A/35/PV.86 General Assembly

The item before us is called "The situation in the Middle East". In accordance with prescribed ritual, attempts will be made to turn it into another orchestrated attack on Israel. To a large extent the hollow allegations made against my country in the course of what passed last week for the General Assembly's deliberations on the question of Palestine will be regurgitated once again. 3. But in this debate the Assembly should not go along with attepts to make it adopt a blinkered view of what is going on in the Middle East as a whole by focusing exclusively on just one segment of the region. The Middle East includes the war in the Persian Gulf, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and the armed stand-off between Syria and Jordan, to mention only three of the conflicts in the region which are uppermost in people's minds today. These trouble- spots, with grave implications for international peace, should certainly give rise to concern on the part of the Assembly and must have a prominent place in any serious discussion of the situation in the Middle East. 4. I do not wish to question for a moment the im- portance of such items on the Assembly's agenda as those concerning the Comorian island of Mayotte [itel1l 25] or the Malagasy islands of Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India [itelll 58]. However, so long as the Assembly reserves a special place on its agenda for such questions while turning a blind eye to the numerous conflicts in the Middle East threatening international peace and security, the Assembly will justly be accused of having an eclectic NEW YORK field of vision and ofcontinuing to practice its notorious double standard on matters affecting the Middle East. 5. Talking about islands, for example, what has happened to the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, which are claimed by both the United Arab Emirates and Iran? Each of those three islands sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of an international waterway through which large parts of the world's oil supply are transported. They have been the subject of a long-standing dispute and, in view of recent events surrounding them, they certainly deserve mention in the course of any debate on the situation in the Middle East. 6. There is no single definition of the Middle East. Nevertheless, if words in this body have the same meaning as they have in the real world, most of us would agree that the Middle East is a region straddling two continents, stretching from North Africa to the Indian Ocean. It comprises more than 20 countries. It contains overland routes and sea-lanes which have been at the centre of international politics and trade throughout history. And, perhaps even more important in this industrial day and age, the domes and fissures below its surface contain two thirds of the world's known oil reserves. 7. At the same time it is an area in which conflicts are chronic and endemic. It is a volatile area where most of the countries and regimes suffer from insta- bility. Each of the manifold conflicts in the region has a genesis of its own and a dynamic of its own, But because of the centrality of the Middle East on the international stage, many of those conflicts impinge on countries beyond the region, particularly in Africa, and in certain cases have serious implications for global peace and security as well as for the economies of most States represented here. 8. As I pointed out in my statement here last Tuesday [77th lIll'etiIlR], the sources of instability in the Middle East fall, broadly speaking, into three categories: first, internal upheavals inside countries of the region; secondly, conflicts between countries of the region; and, thirdly, subversion and aggression from countries outside the Middle East. To those three categories one should add another source of instability of more recent vintage-namely, the misuse of staggering oil wealth by certain countries, in a manner which threatens the security and well-being of other coun- tries both inside the region and beyond it. 9. Last week I cited just three examples of these phenomena. I could in fact have reeled off as many as three dozen conflicts of one kind or another which are plaguing the Middle East at this very moment. Algeria and Morocco are at odds with one another. Libya has troubled relations with almost all of its neighbours, from Tunisia on the west to the Sudan on 10. It is not too late for the General Assembly to live up to its responsibilities and to address some of the international issues arising out of the situation in the .Middle East. 11. One item which is long overdue for discussion by this body is the internal and external policies and practices of the Syrian Arab Republic, a country which brings together the various causes of conflict in the Middle East. The severe international problems created by Syria derive to a great extent from its internal situation. 