Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah addressed a letter to Secretary General Kurt Waldheim stating that Lebanon continues to be a base for active warfare against Israel. The letter, dated Oct. 12, but released today by the Israel Mission to the UN, stated:
“Lebanon put into operation radar installations to serve the needs and aims of Syrian aggression against Israel. Systematic attacks against Israeli civilian targets are being launched by terrorist squads from Lebanon in coordination with the Syrian aggression. The Arab terrorist organizations continue to pursue their dastardly activities in Lebanon, and set out from there on their murderous missions throughout the world. Their headquarters are located in Beirut, and the Lebanese authorities grant them complete freedom of action.”
In an annex to his letter, Tekoah listed an hour by-hour chronology of terrorist attacks from Lebanese soil against civilian localities in Israel which caused casualties and property damage. The list, which covered the period from shortly after midnight Oct. 7 to after midnight Oct. cites 43 terrorist incidents.
The Israeli envoy warned in his letter that Lebanon “must bear full responsibility for the inevitable consequences of its policies, actions and omissions” and that Israel “is steadfast in its resolve to defend itself.” Tekoah asked that his letter and annex be circulated as an official document of the Security Council and General Assembly.
In another action Tekoah today denounced the impending election of Iraq as one of the five non-permanent members of the Security Council. He called the move, only a few days after Iraq’s entry into the Middle East war against Israel, a “travesty of the (UN) Charter” that “further debases the Security Council, the General Assembly and the entire organization.”
Iraq is scheduled for election to the Security Council replacing India. Tekoah, in a statement released by the Israeli Mission this morning, pointed out that the Charter stipulated that in the election of non-permanent members to the Security Council, due regard should be “specially paid in the first instance to the contribution of members of the UN to the maintenance of international peace and security.”
Continuing, Tekoah declared: “The election of Iraq to the Security Council only a few days after it has resumed active aggression again illustrates that the General Assembly and the Security Council are unable to address themselves to the Middle East situation in an equitable manner in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Charter.”
Meanwhile as the Middle East war entered its tenth day, the Security Council has still made no moves toward ending the hostilities. U.S. and British spokesmen said that consultations were continuing among Council members. A UN spokesman reported today that 12 of 16 UN observation posts on the Israeli-Syrian front are still operational and that four have been evacuated. Three of the operational posts are on the Israeli side of the line. The spokesman said that all UN observation posts along the Suez Canal have been evacuated except for one on the West Bank which hasn’t been heard from since war broke out Oct. 6.
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