Mideast situation/Attacks – Letter from Israel

Letter dated 2 November 2004 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

  I am writing to draw your attention to the most recent Palestinian terrorist attack perpetrated against the citizens of Israel.

  Yesterday, shortly after 11 a.m. local time, a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, which was crowded with civilians. Three people were killed, Shmuel Levy, 65, Tatiyana Akerman, 32, and Lea Levin, 64. More than 30 were wounded, some critically. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine proudly claimed responsibility for the attack.

  The bomber himself was only 16 years old, another child manipulated by the terrorists’ propaganda and the Palestinian leadership’s own countenance of, and support for, hateful incitement to terrorism and violence. This misuse of children, in violation of basic humanitarian norms, to engage in acts of cold-blooded murder is reprehensible. And yet, despite clear moral and legal obligations to end incitement and the abuse of children, the Palestinian Authority continues to foster a culture of hatred and violence that saturates its youth culture and feeds further acts of hostility that subvert any chances for peace.

  School textbooks produced by the Palestinian Authority continue to be replete with anti-Semitic rhetoric, comparing Jews to animals and demons, and referring to Israel as “a country of gangs, born in crime”. The Palestinian Authority also continues to produce education television programming glorifying martyrdom in the struggle against Israel and presenting violence as the way to solve disputes. A recent children’s music video, for example, played often on Palestinian television, has the following chorus: “You will not be saved, Oh Zionist. You are my target. I will willingly fall as a Martyr. Oh young ones, God is Great!” For our region to find peace, it must first find mutual recognition and respect. Teaching children to glorify murder and martyrdom only increases hatred and intolerance and perpetuates the suffering of both sides. We must not poison the chances for peace by poisoning the minds of our youth.

  Sadly, this last attack provides yet more tragic evidence that the Palestinian leadership has not changed its immoral and dangerously irresponsible behaviour. Its continuing refusal to live up to its obligations, including those continued in the very first clauses of phase I of the road map, to fight terrorism and the infrastructure that supports it, remains the key obstacle to progress and the enemy of the Israeli and Palestinian people. Israel calls upon the international community to reaffirm its absolute rejection of terrorist tactics and to accept nothing less than the complete dismantling of terrorist organizations, as well as to make unyielding efforts to prevent terrorism and bring its perpetrators and supporters to justice, in accordance with international law and Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 1373 (2001).

  I submit the present letter in follow-up to numerous letters detailing the campaign of Palestinian terrorism launched in September 2000, which document the crimes for which the terrorists and their supporters must be held fully accountable.

  I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter circulated as a document of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, under agenda items 36 and 148, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Ambassador Dan Gillerman

Permanent Representative

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