12. Let us therefore begin with its domestic instability and upheaval. From the end of the Second World War until the present regime came into power in 1970, there were a dozen coups d' etat in Syria, most of them bloody. The present regime is a minority one, made up mostly of members of the Alawite sect. It rests on bayonets. I can think of no better authority on this subject tf-m the former Syrian ambassador to this Organization. At the press conference which he gave in this very building on the day he resigned, in December of last year, he described in horrific detail the repression, the torture and the violence employed by the Assad regime against its opponents at home. He also described the military crack-downs and the public executions which, together with the violation of civil and human rights in Syria, are designed to muzzle any opposition to the regime. 13. Those brutal methods have been far from success- ful. In the last year there has been violence throughout Syria. Scores of political figures have been assas- sinated. Hundreds have been killed in riots in Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Latakia. 14. The Assembly addresses itself to the human rights situation in a number of countries in various regions of the world. The time has surely come for it to speak up and establish a special committee to investigate Syrian practices affecting the human rights of its population. 15. The internal troubles in a Middle Eastern country such as Syria often have direct effects on its external behaviour and frequently induce the Government concerned to engage in foreign adventures in the hope of diverting attention away from its troubles at home. To illustrate this point, one need only look at Syria's relations with its Arab neighbours-Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. I could almost stop there, for need one say more? 16. There are, however, aspects of Syria's aggres- sion against its Arab neighbours that tend to be forgotten as one act of violence comes hard on the heels of the other. The most criminal and overt of these acts of aggression is Syria's rape of Lebanon. Ever since the end of the Second World War, Syria has had designs on Lebanon, which it sees as part of "Greater Syria". It has habitually regarded Lebanon as part of Syria, and for that reason has no diplomatic 17. But why take my word for it? Only two weeks ago another stillborn Arab summit meeting took place. Its conception, its gestation and its birth pangs were all illustrative of the situation in the Middle East. At its conclusion, King Hussein of Jordan declared that Lebanon was "dominated and held captive" by foreign forces, clearly alluding to Syria. As reported by The Neu' York Times of 28 November 1980, King Hussein also accused Syria and its cohorts of stabbing an Arab brother-State in the back. 18. The truth is that, during the civil war which began in 1974 in Lebanon, Syria exploited the op- portunity to invade Lebanon on the pretext that it was assisting the Government of Lebanon to restore peace. Having ruthlessly massacred Palestinian Arabs at Tal Za'atar and elsewhere, Syria then turned on the Christians in Lebanon and in the process not only laid the country bare but also tore it apart. Syria's bar- barities against the Lebanese did not end with the conclusion of the civil war in 1976. In 1978 the world was appalled and outraged as Syrian forces indiscri- criminately bombarded populated areas in Beirut. Syrian artillery relentlessly shelled the city for days, killing hundreds of innocent men. women and children and turning hundreds of thousands more into refugees. Syria continues to occupy the country with about one third of its army, amounting to some 30,000 sol- diers-although some of them may have heen rede- ployed recently on the .off-chance that yet another of Syria's neighbours may require its peace-keeping services. 19. Claiming that its presence in Lebanon is neces- sary to maintain security. Syria has extracted the concurrence of Arab League States for its occupation of the country. But everyone knows that Syria came to Lebanon to stay, and if the Syrians have their way the chances of that tormented country regaining its independence are not particularly bright. 20. In 1958 the Assembly discussed a foreign inter- vention in the internal affairs of Lebanon. In terms of size and duration, that intervention pales in com- parison with the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in recent years. The extent of Syria's domination over Lebanon was demonstrated only last month when it prohibited Lebanon from attending that abortive Arab summit meeting held at Amman. But none the less the Assembly has not seen fit to address itself to these clear breaches of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity. If the Assembly really wishes '.0 address itself to the situation in the Middle East, there must be room to discuss this matter under an agenda item dealing directly with the situation in Lebanon as a whole. 