HC Deb 27 January 1969 vol 776 cc230-1W
Mr. Rose

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) why, in view of his official statement condemning the attack on Beirut airport by Israel, he issued no similar statement condemning attacks on Israel by terrorists based in Arab countries;

(2) what diplomatic representations have been made by him in respect of the attack by Arab terrorists trained in the Lebanon on an E1 A1 airliner at Athens Airport which resulted in the death of one passenger and serious injury to an air hostess.

Mr. Goronwy Roberts

We believe that such criminal acts are most appropriately dealt with by prosecution in the courts of the country concerned. Such prosecution is taking place in the Greek courts in this case.

We have said again and again that we deplore all breaches of the ceasefire arrangements in the Middle East and all acts of violence, wherever and by whomsoever they are committed This most emphatically includes both acts of terrorism such as that at Athens Airport on 26th December, and terrorist attacks in Israel and Israel-occupied territory. This view was clearly expressed by the British representative in the Security Council on 29th December who described the Athens incident as part of "a terrifying trend which all nations must surely join to deplore".