Mideast situation – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 2 January 2001 from the Permanent Representative

of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I wish to call your attention to two heinous acts of terrorism directed against Israeli civilians in the last three days.

Yesterday evening, at approximately 7 p.m. local time, a 10-kilogram bomb, placed in a stolen car, was detonated near a major downtown intersection in the Israeli city of Netanya. The explosion injured 54 people and caused significant damage to nearby shops and businesses.

This act follows the appalling murder of a Jewish couple after they were ambushed by Palestinian gunmen near the town of Ofra on 31 December 2000. Five of the couple’s six children were in the car at the time of the attack, and are presently being treated for moderate to serious wounds at a hospital in Jerusalem.

These acts of terrorism come amid a wave of escalation of terrorist activity directed against Israel in recent months. Just four days ago, a bomb exploded on a Tel Aviv bus injuring 12 passengers, 2 of them critically. I should also like to recall the recent bombing in Hadera which killed two Israelis and wounded 41 and was referred to in my letter to you dated 22 November 2000 (A/55/641-S/2000/1114), as well as the reprehensible targeting of a bus of Israeli schoolchildren on 20 November 2000 (A/55/634-S/2000/1108) and the explosion in the crowded Jerusalem marketplace of Mahane Yehuda on 2 November 2000 (A/55/540-S/2000/1065).

Despite various agreements calling for an end to violence and the resumption of security cooperation between the sides, in particular the Sharm Al-Sheikh understanding of 17 October 2000, the Palestinian Authority has failed to unequivocally call for an end to the violence and to reincarcerate released terrorist prisoners. Instead, the Palestinian leadership has, both tacitly and directly, lent its approval to the use of armed aggression against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

We call upon the Palestinian leadership to fulfil its responsibilities to control terrorist elements operating in the areas under its control. The Government of Israel will continue to vigorously fight terrorism, and will not be deterred in its quest to arrive at a peaceful settlement that will ensure genuine peace and security for all the peoples of the Middle East.

I should be grateful if you would have the text of the present letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 164, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Yehuda Lancry

Permanent Representative