Israel Hit by Barrage of Criticism in Security Council, Defends Raid

A defiant Israel on Wednesday justified its raid against the Tunisian headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization as a necessary act in eradicating international terrorism.

As Arab delegates glared, Israel’s young ambassador, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared before the U.N. Security Council not only to defend his government’s action but also to accuse the rest of the world of “stunning indifference” to attacks against his people by the “arch-terrorists of our time.” He called terrorism “a disease that must be arrested before it engulfs us all.”

Every other speaker, however, denounced Israel for Tuesday’s bombing raid on a Tunis suburb where PLO chief Yasser Arafat has maintained his headquarters since the PLO was driven from Lebanon by Israeli forces in 1982.

A vote is expected this afternoon on Tunisia’s request for a formal condemnation of Israel.

Britain’s ambassador, Sir John Thomson, questioned the validity of Israel’s charge that the PLO was responsible for the murder of three Israeli civilians aboard a yacht in Larnaca, Cyprus, an incident that Netanyahu cited as the most recent example of PLO terrorism.

No Justification Seen

“Even if (the accusation) had been valid,” Thomson said, “it would not have justified the raid.”

Tunisian Foreign Minister Beji Caid Essebsi, opening the debate in the 15-nation council, put the casualties at 60 killed and 100 wounded and said there was “large-scale” property damage. Essebsi, whose country has broken Arab ranks in the past to urge a peace settlement with Israel and its neighbors, called on the council to condemn the raid, to exact reparations and to prevent a recurrence of the attack.

The Israeli raid brought harsh words even from non-Arab Muslim states.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Yaqub Khan spoke with regret of world hopes for a Middle East settlement, which he said “now lie buried in the debris of the PLO premises in Tunis.”

Even Turkey, the only Muslim nation other than Egypt that maintains diplomatic relations with Israel, joined the chorus of disapproval as Foreign Minister Vahit Halefoglu denounced the “ruthless action” against Tunisia.