Lebanon complained to the United Nations on Thursday that Israel, in its Jan. 2 attack on terrorist bases in Lebanon, “bombed some blocks of flats near Sidon” killing at least seven members of one Palestinian family.
Lebanon stopped short of calling for an official meeting of the Security Council to condemn Israel, but said nonetheless that it reserves the right to call for such a meeting.
Diplomatic sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that a decision on whether to convene a Security Council meeting would be reached Thursday night.
The complaint was made by Rachid Fakhoury, Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations, in a letter to Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. The letter was dated Jan. 5 and circulated here Thursday.
According to the Lebanese envoy, the Israeli attack last Saturday “has resulted in a total of 26 deaths, dozens of wounded and substantial material damage.”
Fakhoury charged that Israel’s actions and policy “violate all legal principles and all humanitarian values and has already brought innumerable disasters and untold suffering upon the Mideast as a whole and on Lebanon in particular.”
If Lebanon decides to request a meeting of the Security Council, it would be the third Security Council session aimed at criticizing Israel in the last three weeks.
On Dec. 22 the Security Council strongly deplored Israel for its handling of the riots in the administered territories. On Jan. 5, the council requested that Israel refrain from deporting Palestinians.
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.