21. The case of Syria also offers a prime example of subversion from outside the Middle East region. For many years now, Syria has heen penetrated by the Soviet Union, which has used Syria as its proxy to destabilize the region in furtherance of its imperialistic 23. In this connexion, one should also recall that it was the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Co-operation between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan, of 1978, which was used as the formal pretext for the fraternal Soviet invasion of that country. Also, in recent days another country bound by a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union has been in the headlines. Now, in view of Soviet assurances that Poland can count on the fraternal solidarity and sup- port of the ~oviet Union, and of the Soviet military build-up on the Polish border accompanying those assurances one is bound to wonder what will be the fate of that country. 24. But to come back to Syria: since the Amman summit meeting we have also witnessed the massing of Syrian troops on the border with Jordan. Jordan promptly responded in kind, and there have been moments in this latest crisis when the two countries were within a hair's breadth of open hostilities. 25. I have touched upon Syria, but as I mentioned earlier it is far from being the only source of instability in our region. I alluded at the outset of my remarks to the cruel war between Iraq and Iran which has been going on for over two months and which has entailed a heavy toll of human life on both sides. 26. Ostensibly, Iraq launched that war because of a long-standing border dispute with Iran. But Iraq's aggression against Iran has revealed its true face. When it calculated that Iran had been so exhausted by internal convulsions that it could not strike back effectively, Iraq tore up the treaty which it had concluded with Iran only five years earlier. Moreover, since invading Iran, Iraq's appetite has increased and now it has extensive territorial designs on Iran. 27. The President of Iraq announced in the National Assembly in Baghdad on 4 November that ..... the longer a nation stays in a territory the more rights it gains... Khomeini must realize that war creates additional rights over and above the pre-war rights." Incidentally, it must now be perfectly clear to every- one why Iraq l-as steadfastly refused to accept Security Council resolution 242 (1967). 28. Be that as it may, the Assembly surely cannot lose sight of the fact that the war between Iraq and Iran has had a destabilizing effect throughout the Middle East and is thus a grave threat to international 29. Let me continue on the subject of Syria and Iraq, since they provide such splendind examples of yet another, essentially domestic, cause of instability in our region: it is the exclusivist attitude, indeed the racist attitude, towards minorities in the area which has plagued the Middle East since the end of the First World War. 30. This form of exclusivist thinking leaves no room for non-Arab and non-Moslem States in the region. It is for that reason that Arab regimes have consistently suppressed the national rights of all minorities in the area. Hence, for example, in the 1930s Iraq sup- pressed, with great brutality, calls for a measure of autonomy made by the Assyrians, an ancient Christian group. It was for the same reason that, in the 1950s, Syria worked systematically to break up and disperse the concentrations of the Christian minorities within its borders. For the same reason, in the 1960s and the 1970s, Iraq put down harshly and tried to stamp out any moves for autonomy by the Kurds, an ethnic minority within its midst. And this is an additional reason why Syria was so swift to exploit in 1974 the civil war in Lebanon, so that an end would be put, possibly once and for all, to what was the only multi- denominational State in the Arab League. 31. One could in fact expand, at very great length, on the catalogue of Arab !'ltolerance towards religious and ethnic minorities in the area. I shall refrain from doing so. But what this suggests is a sad conclusion with regard to the Middle East as a whole. It is that peace will come to the region only when the Arab regimes in it change some oftheir fundamental attitudes and are prepared to give full recognition to the aspira- tions of all the religious and ethnic groups among them-which, it should be remembered, make up a very large part of the region's total population. 32. The dangers of the manifold conflicts in the Middle East are compounded by the unprecedented arms build-up in the area. The arms race was bad enough when it was fuelled primarily by one super- Power seeking to destabilize the region. However, in the last few years it has grown all the more dangerous, as the "petro-hegemonist" States in the Middle East have acquired such wealth of their own that they can buy whatever they want, and as much as they want, in the international arms market. 33. Iraq is the largest importer of arms in the entire third world. Kuwait spends more dollars per capita on arms than does any other country in the world. Libya and Democratic Yemen are stockpiling billions of dollars' wortll of Soviet tanks, combat planes, artillery and other military hardware, far beyond their capability to use such equipment. Over the last year Syria's military expenditures increased by almost 55 per cent, so that they now constitute more than half of its annual budget. 