Letter dated 15 December 1988 from the Permanent Representative of
Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
On instructions from my Government, and further to my previous letters, the latest (dated 19 August 1988) being that contained in documents A/43/548-S/20137, I regret to inform you that Israel has continued its policy of deporting Palestinians from their homeland and illegally taking them into Lebanon across the international frontier, making use of the so-called "security zone" which it continues to occupy inside Lebanese territory.
Yesterday, 14 December 1988, Israel deported Palestinians Hassan Mouhanna (aged 39), Issa Abd Saleh (aged 60) and Abd al-Fattah Ziadé (aged 55) in military vehicles from Israel to the Zumraya crossing-point on the border of the "security zone". They were then transported by other means to a Lebanese Army checkpoint at Marj al-Zouhour.
The Lebanese Government which deplores forcible deportation and expulsion measures adopted by Israel against Palestinians as an infringement of international customs and conventions, and particularly of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and of Security Council resolutions 607 (1988) and 608 (1988), today affirms its vigorous condemnation and censure of the latest Israeli measure, representing as it does a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity and an expression of contempt for international values and concepts.
Israel is proving once again that it sets no store by international humanitarian laws and customs and that the international community's silence in the face of the repeated violations increases its determination to perpetrate such crimes, leading to further deterioration and escalation of the situation in Lebanon and the region.
I should be grateful if you would have this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 40, and of the Security Council.
(Signed) Rachid FAKHOURY
Ambassador
Permanent Representative
—–
Document Type: Letter
Document Sources: General Assembly, Security Council
Country: Lebanon
Subject: Agenda Item, Armed conflict, Incidents
Publication Date: 15/12/1988