Mideast situation/Lebanon – Letter from Lebanon

Letter dated 9 December 1988 from the Permanent Representative of

Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

At 5 a.m. Lebanese local time on Friday 9 December 1988, the Israeli Air Force carried out a concentrated bombardment of the town of Na'imah and the surrounding hills using rockets and heavy bombs.  Helicopters then carried out an airborne landing of Israeli troops, following which there occurred savage clashes which continued until 9 a.m.

At 10 a.m., the helicopters carried out renewed landing operations after an air and sea bombardment of the Shuwayfat-Sa'diyat-Bi'wirta triangle close to the capital, Beirut.  The Israeli forces encountered fierce resistance which led to large-scale human and material losses.  Because of the participation of Israeli aircraft, helicopters and warships in the bombardment, the movement of aviation at Beirut international airport was halted.  The fighting is continuing at the time of writing of this letter.

At 11.30 a.m., Israel acknowledged its attack and announced the death of an officer of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and that there had been a number of wounded.

The Lebanese Government, which has warned on a number of occasions in the past against Israel's extreme actions and the continuation and intensification of its attacks against Lebanese territory, expresses the strongest possible condemnation of this new aggression and stresses that it is yet another indication of Israel's policy of aggression, one more violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and the integrity of its territory, airspace and territorial waters, and a breach of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and custom and international conventions.

The Lebanese Government stresses the fact that Israelis attacks on Lebanon would not take place if they had been met by the adoption on the part of the international community and the Security Council of a decisive and deterrent attitude compelling it to respect Lebanese sovereignty and by the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Council calling upon Israel to desist from all military operations and for its full and unconditional withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

The Lebanese Government, in the light of the obdurate and reckless attitude adopted by Israel and its persistence in its policy of aggression against Lebanon, reserves its right to call for an urgent meeting of the Security Council to consider the aggression committed today by Israeli air, land and sea forces against Lebanese territory.

I should be grateful if you should have this letter circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 40, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Rachid FAKHOURY

Permanent Representative

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