35. This frightening spectacle grows all the worse in the light of the attempts being made, notably by Iraq and Libya, to go nuclear. Both of those countries are rich in oil resources and therefore cannot validly claim to have an urgent need for nuclear energy to power their economies. Both are poor in technological skills and thus cannot credibly invoke scientific research as the reason for their interest in nuclear facilities. Both are ruled by radical autocrats who have shown their total disdain for international law and order. If they were to acquire nuclear warheads, both would be capable of wreaking a nuclear catastrophe, whose fall- out, in the nature of things, cannot and would not be confined to the Middle East. 36. Let me remind members of the Assembly where things stand in this regard. Last summer, Iraq acquired considerable nuclear installations from several European countries. This transfer caused not only experts but also the world press to ask, reasonably enough, why one of the largest oil-exporting countries in the world should feel the need LO spend billions in a frantic search for nuclear power. 37. Jonathan Kandell, writing in the International Herald Tribune on 27 June 1980, learned that, with the help of their oil clients, "the Iraqis have acquired in piecemeal fashion the nuclear material, technology and expertise necessary to produce and stockpile several, bombs during the next five years". 38. Francis Perrin, who served as head of the French Atomic Energy Commission from 1951 to 1971, issued a warning in the Paris newspaper France-Soir on 5 August 1980 that Iraq was likely to revoke interna- tional controls on the enriched uranium employed in its reactors, "to be in the position to produce an atomic weapon, probably of plutonium." Mr. Perrin's worst fears were confirmed this autumn, when Iraq closed its nuclear facilities to the inspectors of IAEA, contrary to its international undertakings. 39. Libya is at an earlier stage in nuclear develop- ment. It has received assistance from the Soviet Union which, in a co-operation agreement concluded in 1975, agreed to help construct a research reactor and a power-producing reactor in Libya. However, the designs of Libya and its slightly unpredictable ruler, Colonel Qadhafi, are no less menacing than those ofIraq. Ever since coming to power, Qadhafi has been seeking a shortcut to acquire a ready-made nuclear military option. In recent years he has looked for this purpose to Pakistan, to whose nuclear development Libya has contributed large sums of money. 40. Despite Qadhafi's efforts to be discreet as he plays with nuclear fire, the veil of secrecy was lifted in a recent BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) television presentation called the "Islamic Bomb", which provided irrefutable documentary evidence of the co-operation between Libya and Pakistan in the nuclear n. ! I "If poverty is, not to prevail among our nations, it is therefore imperative that morality prevail in international economic and trade relations... " [83rd meeting, paras. 48 and 49.] 44. In an article entitled ••African Economics and Oil Price Increases", published in London in Interna- tional Relations in May this year, the Zambian scholar Siyanga Malumo, observed that ,•... African economics have suffered more since the beginning of the oil price jump in January 1974 than at any time since the beginning of colonization on the continent". 45. Not only are the Middle Eastern "petro-hege- monists" extorting excessive prices for their oil, thus further impoverishing developing countries, but they are also using the wealth gained thereby for aggressive purposes against other States, inside the region and beyond it. 46. A clear example of what I have in mind is the attempt by Libya to subvert Chad and to realize its expansionist aims in that country. Colonel Qadhafi has long coveted Chad's valuable mineral resources, including uranium. In 1976 he occupied and annexed a 60-mile-wide strip of Chad's territory. Qadhafi has not only been behind several 'of the political upheavals in that country, but has also exploited them to his own advantage. In May of this year he joined hands with one of the political factions in Chad and in recent days was reported to have stepped up Libyan intervention in the civil war there by moving as many as 3,000 Libyan troops to a base within 35 miles of the capital, N'djamena. 47. Libya's occupation of parts of Chad and its undisguised territorial ambitions on large rr "ts of the rest of the country have caused concen a number of African countries. Gambia has broken diplomatic relations with Libya, and the leaders of Senegal, Mali, the Sudan and Mauritania have expressed deep concern. 48. Given the Assembly's well-known sensitivity towards and preoccupation with occupied territories, it is surely incumbent on it to address itself squarely 49. In brief, there are many burning questions throughout the length and breadth of the Middle East deserving of the Assembly's urgent attention. We trust that the Assembly will rise to the occasion and address itself seriously to the situation in the Middle East in its full and proper sense.

