Lebanon Calls for Special Security Council Session

An urgent session of the Security Council will be held tomorrow afternoon to take up a complaint by Lebanon against Israel for diverting an Arab airliner. A formal request for the session was issued by Lebanon’s Ambassador Edouard Ghorra. Lebanon’s request was approved after informal consultations among the 15 members of the Security Council showed yesterday that there was great indignation among the members over the incident. United States Ambassador John Scali, this month’s Council President, and the U.S. UN Mission began informal consultations even before Ghorra’s request was received. This evening Lebanon began to canvas support for its position at tomorrow’s Council meeting.

Meanwhile, in Washington the U.S. government deplored Israel’s action. The State Department issued a strongly-worded statement that was conveyed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alfred Atherton to the acting chief of the Israeli Embassy, Moshe Raviv. Israeli Ambassador Simcha Dinitz was out of Washington. A spokesman for the State Department said Israel’s action was viewed as violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a violation of international civil aviation law. He said that the U.S. was making its views known to Israel and that the Israeli government had been in contact with the State Department shortly after the incident took place.

Observers both in the United Nations and in Washington expressed the feeling that the U.S. was extremely angered over the incident especially since it occurred so soon after the U.S. vetoed a one-sided resolution in the Security Council that would have condemned Israel.

Dinitz, who returned to Washington this afternoon, called on Joseph J. Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. The two diplomats discussed the incident in preparation for the Security Council meeting. There were also meetings in New York between Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah and U.S. representatives to the United Nations.