A/35/PV.78 General Assembly

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, Israel's aggressive and expan- sionist policy gave rise to a situation in the Middle East which has cast a heavy burden on international politics. The Middle East crisis continues to be one of the most dangerous focal points of tension jeo- pardizing international peace and security. In the successive phases of that crisis, hundreds of. thou- sands of people have either lost their lives, been reduced to the status of oppressed second-class citizens in their own countries, or been forced to leave their native lands to become deprived of home and country. It is the Arab people of Palestine that has been tried most by such afflictions and sufferings. 2. A satisfactory solution of the grave problems that have accumulated and have been besetting Pa- lestine over the past decades cannot be envisaged except in the framework of a comprehensive' settle- ment for the Middle East. At the same time, the ques- tion of Palestine is a major factor in, and the key to, the solution of the entire Middle East crisis. 3. No just and lasting settlement of the question, including the assuring of Israel's security, is there- fore possible without the solution of the question of Palestine. It is thus evident that no genuine solution can result from manoeuvres that are intended to lead to a comprehensive settlement through partial solu- tions under a piecemeal approach which takes one or another element of the problem from the whole com- plex of the issues involved. 4. As is laid down also in a number of relevant United Nations resolutions, any solution of the Pales- tine question should be based on the uncondition~1 withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the Arab tern- NEW YORK tories occupied since 1967 as well as on respect for and recognition of the inalienable legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self- determination, the right to return to their homeland, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right to establish and independent State. 5. However, the policy pursued by Israel in the region and particularly in the occupied Arab territories is precisely one of trampling on those very same rights, refusing to recognize the existence of the Palestinian people and degrading the whole problem to one of refugees. What Israel's aggressive annexa- tionist policy, which manifests itself in various forms and flagrantly violates United Nations resolutions in disregard of international public opinion, is seeking to achieve is precisely to change the geographical character, the demographic nature and the legal status of the areas occupied in 1967 and inhabited mostly by Palestinians, in the hope of perpetuating the results of the June 1967 aggression by relying on military support from the United States. Such an endeavour is in sharp contrast with the generally accepted prin- ciple of inadmissibility of territorial acquisition by the use of force. 6. The Camp David agreements and the separate deal between Egypt and Israel served and still serves these aspirations of Israeli policy. The so-called autonomy talks provided for by the said agreements aim at closing the Palestinian case by sham solutions and deciding the fate of the long-suffering Palestinian Arab people by excluding its representatives from those talks and by seeking to affirm the selfish inter- ests of the actual participants. 7. I wish to underline this time again that, in my Government's view, no settlement of the question of Palestine is possible without the participation of the Palestinian people, or which would be to their detri- ment, and that their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], should be directly involved on an equal footing with other participants in any negotiations dealing with the Middle East crisis and directly or indirectly affecting the question of Palestine. 8. It is a positive sign that recent years have seen a considerable increase worldwide in the number of those who recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the PLO as the leader of this unremitting struggle for the exercise of that right. This is shown by a growing international interest in the question of Palestine, a strengthening of solidar- ity with the Palestinian cause and by an ever increasing number of affirmative votes in the United Nations for resolutions urging a settlement of this question. This positive tendency should lead the Security Council to take firm action against Israel as early as possible for its repeated violations of the provisions 30.· The Palestinian people, on the other hand, have no choice but to fight .for their national independence and statehood. The so-called autonomy talks have proved to be irre'evant to the solution of the Pales- tine problem and the Camp David accords, which gave rise to those. autonomy talks, are declared almost dead. What, then, awaits the Palestinians but the determined struggle to regain their rights? 31. Mr. AL-QASIMI (United Arab Emirates) (inter- pretation from Arabic): I should like at the outset to express our thanks to Mr. Falilou Kane, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his valuable report and the positive and objective statement he made at the 75th meeting. I should also like to thank Mr. Victor Gauci, Rapporteur of the Committee, for his valuable statement at the same meeting, which has shed more light on the work of the Committee. 