Israel charged today that “the Syrian domination of Lebanon is exploited to wage terrorist attacks from there against Israel.” Furthermore, Israel said that Syria, together with Libya, assists terrorist groups “who commit criminal attacks on innocent people all over the world.”
Israel’s charges were made in a letter to UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar from Ambassador Johanan Bein, Israel’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN.
“The infamous Abu Nidal gang, who took the responsibility for the two murderous attacks at the international airports of Rome and Vienna, has bases in Syria and in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon with full Syrian approval,” the Israeli diplomat said, adding: “Various official sources confirmed that the terrorists who committed the terrible murders at the airport of Rome, entered Italy via Syria.”
Israel’s letter was a reply to a Syrian complaint last week that Israel increases tension in the Mideast by flying its fighter jets over Lebanon.
Noting that Lebanon is completely controlled by Syria, the Israeli envoy concluded: “Israel has no choice but to take all necessary measures in order to defend itself and its population against terrorism according to the right of self defense enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”
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.