West Asia, the cradle ofone of the most ancient civilizations and once a land of peace and harmony, today is plagued with tensions and conflicts. Stability in the area is being constantly threatened by forces within and without, making it difficult for the countries in the region to pursue the path to prosperity. The events in the region have had far-reaching repercussions in the rest of the world and no country can remain insensitive to the problems of West Asia today. Over the years that have been spent in the United Nations discussing the situation in the Middle East, adverse developments have taken place and crisis situations have emerged essenti~lly because the fundamental issue, the core of the conflict, has remained unresolved. 5I. Central to the situation in West Asia is the question of Palestine. The Palestinian people, who have been denied their inalienable right to statehood, have been waging a courageous struggle for more than 30 years. Despite the fact that the rights of the Palestinian people have been universally accepted and the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] has been widely recognized as the sole legitimate repre- sentative of the Palestinian people and the symbol of Palestinian sovereignty and unity, the stubbornness of a single State has so far successfully blocked a just and comprehensive solution. Attempts to delay the discussion and resolution of this question in accordance with United Nations resolutions have contributed further to the instability in the region. 52. Any discussion of the question of Palestine should aim at the total withdrawal by Israel from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, in order to facilitate the immediate establishment of the Palest.inian State. The attainment of statehood by the Palestinian people will automatically lead to the creation of favourable conditions that wiii secure for all the countries in the region a guarantee that their peoples will live within recognized bo~ndaries. Scenarios other than that, however mgemous and however well-motivated, cannot rid the region of its tensions and agony. We have had recent examples <;>f efforts at partial solutions, which have resulted In divisions in the region and caused a considerable setback to the cause of Palestine. 53. The efforts of the United Nations to stop conflicts in West Asia and to alleviate the sufferings of the victims of war have indeed been commendable. The 54. India's approach to the situation in West Asia has been dictated by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, principles that we have held dear since the time of our own struggle for independence, and the close and friendly bilateral relations that exist between India and the individual Arab countries. When we reaffirm our commitment to a comprehensive and just settlement of the conflict in West Asia, we do so in the company of the vast majority of nations repre- sented here and in the conviction that the struggle for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine is essentially a part of the yet incomplete struggle of peoples all over the world. 55. Regardless of the changes brought about in West Asia by the tide of history, we have continued to enjoy cordial relations with all the Arab countries. The policy of non-alignment, to which India and most Arab nations stand committed, provides a valuable bond and our relations are based on equality and mutual benefit. Even in the face of the staggering problems of the world economy today, that relation- ship has enabled us to identify new avenues for co- operation. We believe that we have contributed our mite to the development of West Asia by placing our technical know-how and manpower resources at the disposal of the countries in the region. 56. The situation in West Asia today is a matter of grave concern to the entire world. Crises, new and old, continue to defy solution. But, being aware of the peace-loving nature of the Arab people and of the history of brotherhood and coexistence of religions that have prevailed in West Asia for centuries, we feel confident that there is no room for despair. Once the question of Palestine is settled on the basis of the prin- ciples adopted by the United Nations, other transitory conflicts will disappear and peace and tranquillity will dawn in the area. Peace in West Asia is of para- mount importance to the world as a whole, therefore the States Members of the United Nations must strive to bring about conditions that will secure peace and harmony for the countries in the region. 57. Mr. RAcz (Hungary): The Middle East has never been quiet since the end of the Second World War and the problems of that troubled region are still far from being settled. The four great wars that were fought between the Arabs and Israel, as well as the tension permanently prevailing there, have made the world 58. That perception is reflected by the fac: that dif- ferent aspects of the Middle East problem have for many years been on the agenda of the deliberations in various United Nations organs and committees. That has been the case this year, too: the Security Council has on several occasions dealt with the Middle East conflict; an emergency special session of the General Assembly was convened in July; some of the Main Committees of the General Assembly have already touched upon the political, economic, social and humanitarian implications of the issue in the course of this thirty-fifth session; the plenary Assembly has just concluded its debate on the question of Palestine [item 24]; and now we are discussing the problem in its complexity here, in another attempt to contribute to an early elimination of this long-standing focal point of tension. 59. Every sincere effort to settle the Middle East crisis should start from the concrete definition of the deep causes of the problem. We are sure that the manoeuvre we have witnessed here will not mislead anybody. It is the view of the Hungarian delegation that no country has the right to blame others for what it has itself done. We are firmly convinced that the differences so unfortunately existing between some other countries of the region can in no way justify the policy pursued by Israel. 