ISRAET
Statementby:

Dan Gillerman Ambassador
of PermanentRepresentative Israel to the united Nations

Bodies Briefing by Chairmenof the Subsidiary of the SecurityCouncil CounteringTerrorism

SecurityCouncil

United Nations,New York 30 Mav 2006

Delivery CheckAgainst

Allow me, at the outset, to thank you Mr. Presidentfor your leadershipof the Council during the month of May, and for conveningthis important meeting. We also wish to thank the and the 1540 chairmenof the Counter TerrorismCommittee,the Al QaedaCommittee, Committee for their concise reportsand invaluable contribution in steeringthe committees. Mr. President. Three months ago, in a similar briefing before this Council, I warned that terrorism is sowing the seedsof the 1't World War of the 21't century. Today we must sadlyand emphatically statethat terrorism is indeed the Third World War. This is World War Three! No country is immune from international terrorism. It lurks in dark comers and strikes with a horrific death,indiscrimination,andchaos. Terroristshaveexecuted blow of destruction, attacksin Egypt, Indonesia,Iraq,Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar,Russia,SaudiArabia, and Turkey. Terror has struck in Jordan,Kenya, Tanzania,Tunisia, Uzbekistan,and Yemen. Algeria, Argentina,Colombia,GreatBritain, the Philippines,Spain,and Terror has devastated the United States.It continuesto strike brutally, ruthlessly,and daily in Israel. There are many, many more statestargeted. And yet, foreignerstargetedin terrorist attacksrepresentan evenwider circle of victims. They were Australians. They were Dutch. They were from eachand every corner of the globe. They werejust unlucky to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. We are all linked. We are all in this together. As this is a World War, the allies shouldfight this Axis of Terror,just as 60 yearsago the "never before in the field of human Winston Churchill, Allies fought the Axis. To paraphrase on conflict" have so few inflicted so much pain, horror,and destruction so many. And never to the ability to defeatthe few if they only mobilized their resources do so. haveso many had If we do not standtogether,we will fall together. The world is no longerdivided between rich and poor and North and South. It is divided betweenthosewho join in this fight and thosewho do not. It is divided betweenthosewho spreadevil and thosewho do good; betweenthosewho incite violenceand thosewho preachtolerance. Thosewho standidly and do not fight this plagueare in effectjoining in collaborationwith it. Unfortunately,even in do this Council we find membersthat, despitebeingvictims of terror themselves, not always to showthe courageand determination condemnit strongly and unequivocally. I calledthis Council to arms and soundeda wakeup call three monthsago, and yet progressis too slow and too little. We mustjoin togetherand win this war. We must mobilize in a effort. unified, concerted Mr. President, Therecan neverbe any justification for terror,no matterthe motive - PERIOD! We agreedupon in the 2005 World Summit Outcome,which thereforefully supportthe statement "we strongly condemnterrorismin all its forms and manifestations, committed reads,fquote] as one of the most serious by whomever,wherever and for whateverpurposes, it constitutes threatsto international peaceand security" [end quote]. No matter where it occurs-no

Terror is matter the circumstances- nothing can ever justify the willful targeting of civilians. terror is tenor. Mr. President, its Executive Israel welcomesthe invaluable efforts of the Counter-TenorismCommittee and Directorate,the Al-Qaeda Committee, and the 1540Committee in combating international terrorism. We seethe work of the committees as part of the intemational frght against terror. terrorism, and hopetheir efforts will lead to a significant reduction of international and concrete, Similarly, a global strategyto counter-terrorism,should it be action-oriented theseefforts. could complement Mr. President, of We in Israelunfortunatelyhave an intimate awareness the need to fight international terrorism. The Axis of Terror representsan unholy alliance of Iran, the greateststatesponsor hoststhe of terrorism and largestthreat to intemational peaceand security, Syria, which Israel and of headquarters terrorist organizationsdedicatedto wreak havoc in the streetsof themselves. mrrrderasmany individualsas possible,and the terror organizations they A dark cloud is looming over the Middle East. Iran, Syria, and the terrorist organizations finance, harbor,nurture, and support, do not discriminatebetweentheir victims, targeting and innocentswhereverthey are undltr their trail of terror kill Jews and Christians,Moslems to be in their to Druze,Americans and Frenchmen,and whoever happens be unlucky enough Mahmoud Zahat, path. As the Foreign Minister of the Hamas-led PalestinianAuthority, of the recently stated,suicideterrorism representsthe realizationof the ultimate dream to the polls seekinga better life palestinians. It is a sadreality that the Palestinianswho went turning and an endto corruption, find themselvesin the grip of a terrorist organizationthat is their dreamsinto nightmares. political Unfortunately,therestill exist elementsthat believethat tenorism is a tool to fulfill NO! the aims. To this suggestion, internationalcommunityshouldrespondwith a resounding of peaceand human dignity and all that the This fanaticoutlook is anathemato the principles for. United Nationsstands Mr. President, and have been This Axis of Terror is alive and active. Leaders of Hamasmeet regularly with, calls for the by offered hnancialassistance the Presidentof Iran. The very samepresidentwho attempting to developthe annihilation of anotherMember State,denies the Holocaust,and is the to nuclearcapabilities perpetrate next one. how volatile the situationis on Israel's northemborder, Just 4g hoursago,we have witnessed where Iran usesHizbullah to fight its war by proxy. With Iran and Syria's active support, which a Hizbullah perpetrated katy:.sharocket terrorist attackdeepinto northern Israel, border. We hold not only the of exchange fire along the Lebanese resultedin an extensive

government of Lebanon fully responsible for all terrorist activity initiated from its territory, but also hold responsiblethe govemments of Iran and Syria for harboring and supporting Hizbullah and other terrorist organizations. We expectthe international community to enforce IIN SecurifyCouncil Resolutions 425,1559,and 1680in full. As a result of the active collaboration between Iran, Syri4 and their terrorist cronies, thousands of innocentpeople have lost their lives and the lives of many more have been forever changedas a result of wounds sustainedfrom terror attacks. Indeed, more than 24,500 terrorist attackshave been perpetratedagainstthe Israeli people during the current period. The threat of terrorism is real and pressing,and we in Israel face it everyday,in every community, and by every single person. This number is a horrendousstatistic in the wave of terror that is sweepingthe world while this Third World War is raging. Mr. President, We will meethereagainin threemonths time. If all we do then is add hundredsof more names of victims and scores countrieshit, we will havefailed miserably. It is our moral of duty and urgentresponsibilityto mobilize today. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to fight this world war, so that when we meet next we declaresubstantialprogress,if not ultimate victory. Thank vou. Mr. President