32. The Committee's report [A/35/35] has once again demonstrated the colonial settlement nature of the Zionist entity, which is continuing practices whose P.urpose.. is to deny the Palestinian people its inalienable-o;rlgfns. Such action by Israel constitutes a violation of various international resolutions calling for respect for those rights and a disregard of the mternational community as a whole. Hence, the effectiveness of the Organization in carrying out its functions relating to the maintenance of intemational peace and security, helping the peoples of the world without any discrimination and preserving the legiti- mate rights of all peoples, is called into question. 33. A glance at the developments with regard to the question of Palestine that have taken place since our discussion of the matter at the thirty-fourth session clearly shows that these aggressive practices by the Zionist entity have not been limited to disregarding the efforts of the international community but have also gone beyond that. For, while the international community, through its various organs, is.trying to help the Palestinian people to recover its rights, Israel is taking action'in an exactly opposite direction aimed at .diminishing the prestige of the Organization and casting doubt on its effectiveness. . . 34. General Assembly resolution ES-7/2, adopted at the seventh emergency special session, devoted to the question of Palestine, is a clear expression of the determination of the international community to ensure respect for Its actions, since that resolution called for consideration of the imposition of sanctions apinst Israel if it did not withdraw from the occupied Arab territories by 15 November 1980. However, that date has passed and Israel has not complied with that resolution. Israel's reply to it was to annex Jeru- Arab Emirates with the struggle of the Palestinian people, as evidenced by a cable sent by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan AI Nahyan, our President, to the Chair- man of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalien- able Rights of the Palestinian People on 29 November, marking the International Day of Solidarity. with the Palestinian People, which read: "We see in the present celebration and in the choice of the date of 29 November as the Interna- tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People a clear reflection of the awareness of the United Nations of its responsibility towards that people since 1947... We see in that commitment the resolve of the international community to rectify the injus- tice and to help the Palestinian people in its fight for the recovery of its lights. Moreover, we note with satisfaction the growing support of the inter- national community for that people's struggle to recover its rights and to reject any agreements which do not take into account its inalienable rights or which will not recognize the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organi- zation, as the principal party in all efforts made to find a. solution to the Palestinian problem. str()ns!y felt in all corners of the world. There is no doub tbat continuing to postpone the adoption of a decision which is in fact unavoidable can only aggra- vate those consequences and increase the already .verygreat risks of an armed confrontation of con- siderable magnitude, the effects of which on the whole of mankind would be irreparable. 53. It was precisely for the purpose of preventing such a course of events that the President of the So- cialistRepublic of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, in a message addressed to the President of the General Assembly and to the Secretary-General of the United NatiO,ns, emphasized the profound conviction of our country that: ' Hat present the most resolute efforts of all States and all peoples should be oriented towards accel- erating the settlement by political means of con- tlictsandsources of war, resolving all controversial problems solely by means of negotiations and bringing about the conditions necessary for all peoples to devote their creative capacities to their economic and social development". 57. The President of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, once again reaffirmed, during talks that he held with the Chairman of the Executive Council of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, when the latter visited Romania last July, the determination of the Government and peo- ple of Romania to continue to give their full support to the just cause of the Palestinian people in its strug- gle to realize its national aspirations and rights and to do everything to establish an equitable and lasting peace in the Middle East. 58. As we have already stressed on numerous occa- sions, Romania has always been in favour of the resolution of all international disputes and situations of crisis exclusively by negotiations and other peaceful means. The Romanian Government tries to promote that position, proceeding from the truth, amply confirmed by events of the. past few years, that nowadays recourse to force and to the threat of force is not a legal reaction from the juridical stand- point or a viable one from the practical standpoint to the problems and disputes that can arise in the rela- tions between States. Resort to force, far from con- tributing to the solution of the problems put forward as justification for unleashing hostilities, on the con- trary merely complicates and aggravates them even further. 