60. We should like to avail ourselves of this oppor- tunity also to reiterate what has already been re- peateadly stated on several occasions by the Govern- ment and representatives of the Hungarian People's Republic: the main cause of the Middle East crisis as a whole lies in the policy of aggression and expan- sion of Israel. 61. The illegal occupation of Arab lands by Israel, which is the concrete source of many fundamental problems, has remained a reality for more than 13 years since the 1967 hostilities. Successive Israeli Govern- ments have never made any mystery of their refusal to accept the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territories by force, and their statements and declarations have never remained. merely simple declarations of intent. The establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories, the viola- tion of the fundamental human rights of the indigenous population of those lands and their expulsion, have all been integral parts ofan Israeli policy ofannexation, aimed at destroying the identity of the Arab population of those territories and changing the geographical character, the demographic nature and the legal status of those lands, in the hope of perpetuating the con- sequences of the 1967 aggression and creating an irreversible situation. 62. The decision adopted by the Knesset to declare Jerusalem the indivisible eternal capital of Israel is the most striking example of annexation and coloniza- 64. The major victim of the Israeli aggression and policy of annexation is the Arab population of Pal- estine. During more than three decades, hundreds of thousands ofPalestinians have been either displaced and uprooted or oppressed and tortured in their own homeland. Thus, their fate is at the heart of the Middle East crisis, constituting a fundamental aspect thereof. No lasting peace can be achieved in the Middle East without solving the problem of this long-suffering people. Recognition and full exercise of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people to return, to self-determination and national independence and sovereignty, including the right to establish an inde- pendent State of their own, is another pre-condition for any genuine over-all settlement of the Middle East crisis. 65. A further part of a comprehensive settlement should be guarantees of the secure and independent existence and development of all States of the region, including Israel. But assurance of secure frontiers and national security, so often referred to by Israel, cannot be separated from the fulfilment of the other pre-conditions. Over the years, the most. obstinate obstacle to peace in the Middle East has been the endeavour of Israel to be secure and independent only at the expense of, and by denying similar rights to, the other parties involved in the conflict, and its endeavour to have and preserve a State in Palestine only at the cost of 'keeping the Palestinian Arabs stateless and only at the cost of subjugating its Arab neighbours. It must be clear to everyone that the main aspects of the Middle East crisis are interdependent and cannot be separated. Hence the settlement of the crisis should also be comprehensive and relevant negotiations should be held with the equal participation of all the parties involved. 66. In the spirit of this approach, it is obvious that no result can be achieved on the basis of the Camp David accords and the separate treaty between Egypt and Israel. These agreements are futile, since the ultimate aim of the parties to them is not the establish- ment of peace in that region, but rather a return to the time of military groupings by creating a new military alliance. 67. The negotiations in the so-called peace process are not aimed at complying with any of the funda- mental requirements of a just and lasting settlement. The autonomy offered within this framework to the Palestinians does not apply to the territory in which they live, but only to the inhabitants of that territory. In this way, it serves only the rapid annexation of the occupied territories. The conduct of the so-called autonomy talks precludes the possibility of a genuine solution. Nobody can decide or has the right to decide the fate of the Palestinian people without the Pal- estinian people itself or against its will. A pre-requisite for the success of any negotiation on the question of 69. The denial by the United States of the joint Soviet-Arnerican statement of 1 October 1977, which provided for the solution of the Middle East crisis within the framework of a comprehensive settlement, was an integral part of the new course of American foreign policy which started in the late 1970s. This course was aimed at fostering instability in all parts of the world, restructuring existing international politics in favour of the United States and undermining the process of detente. By paving the way to the Camp David accords and by further dividing the unity of the Arab world, the United States has embarked upon a policy of imposing imperialist "settlement" on the peoples of the Middle East. This policy is clearly demonstrated-by the successive vetos by which the American delegation has blocked the adoption of any substantial draft resolution aimed at a genuine, com- prehensive settlement of the Middle East conflict. 70. Under these circumstances, Israel's military strength has considerably increased and the acts of Israeli aggression have been intensified against neigh- bouring Arab countries, Lebanon among them. But might does not mean right. An immediate end must be put to the expansionist policy of Israel. The con- tinuing danger to international peace and security posed by the ever-worsening Middle East crisis makes it imperative that all Member States of the United Nations should exert every effort to find a just and lasting solution to that crisis. We welcome any steps taken on the road towards this noble end. This is the reason why we consider the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation, concluded on 8 October 1980 between the Soviet Union and Syria, to be a significant factor contributing to the stability of that region of the world. 71. To settle the Middle East conflict and to bring about a lasting peace is one of the most pressing problems of our time. Therefore the relevant resolu- tions of the United Nations must not remain dead letters any longer.

