Premier Golda Meir told the Knesset today that the war against the Arab terrorists would be complicated and long. At the same time she praised the US veto of the resolution introduced Sunday in the Security Council by Somalia, Guinea and Yugoslavia which demanded an end to Israeli raids on terrorist bases in Lebanon and Syria but failed to mention the murder of the II Israeli Olympians.
In praising the veto, Mrs. Meir said: “…It can be stated that the US decision to exercise the veto right is of universal human value, worthy of appreciation. I am convinced that in this I express not only an Israeli interest. I am certain that the move taken by the US belongs to the measures which might possibly save not only the honor but also the future of the international organization.”
The Premier said that many terrorist acts had been prevented by Israeli security forces though she could not reveal the details. “We cannot exempt any justice-loving country from the duty to fight the terrorists,” she said, adding that Israel would approach every state with a detailed proposal of methods and means to fight terrorists operating on their territory. As for Israel itself, she said. “We have no option but to hit them wherever we can reach them and we will fulfill that duty with all our might.”
RETALIATION NOT ENOUGH
Menahem Beigin, Gahal opposition leader, said that the “philosophy of retaliation” as exemplified by the Army action last weekend was not good enough. Israel, he contended, must strike at the terrorists all over the world all the time without waiting to react to their next act. Referring to the probe being conducted into the Munich event, Beigin said that a vital question which the investigation must answer was why the Israeli squad did not have guns with which to defend themselves. He claimed that they should have had guns with or without the official permission of the German authorities because there had been many warnings that terrorists were planning atrocities in Europe.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