59. On the other hand, the experience of interna- tional relations fully illustrates the proposition that mutually acceptable, and thus lasting, political and diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems and disputes can be found provided the parties con- cerned are truly moved by the desire and the political will to choose the course of mutual understanding and good-neighbourliness. 61. In order to achieve that noble objective, it appears to us to be Vitally necessary to produce through extensive consultations an initiative which would lead to the establishment of a new framework for negotiations. Such a framework could be provided by an international conference organized with the participation of all the parties involved in the conflict, including the PLO, as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the Soviet Union and the United States in their capacity as eo-Chairmen of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East and other States which wish to participate and are in a position to make a positive contribution to the process of the peaceful settlement of the Middle Eastern situation. In our opinion, the participation of the PLO in all negotiations on the settlement of the Pa- lestinian problem and the estabhshment of peace in the Middle East is necessary not only from the legal point of view, in view of the pertinent resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, but also for vital practical reasons. It is obvious that no formula for a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle .East is attainable without the participation of all parties to the conflict, above all the recognized legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Almost all States of the world agree that the PLO has already clearly demonstrated its desire and the political will to participate on an equal footing in all discussions and negotiations UI~dertaken within the framework or under the auspices of the United Nations for the purpose of establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 62. The demonstrations last week on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Pales- tinian People once again provided evidence of the existence of widespread international support for the intensification of efforts to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the situation in the Middle East and for the full participation of the PLO in the elaboration of future peace arrangements in the region. . 63. In the opinion of the Romanian delegation, the present international situation more than ever re- quires realism and political foresight, moderation and a feeling of responsibility for the achievement of peace and avoidance of any action that might aggra- vate and further complicate the situation in the area. It is in this spirit that the Government and the people of Romania have expressed their firm disapproval of the illegal practices of Israel, such as the establish- ment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, 72. These first considerations make it possible to define the global approach to the Palestinian cause and the problem of the Middle East: on tbe one band, United Nations action through the vast number of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council in the last 30 years, or through the demarches and untiring efforts of the Secretarv- General, has not made it possible either to resolve the substance of the conflict or to stabilize it, since it is spreading and getting worse every year; on the otber band, the considerable means of destruction which essentially come from outside the region, con- timie to increase and to perpetuate the imbalance in favour of the occupier, on the grounds tbat Israel's security, and consequently Israel's over-armament, is an inviolable prerequisite in the quest for a peaceful solution. It is clearly for these reasons tbat tbe scope of the problem threatens to go beyond tbe Middle East and to impose upon the world a problem, or rather a conflict, of quite a different scope and nature. In other words, we are faced with an emergency, a situation whicb emerged when a wbole people was uprooted from its home and driven from its lands, a situation wbicb has remain J with us while genera- 73. The General Assembly has two reports before it dealing with the question of Palestine: the report of the Secretary-General, prepared at the request of the seventh emergency special session [A/35/6IS- 5/14250]; and the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People [A/35/35]. 74. These reports eloquently bear witness to the facts and establish responsibility. We can draw two fundamental lessons from them. First of all, there is a totally mistaken concept of peace, because it obsti- nately identifies itself with the territorial and military status quo and. with a baffling political immobilism, based on short-term alliances, a concept which re- mains blind to the need, more pressing than ever, to create the -lics of a real peace which would cor- respond to . ""dUty and the irreversible march of history. 