A Lebanese Christian said here today that the only force that deterred Palestinian terrorists from annihilating Christians in Lebanon was Israel’s army. The speaker. Francis Rizik, political advisor to Christian forces in southern Lebanon, read a letter from Major Saad Haddad, commander of the Christian militia which said in part: “Our former enemy, Israel, is today the only and last support we have. The bitter irony is that Israel, constantly vilified, has opened her heart to us.”
Rizik appeared at a press conference arranged by the Public Committee for Aid to Lebanon. It was the first time that a citizen of a neighboring Arab country held a press conference in Tel Aviv. He was accompanied by prominent persons who head the committee, among them Moshe Sanbar, former Governor of the Bank of Israel, Msgr. Augustin Harfoush, leader of the Maronite Christian community in Israel; and representatives of the Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa municipalities who announced a project to aid the stricken citizens of southern Lebanon.
ISRAEL ‘HAS OPENED HER HEART TO US’
Rizik said he spoke in the name of Haddad who was unable to come “because of the military situation.” He read Haddad’s letter calling on world opinion to aid the south Lebanese population. The letter said:
“Missile attacks and phosphorus bombs are killing and wounding women, children, the elderly and the sick. The Christian world, the so-called free world, deserted us at the most difficult moment. Even our government in Beirut does not assist us and the Red Cross cars don’t reach us….Our former enemy, Israel, is today the only and the last support we have. The bitter irony is that Israel, constantly vilified, has opened her heart to us. Where should we send our wounded, our expectant mothers, our old and sick? Would the terrorists treat them? Their 155 mm, shells, Katyusha and GRAD rockets are responsible for all the suffering and horror around us.”
After the letter was read, Sanbar called on the public to contribute funds to the victims of the fighting in Lebanon. Deputy Mayor Yitzhak Artzi of Tel Aviv announced that 3000 boy scouts would distribute circulars to Tel Aviv homes this Saturday announcing that blankets and old clothes will be collected for Lebanese villagers next Tuesday. Similar collections will be made in Jerusalem and Haifa.
(In Washington, the State Department said today it had no information on the charge by Haddad that the government in Belrut was impeding the International Red Cross from investigating atrocities committed by Palestinians in southern Lebanon. The absence of comment from the Department was not regarded as unusual as it frequently awaits communications through U.S. diplomatic channels before commenting and such communications frequently lag far behind news reports.)
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