President Carter refused today to condemn Israel for its retaliatory attack against terrorist bases in southern Lebanon yesterday and said that the Israeli action must be viewed in connection with the terrorist attacks on Israeli border towns. The President declared that the “bloodshed” along the Israeli-Lebanese border showed the need for the “immediate convening of the Geneva conference as soon as we can.”
Answering a question on the border situation at a press conference devoted mostly to domestic issues, Carter said that “loss of life is deplorable.” But he noted that terrorist attacks on Israeli villages and retaliatory actions have been part of the Mideast scene for years. Carter said there will be no “improvement” in this situation until the countries involved drop their focus on procedures and prepare to go to Geneva and negotiate “the real issues” in the Mideast. He praised Israel for accepting the American proposal for reconvening the Geneva conference and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for his statement yesterday saying he was ready to go to Geneva. He said he hoped Jordan, Syria and Lebanon “will make similar responses.”
Asked directly if he would condemn Israel for its air attack yesterday, Carter said that the condemnation of any party would be “inappropriate.” But he noted that “if provocations were absent there would be no need for retaliation.” Carter, at the outset, noted that “this new outburst of violence is of great concern to us, to the nations of the Middle East and I think, to all nations of the world.” But he stressed that “the major all-encompassing question in the Middle East is that the bloodshed, in my opinion will not be stopped until all the nations are willing to negotiate on the basic divisions that have separated them for so long.” (In Jerusalem, Premier Menachem Begin, commenting on Carter’s press conference remarks, said it “was a good statement.”)
WALDHEIM DEPLORES LOSS OF LIFE
(UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim issued a statement today expressing “grave concern” over the renewed hostilities along the Israel-Lebanese border. He said he “deplored” both the rocket attacks which claimed three lives in the Israeli town of Nahariya this week and Israel’s retaliatory air raid on targets in Lebanon yesterday that caused a “tragic loss” of human life. A spokesman for Waldheim said his statement was being conveyed to the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon and to the PLO representative at the UN.)
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