7S. Unfortunately, there is not the slightest initia- tive or sign which can be taken as an Israeli peace strategy or a will to recognize right. The opposite is true. Moreover, the. whole world is aware of the intol- erable situation wt.ich still prevails in the occupied territories. A settlement policy has been relentlessly pursued since 1967. It is implacable because, by its very constancy, it modifies the legal status, the geo- graphical nature and the demographic composition of the territories. Day by day, Palestinians are being driven out of their homes and their lands are being illegally confiscated. Water resources are being diverted to stifle a populatior; on the brink of despair. Palestinian mayors are attacked in a cowardly way or are expelled from their towns, their only crime being their opposition to occupation and oppression. Unarmed youths and students are being arbitrarily detained or die under the bullets of the occupier. I shall not dwell on these acts, these serious extor- tions. Such actions have been brought to the knowl- edge of all from various sources, iD particular, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories. In short, it is State terrorism raised to a systematic and institutionalized practice which is the only logic of the occupying !\. wer. 76. The Security Council has this year adopted many resolutions, one of them-resolution 46S (1980)-by a unanimous vote. But they all remain dead letters 96. Moreover, last year witnessed increased sup- port for the need to solve the Palestinian question within the framework of the United Nations and on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee. The same events also demonstrated the futility and failure of any attempts made outside the United Na- tions and in a manner inconsistent with the resolu- tions of the General Assembly. 97. The same year also witnessed the failure of the Camp David agreements, which were concluded outside the framework of the United Nations and without the participation of the PLO, the only legiti- mate representative of the Palestinian people. Those accords disregarded the inalienable right of the Pales- tinian people, to return to its homeland, to determine its own fate and to achieve national independence and sovereignty in Palestine in accordance with the Charter. Those agreements, moreover, do not offer any reasonable solution to the problem; on the con- trary, they contribute to an increase in the tension in the area and the creation of new obstacles to a just and lasting solution. 'The reason for this is that those 98. The ferocity of the oppression practised by the Israeli occupation authorities cannot weaken the re- sistance and the struggle of the Palestinian people for the restoration of its legitimate rights, nor will such acts prevent that people from siding with the PLO, its only legitimate and genuine leaders. 99. Neither the ferocity of the racist regime in South Africa in trying to prevent the people of Zimbabwe from achieving victory under their national front nor the Fascist practices of the Menachem Begin author- ities can arrest the march of history towards the lib- eration and independence of oppressed peoples. The victory of the Palestinian people is historically inevi- table; any attempt to stop the march of the Palestinian people towards freedom and independence would only lead to more bloodshed and to the wastage of human and economic resources. 100. The international community as represented !n the General Assembly cannot allow a racist regime to continue its occupation and expansion by con- trolling the destiny of people and the future of inter- national peace and security. A just and lasting peace in the Middle East is possible. Actually, that peace could have been achieved a long time ago on the basis of the implementation of the various resolutions of the United Nations, especially General Assembly resolutions 3236 (XXIX) and 3375 (XXX). The re- jection of those resolutions by the Zionist leaders is the main obstacle to peace. That rejection is in'line with Zionist ideology from Theodor Herzl to Mena- chem Begin. That ideology is based on uprooting a people from its homeland and putting another people in its place by force. The maintenance of a state of war is essential for the achievement of the Zionist objectives. That fact has been recognized by many Zionist leaders. In a lecture delivered in Haifa on 9 May 1973 and reported in Israeli newspapers on 10 May 1973, Moshe Dayan said: "We have to be straightforward. We have to declare clearly and frankly that the State of Israel has been established at the expense of the Arabs and in their own land. We have not come to a vac- uum. There were Arab citizens and now we are settling Jews in lands where Arabs have lived before. We are transforming an Arab country into a Jewish country." 103. The Security Council has failed so far to adopt a resolution based on the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Last time, when a draft resolution on the subject was submitted by Tunisia, the reason for that failure was the American veto. As a result of that, an emergency special session of the General Assembly was convened, at which the Gen- eral Assembly adopted resolution ES-7/2, which fixed IS November 1980 as a deadline for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories. How- ever, instead of responding positively to the interna- tional will, Israel expressed its intention not to with- draw. On the contrary, it has continued its policy of establishing settlements in the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Israel has also continued to deny the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Per- sons in Time of War. Moreover, the Zionist regime has refused to comply with Security Council resolu- tions 476 (1980) and 478 (1980) regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem. 104. My delegation calls on the General Assembly vigorously to urge the Security Council to employ all possible ways and means likely to ensure the im- 106. We should like to pay a tribute to all those countries which have withdrawn their diplomatic missions from the city of Jerusalem in accordance with Security Council resolution 478 (1980), thus demonstrating their respect for international law. The consistent position of my country is one of firm support for the Palestinian people in its just struggle for freedom and national independence under the leadership of the PLO. That position is dictated by our national duty and our respect for the justice and peace that we wish to see established in the region. 