Mideast situation/Attacks – Letter from Israel

 Identical letters dated 12 June 2006 from the Permanent

Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the

Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

  I am writing to draw your attention to the persistent Palestinian violence targeting Israeli citizens. Furthermore, it is with great concern that I note, and report to you, the recent escalation of this outrageous violence.

  The situation on the ground is dire. We are witnessing an ongoing barrage aimed at indiscriminately killing our citizens and disrupting the daily life of an entire country. Since October 2005, approximately 600 Qassam rockets have been launched and have fallen on cities, kibbutzim and other civilian localities, as well as on strategic installations in the Negev. Since the end of last week, the situation has worsened: rockets have rained down at a rate of 20 per day, bringing fear, misery and death to the Israeli population. Yesterday, alone, 19 Qassam rockets landed on the city of Sderot, several of which fell near a school, severely wounding one person and lightly wounding two others. It is only by chance that casualties were not greater.

  I believe it is critical, in the light of these events, to restate here the self-declared aims of the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority. They have vowed not to cease their reign of terror until the last citizen of Sderot has left out of panic and fear, and the city has been left a “ghost town”. Such statements reveal a philosophy utterly incompatible with notions of civilized Governments.

  Today, when the proliferation of terrorism threatens everyone in every corner of the globe, the international community must stand firm against the individuals and groups responsible. Those who perpetrate these acts must be unequivocally and forcefully condemned.

 I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the present letter distributed as a document of the General Assembly and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Dan Gillerman

Ambassador 

Permanent Representative

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