his house in the company of his wife, his 10-year-old daughter and his 17-year-old son (see the letter dated 3 April from the Charge d'.affaires a.i., of the Mission of Israel, contained in document S/14951); (c) On 4 June, an assassination attempt was made on Israel's Ambassador to London, Shlomo Argov, as he was leaving a hotel in central London (see my letters dated 4 June, contained in documents A/37/266 and S/15158); (d) On I 7 September, an Israel diplomat in Paris was injured when his car was booby-trapped. Two of the passengers of the car were also seriously injured .(see my letter dated 12 October, contained in docu­ ment A/37/542); (e) On 23 September, the residence of Israel's Am­ bassador to Bogota, Colombia, was sprayed with bul­ lets while the wife and children of the Ambassador were at home. Responsibility was claimed by a local terror group acting in the name of its "Palestinian brethren"; (j) On 26 November, a bomb exploded on the premises of the Embassy of Israel in Quito, Ecuador, killing two policemen and injuring several passers­ by, two of them seriously. The phenomenon of international terrorism as such has become one of the scourges of mankind in recent years and poses a grave threat to th~ very fabric of civilization. For its part, the Government of lsrael will continue to take the measures necessary to ensure the safety of its citizens and to protect their lives. I have the honour to request that this letter be cir­ culated as a document of the General Assembly and of the Security Council. (Signed) Yehuda Z. BLUM Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations DOCUMENT S/15549* Letter dated 4 January 1983 from the representative of Israel to the Secretary-General I wish to draw your attention to statements made on 