107. Mr. POJANI (Albania): The Albanian people have always followed closely and with pain the tra- gedy from which the fraternal people of Palestine has suffered for so many years. The sacred cause of that brave and freedom-loving people has always been very understandable and close to us; its just libera- tion struggle against Zionist-imperialist aggression has enjoyed and will always enjoy our full support. 108. It was for this reason that the Albanian Gov- ernment welcomed and supported the initiative con- cerning the convening of the emergency special ses- sion of the General Assembly last July. That was a correct action expressing the desire of international public opinion for the urgent solution of the question of Palestine and for the attainment by the people of Palestine of its sovereign right to live in freedom and independence in its own homeland. That session showed that the liberation struggle of the people of Palestine has wide support in the world. 109. In its statement at the seventh emergency special session", the Albanian delegation expressed its point of view on the serious situation in the Middle East resulting from the policy of war and aggression followed by the two imperialist super-Powers, the United States of America and the Soviet Union, and on the dangers threatening the people of Palestine and other Arab peoples. We stressed the importance of the right solution of the Palestine question for the settlement of the entire Middle East problem. 110. Now, four months after the emergency special session, we see that the situation has become even more complicated and that the prospects for the solu- tion of the question of Palestine are not at all encour- most varied difficulties and not be deceived by the demagogy and diabolic manoeuvres of the imperialist super-Powers and the Israeli Zionists. 115. The people of Palestine and other Arab peoples are now well aware who are their friends and who are their sworn enemies and the supporters ofthe Israeli Zionists. It is quite evident that the American impe- rialists and the Soviet social-imperialists are the main cause of the present serious situation in the Middle East and the greatest enemies of the Palesti- nian people and other Arab peoples, in spite of their demagogic statements and manoeuvres attempting to show that they are behaving as friends of the Arab peoples and their support for one or the other Arab State. The Chinese social-imperialists too, pre- tending to be friends of the Arab peoples, follow the policy of a super-Power and of alliance with the United States of America and cannot hide their sup- port for the policy of United States imperialism and its tool, Israel. 116. We are confident that, in spite of difficulties, the question of Palestine will be solved through the determined liberation struggle of the Palestinian people. No solution of that problem can be reached if that struggle and the will and the aspirations of the Palestinian people are not taken into consideration. At present it is more necessary than ever that peoples and countries that cherish freedom express their complete solidarity and give thatstruggle their strong support. 117. We believe that of particular importance at present is the unity of the Arab peoples in their stand and support for the Palestinian people in order to make its liberation struggle victorious. The question of Palestine is the common cause of all the Arab peoples. Their unity is not a question of sentiment and religious belief, as the enemies of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples try to present it. The unity re- quired today is a principled unity based on the com- mon interests of the Arab peoples in the struggle against American imperialism and its tool in the region, Israel, and againt the intentions of the two imperialist super-Powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, to gain positions of domination and diktat in the region. 118. The Albanian people and Government whole- heartedly support the armed struggle of the Palesti- nian people for national liberation and the realization of its legitimate aspirations to become the master of its own destiny in its own land. We strongly con- demn the aggressive policy of the Israeli Zionists and the intrigues, plots and hegemonistic policy of the imperialist super-Powers against the Palestinian people and other Arab peoples. We express our con- fidence that the resolute and uncompromising strug- gle of the Palestinian people will be successful. 