Kissinger Denies He Urged ‘Brutal’ Action on Unrest

Former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger on Sunday denied suggesting that the Israeli government should put down a Palestinian uprising “brutally” and bar the media from violence-racked areas.

Kissinger, appearing on NBC’s “McLaughlin Group,” denied press reports that he had offered the advice at a breakfast six weeks ago at which some American Jewish leaders were present.

It has been reported that Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, said at the breakfast that Israel should put down a Palestinian uprising in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank “as quickly as possible, overwhelmingly, brutally and rapidly.”

He was also reported as saying at the time that Israel should bar the media from entering violence-torn areas just as the South African government has done and accept the short-term international criticism that would result.

Asked Sunday if he had ever made such remarks, Kissinger said, “No. I said nothing like it.”

The New York Times recently published a memorandum that was written by an American Jewish leader who attended the breakfast and included those remarks, attributed to Kissinger.

He noted that five other men at the breakfast had written a letter to the New York paper denying he had made such statements. The letter was published in the New York Times last Friday.