Jeane Kirkpatrick, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, has revealed to the Security Council that there have been at least three threats against Americans in Lebanon if the U.S. vetoed a Lebanesesponsored resolution condemning Israel.
“These threats have been specifically linked to our actions in the Security Council in a gross and vile attempt to influence the participation and vote of the United States in this body,” Kirkpatrick told the Council Thursday night. She urged it to make sure that it is operating without the pressure of threats.
The Council, which had been expected to vote on a resolution condemning Israel’s current military actions in Lebanon and urging the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon, is expected to continue debate this week.
Kirkpatrick said the U.S. also received threats after it vetoed an anti-Israel resolution in the Security Council last Sept. 6. She said the threats came from a group known as the Islamic Holy War. She said that on Sept. 20, two Americans and 10 Lebanese employes of the American Embassy in Beirut were killed by a truck-bomb at the Embassy.
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