146. It is clear that Israel, in daring to take such a decision, was assured that the imperialist circles, despite their verbal denunciations, would always stand shoulder to shoulder with it, as long as they need it as their bridgehead in that highly sensitive part of the world. Furthermore, the defection of the Cairo regime, which signed the treacherous Camp David agreements, offered the Israeli expansionists the opportunity of going even further in achieving the policy of "swallowing up" Arab territories. In that respect, we should stress once again that the Camp David agreements, far from contributing to a settlement of the Middle East problem and the Pa- lestinian problem, served rather to accelerate the realization of Israel's expansionist plan and singu- larly to complicate the struggle of the Arab peoples to recover their occupied territories and of the Pales- tinian people to exercise its inalienable right to self- determination. It is therefore quite natural that the Palestinian people and the Arab peoples of the rejec- tion front, who are faithful to the cause of the Arab nation, have condemned those agreements as well as the separate dealings between Egypt and Israel, which perpetuate the policy of occupation of the Arab territories and the denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. 147. That situation has given rise to active concern on the part of the international community and more particularly of the Security Council, which has had to deal with the situation in the region several times this year. However, all the decisions taken by the Council always come up against the intransigence of Israel, which continues to disregard the appeals of the international community. That intransigence is due, as everyone has become aware, to the fact that several influential States Members of the Organiza- tion continually support the expansionist and colo- nialist policy of Isreal, in particular the United States, a permanent member of the Security Council, which in unreservedly siding with the Israeli cause, has made the situation in the Middle East insoluble 5 Official necords of the Security Council, Thirty-first Year, Supplement for January, February and March 1976, document S/ll9") 1S4. We feel that the Security Council, the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, should urgently adopt appropriate measures to force Israel to put an end to its bellicoseand expan- sionist policy. ISS. Meanwhile, the Council has had before it since 1976 the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, recommendations which are still very rele- vant since they concern principally the exercise by the Palestinian people of its fundamental and inalien- able rights. We are. sure that, regardless of what obstacles or barriers are raised to the enjoyment of those rights, the just cause of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, will ultimately triumph in a most spectacular manner. 1S6. In order to hasten that victory, there is an urgent need for energetic international action against the Israeli expansionists. The delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, together with the non-aligned countries in the struggle for the restora- tion of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, advocated at the seventh emergency special session of the General Assembly? the strict implementetlon of the recommendations in the Havana Declaration.' We also advocated the exploration of every avenue aareed on by the Heads of State or Government, for example those concerning the implementation of the measures provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter. We feel that the time has come to adopt such mea- sures in order to compel Israel to submit to reason and justice. The General Assembly should clearly reaffirm at this session its attitude concerning the Palestinian cause and, in this context, demand that Israel withdraw its forces completely and immediately from all the territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. Furthermore, it should vigourously con- demn the Israeli occupation authorities for the atroci- ties committed aaainEt the peoples of the occupied territories, as well as for the intensification of their settlement policy. Weinvite MemberStates to support the efforts of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People by giving their massive support to the recommendations of the Committee. 161. I know it is useless to repeat what has been said in the last two days, but it is useful to remind ourselves that the General Assembly took a decision in 1947 to partition Palestine, against the will of its people, into two States. One, the Jewish State, was established by brutal force, by unmatchable terror- ism, and expanded beyond the lines of partition. On the other hand, a Palestinian State was decided upon by the General Assembly but has never seen the light of day. It is also useful to remember and to remind ourselves that those who today oppose the creation of a Palestinian State, such as the delegation of the United States, voted in 1947 for the Partition Plan. We cannot accept, indeed, the "about face", the change that characterizes the American attitude, for in our view the passage of time does not deprive the people of Palestine of their primordial right to self- determination and the right to establish their own State in Palestine. Ad of us must be convinced of the glaring fact that the people of Palestine yearn for and aspire to statehood, like any other nation represented in the Assembly. We must also be convinced that political convenience and expediency is not nces- 158. The delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic will continue resolutely to support the just struggle of the people of Palestine under the leader- ship of the PLO, its authentic representative, and we are certain that that struggle will lead to victory.

