storage plant of Al Sharif and the Mashgharah Vocational Training School in the western Bekaa district came under artillery bombardment from the Israeli positions centred on Tumat Niha.

At 1540 hours the vicinity of Arabsalim, Jarju', Ayn Bu Siwar, Jba', the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

5 October 1996

At 1830 hours Israeli warplanes attacked the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi, and the vicinity of Jba', Ayn Bu Siwar, Jarju' and Arabsalim came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

6 October 1996

At 1030 hours the vicinity of Tibnin, Haris, Dayr Antar, Ayta al-Jabal and Haddatha came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

7 October 1996

Israeli warplanes bombarded the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi, and the Israeli army bombarded the vicinity of Jba', Ayn Bu Siwar, Jarju', Arabsalim and a number of villages in the area of Bint Jubayl.

9 October 1996

At 2100 hours Israeli planes overflew the area of Nabatiyah at medium altitude and, at 2115 hours, attacked the valley in the vicinity of Jarju'.

10 October 1996

At 0915 hours Israeli warplanes overflew the Nabatiyah area at low altitude and made mock attacks.

At 1200 hours the Israeli forces opened fire at random from a military vessel in the direction of the shore at Qulaylah in the Tyne district.

At 1300 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the area of Iqlim al-Tuffah in close formation at low altitude and made several mock attacks; they also made several sorties, overflying Sa'diyat and Damur at low altitude.

At 1315 hours Israeli military aircraft overflew the town and encampments of Sidon at high altitude.

11 October 1996

At 2100 hours the vicinity of Safad al-Battikh, Majdal Silm, Jumayjimah and Tibnin came under Israeli artillery bombardment; more than 20 155-mm shells fell in Safad al-Battikh, causing various injuries to 13 civilians (including a security official).  They were immediately taken to the government hospital in Tibnin and, because of the seriousness of their injuries, were then transferred to hospitals in Sidon.

16 October 1996

At 1100 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the town and encampments of Sidon, and then repeated the overflight at 1445 hours at a low altitude.

17 October 1996

At 0800 hours an Israeli force supported by two tanks and a section of infantry advanced from Qal'at al-Shaqif (Château de Beaufort), entered Arnun and took up positions on the public highway leading to Yuhmur and Shaqif.  They blocked the highway, checked the identities of the inhabitants and searched some of them.

18 October 1996

At 0430 hours the vicinity of Kafr Rumman, Habbush, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, the bed of the Litany river in the area of Nabatiyah and Iqlim al-Tuffah came under Israeli artillery bombardment and gunfire.

19 October 1996

At 1125 hours Jabal Ayn al-Tinah in the western Bekaa district came under artillery bombardment from the Israeli positions and the Lahad militia.  The bombardment stopped at 1300 hours.

At 0100 hours Yuhmur and Shaqif came under an Israeli artillery bombardment which set fire to large areas of olive trees, evergreen oaks and forest trees.

20 October 1996

At 1015 hours Israeli warplanes overflew Sidon at high altitude.  

At 1515 hours Arabsalim, Ayn Bu Siwar, the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi came under Israeli artillery bombardment; at the same time, Israeli warplanes overflew the area of Iqlim al-Tuffah.  No casualties were reported.

21 October 1996

At 0800 hours Qilya and Dallafah in the western Bekaa district came under an Israeli artillery bombardment which stopped at 0840 hours.  No casualties were reported.  Because of the security situation, the Zumarayya crossing was closed to vehicles and pedestrians in both directions at 0900 hours.

At 1015 hours Israeli warplanes overflew the town and encampments of Sidon at high altitude, and repeated the overflight at 1415 hours.

At 1500 hours Mimis and Mahallat al-Qati' came under an Israeli artillery bombardment which prevented the Lebanese army from going along the Marj al-Zuhur-Mimis road for reasons of security.

At 2130 hours an Israeli military vessel seized a fishing boat opposite the port of Tripoli-Akkar with unidentified people on board.

23 October 1996

At 0700 hours the vicinity of Zillayah, Qilya and Dallafah came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

24 October 1996

At 1000 hours Mashgharah and Ayn al-Tinah came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

27 October 1996

At 1820 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the areas of Nabatiyah and Iqlim al-Tuffah and made several mock attacks.

At 1850 hours Israeli military aircraft overflew the area of the town and encampments of Sidon at high altitude.

28 October 1996

At 0715 hours the vicinity of Kafra, Yatar, Haddatha and Haris came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

At 0900 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the area of Nabatiyah at low altitude and carried out mock attacks.

At 1315 hours Israeli aircraft overflew Sidon at low altitude, and repeated the overflight at 2150 hours.

At 1730 hours the vicinity of Qilya and Zillaya and the Maydun hills in the western Bekaa district came under artillery bombardment from the Israeli positions and the Lahad militia.

At 2100 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the area of Tyre at low altitude.

At 2130 hours warplanes repeated the overflight of the area of Nabatiyah at low altitude and made mock attacks.

29 October 1996

At 1145 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the western Bekaa area.

At 2030 hours Israeli warplanes overflew Sidon at high altitude.

30 October 1996

At 0920 hours Israeli warplanes overflew the town and encampments of Sidon, and repeated the overflight at 1430 hours at medium altitude.

At 1330 hours Israeli aircraft overflew the area of Nabatiyah and Iqlim al-Tuffah at low altitude and made mock attacks.

At 2100 hours Israeli warplanes again overflew the area of Iqlim al-Tuffah at low altitude for a period of half an hour, and made mock attacks.

31 October 1996

At 2230 hours Israeli warplanes overflew the area of Iqlim al-Tuffah at low altitude; at the same time, the vicinity of Arabsalim, Jarju' and Ayn Bu Siwar, the bed of the Zahrani river, the hills of Mlita and Jabal Safi came under Israeli artillery bombardment.

The Lebanese Government strongly condemns the continued Israeli occupation and the new attacks and arbitrary actions against the Lebanese population which have caused a number of injuries and have inflicted further serious damage to property.

Like previous attacks, this new series of aggressions is a blatant infringement of the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon and is a violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of international law and of fundamental human rights.

I should be grateful if you would have this letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 33, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Samir MOUBARAK

 Permanent Representative

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96-32541 (E)   211196