Let me begin by expressing the appreciation of the delegation of Kuwait to the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Ambassador of Senegal, its Rapporteur, the Ambassador of Malta, and all its members for their indefatigable efforts to promote the cause of peace and the cause of the people of Palestine Their task is not only a noble but also a dignified one. Jus- tice, right and fairness are on their side. They should therefore not be discouraged by any disparaging remarks by the delegation of Israel or by the negative attitude of the Western Powers to the work of the Committee. 160. The question of Palestine is a unique tragedy that knows no parallel in modern history. But it would be useful at this juncture to recall some of its past and be convinced of some of the present complexities. principles of President Wilson and at the same time support the tyranny of Mr. Begin, who is at best a celebrated and rewarded terrorist. Israel cannot-and it must be clear to everybody that it cannot-defy United Nations resolutions, violate its Charter, dis- regard the consensus of the international community, and at the same time seek the protection of the Char- ter. Those who violate the Charter and breach its provisions have no right to enjoy the privileges de- rived from it. Israel must realize that it cannot abro- gate the Charter and simultaneously find shelter behind it. Therefore, in the view of the delegation of Kuwait, Israel's presence in the United Nations is an unbearable anomaly, and the rectification of that anomaly lies in the application of relevant enforcing measures to make Israel choose between its con- tinued refusal to abide by the Charter and conse- quently face sanctions, or comply with the Charter and implement the resolutions of the United Nations on the question of Palestine. 168. Let us be clear on Jerusalem. No Moslem on earth could or would accept that the holy Moslem shrines should remain under Zionist rule. Without the return of the Holy City of Jerusalem to Arab rule there will be no peace. Jerusalem and peace are indi- visible: there is no peace without Jerusalem, and a free Jerusalem is the road to peace. 169. For how long will the world tolerate Israel's defiance of the international community? For how long will Mr. Begin hold the whole world hostage to his caprices and whim? Who is endangering world peace and security? Who is keeping the Middle East in a state of turmoil? Who is jeopardizing Western interests in the region? Who is imperiling American interests and preventing American friendship for the Arab world? Who, in another sense, is depriving the global negotiations on economic matters of their real meaning? It is Israel and only Israel. It is Israel for which the Western Powers have shown such inex- plicable and unjustified patience and tolerance. It is Israel which is adding to the sufferinr.: of the dp,",-='· oping countries by refusing to acknowledge the rights of the people of Palestine. It is Israel whose ruthless- ness and selfishness have caused the world immea- surable problems. We must stand up and say with a collective voice: enough is enough. If we do not do so, all will suffer, including the United States, whose romance with Israel surpasses its obligations to the Charter. 170. We must tell Israel and the Zionists and the gangsters that support them strongly and unequivo- cally that Israel has duties to fulfil before its delega- tion talks about responsibilities and rights. These duties include the indispensability of the withdrawal of its forces and the Israeli presence from all occupied "A lasting peace in the Middle East could have been established long ago. The road to such peace is well known, and the States represented at the meeting have also indicated it on many occasions -an all-embracing Middle Eastern political settle- ment with the direct participation of all the parties concerned, including the Palestinian Arab people as embodied by its representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, on the basis of respect for the legitimate interests of all States and peoples of the Middle East, including Israel. "Such a settlement requires the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, the restoration of the right of the Arab people

Thirty- three years have passed since the question of Pales- tine was first raised at the United Nations, and yet today the question continues to engage our close and urgent attention, as our current deliberations de- monstrate. In spite of all the efforts to find a peaceful, just and lasting solution to the problem, it remains one of the most sensitive and dangerous issues facing the Organization. This year alone, the Security Council has met several times to consider issues related to the question of Palestine, and the seventh emergency special session was held from 22 to 29 July to discuss the question following the failure of the Council to act on the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. 188. At the seventh emergency special session the General Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homes and property, to self-determination and independence and to national sovereignty. It also called on Israel to withdraw from all occupied Arab territories by 15 November 1980. As in the past, the Israeli author- ities once again ignored the overwhelming call of the General Assembly and continued with their policy of consolidation and annexation of occupied territories in blatant violation of the established principles of international law. 189. The demographic nature and Islamic character of the Holy City of Jerusalem continued to be altered in their bid to strengthen their hold on the city and to transform it into the undivided capital of Israel. Israel did not care if those actions offended the sensi- tivities and feelings of hundreds of millions of Mos- lems the world over. The date of IS November 1980 passed without a single Israeli soldier being with- drawn from the occupied territories. Instead it saw more repressive measures mounted by the Israeli authorities against students and other civilians intent on expressing their opposition to Israel's illegalpolicy in those territories. 190. My delegation does not wish to go into detail in describing the various atrocities and illegal actions perpetrated by the Israeli authorities. They are al- 203. The various plans and political maneeuvres "A lasting peace in the Middle East could have -first and foremost the Camp David agreements been established long ago. The road to such peace and the separate Egypt-Israel treaty reached through is well known, and the States represented at the the active mediation of the United States-serve meeting have also indicated it on many occasions precisely to realize these strategic goals. Two years ---an all-embracing Middle Eastern political set- have elapsed since the ratification of these agree- tlement with the direct participation of all the ments, and there is still no peace in the Middle East. parties concerned, including the Palestinian Arab The key issue of the Middle East crisis, namely, the people as embodied by its representative, the Pales- exercise of the legitimate national rights of the Arab tine LiberationOrganization,on the basis of respect people of Palestine, was leftoutside their "framework for the legitimate interests of all States and peoples for peace". Under the smokescreen of such agree- -of the Middle East, including Israel." [A/35/237- ments which, it is pretended, constitute a peaceful S//3948, annex ll.] and comprehensive settlement of all aspects of the Middle East conflict, Israel continues to pursue its 206. The People's Republic of Bulgaria has always policy of expansionism, annexation and aggression supported and will continue to support the just strug- against the Palestinian people and the neighbouring gle of the Palestinian people for the restoration of its Arab countries. The talks on the so-called adminis- lawful rights. We value highly the principled and trative autonomyfor the Palestinians-an idea rejected constructive position of the PLO on the problems of by the Palestinians themselves-are but a disguised the settlement of the Middle 'East conflict, as well as

Few items, if any, have been on the agenda of the General Assembly for as long as the question of Palestine. As' of this ses- sion, it has been 33 years since the problem was first discussed in this world body, and only God knows for how many more years the Assembly will be con- fronted with it. It is only because of the unacceptable intransigeance of Zionist Israel that a just solution to the problem has yet to be found. 234. At this session, during which the United Na- tions is observing the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Inde- pendence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolu- tion /5/4 (XV)], the delegation of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros cannot but express its sad- ness over the fact that our brothers, the people of Palestine, have not been spared the yoke of occupa- tion and the agony of the denial of their inalienable rights. 235. If the first function of the Organization is the maintenance and consolidation of international peace and security, addressing the explosive question of Palestine must hence rank at the top of its priorities, since we all agree that the Palestinian problem is the core o! the Middle East conflict, a conflict that four times since 1948 has threatened world peace and turned that region into the most dangerous hotbed of tension, ready to explode at any moment if no imme- (Hate and just solution is found to satisfy the demands of the Palestinian people. 236. We of the delegation of the Comoros are con- vinced that a just and permanent solution to this per- nicious problem is possible if only the regime of Zio- nist Israel can be forced to comply with and respect the relevant United Nations resolutions and to recog- nize that the question of Palestine is at the hesrt of the Middle East problem and that no solution to that problem can be envisaged without taking into consi- deration the implementation of the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine. Those rights include the right to return to its land and property; its right to self-determination, independence and national sov- ereignty-in simple terms, the right to establish its own independent State in Palestine; the rejection of The meeting rose at 7./5 p.m,