It is my sad duty at the outset to express my delegation's deep sorrow at the untimely passing of Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amirasinghe, one of the most oustanding former Presidents of the General Assembly. His unflinching dedication to the principles and causes of the United Nations has deservedly earned him a proud place in the annals of the United Nations. His monumental contributions to its hard-won accomplishments, the last being the presidency of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, can only be described as historical landmarks. I feel duty-bound to express my delegation's profound and heartfelt condolences on this grievous loss. 76. As to the inexplicable conflicts which erupt in and between the States adjacent to usurped Palestine, their roots are rather well documented. I dealt with this matter in my statement last Monday, which was based on Israeli official sources, leaving no room for doubt as to who has been behind the suffering, the turmoil and the bloodshed which has afflicted the Middle East over the past few decades. 77. An area of consensus and tranquility for long centuries, the cradle of modern civilization itself, has been transformed into an area of dissension. And in practically every instance, setting aside the inevitable pains and stresses of social, cultural and economic transformations, to which no area in the world is immune, we find a vast litany of Israeli-Zionist machinations and juggling, which it would take too long to enumerate. Volumes ofbooks have been written about those misdeeds. The havoc thus wrought not only has already almost devastated two Arab peoples in the region, namely, the people of Palestine and the people of Lebanon, but has also caused a schism, which I am confident that the 150 million Arabs, with a heightened and more incisive awareness of what is being plotted against their fate, will sooner rather than later surmount ~nd overcome. Fundamentally, there is no such thing as inter-Arab conflicts. The Arab world is one people with a natural common origin, value systems, culture, language, cohesion and national aspirations. Whatever conflicts arise stem from varying reactions, responses and approaches as to how best to confront a present and growing Zionist I New York, Random House lnc., 1976. 93. The representative of the Zionist entity is evidently incapable of concealing his deep-seated hatred towards- the Arab world, which constitutes an integral part of the developing world, for having broken loose from the notorious exploitation of its natural resources, long held in bondage and plundered by his own people's cabal, which controls, manipulates and exploits the rest of humanity by controlling the money and wealth of the world. People like Lord Rothschild every day, in iron-clad secrecy, decide and flash round the world how high the price of gold should be. That fact was disclosed not long ago by no less than the knowledgeable Time magazine. And there is Mr. Oppenheimer, of South Africa, who holds 15 million blacks in bondage in order to exploit and monopolize the diamonds, the uranium and the other precious resources which rightfully belong to the struggling African people of South Africa and Namibia. It is a well-known fact that the Zionists are the richest people in the world and control much of its destiny. 94. Indeed, in the United States itself, which has a national income of upwards of $2,000 billion per annum, while millions of hard-working God-fearing Americans are unemployed, the Zionists own a lion's share of that great abundance. Official figures have shown that they have the highest per capita accumula- tion of all segments of American society, including the descendants of the immigrants of 300 or 400 years ago. The Ambassador of Israel this afternoon tried to exploit the petroleum situation and this is my reply to him: what is the value in real terms and purchasing power today of the $30 brought in by a barrel of oil, the contents of which can produce almost 3,000 vari- eties of vital goods-durable vital goods-in addition to energy? It is the equivalent of $1 of 30 to 40 years ago. 95. The suit I am wearing-and I am ashamed that it is worth so much-is worth $500, two hundred times its equivalent in worsted English wool which, including hand tailoring, in the 1940s in Palestine would have cost three Palestinian pounds or pounds sterling. The same applies to the engines we buy, the food we eat 99. An Arab summit conference attended by 15States was convened at Amman, Jordan, from 25 to 27 No- vember. In view of the importance of that summit to questions relating to the Middle East, 1 believe it would be enlightening if I were to read excerpts from the Final Declaration of the 15 heads of State who participated in extenso. The communique states: "Basing themselves upon their commitment to national responsibility, to the necessity of pursuing joint and earnest inter-Arab action in confronting the dangers and threats to which the Arab nation is exposed and believing that an effective and effi- cient confrontation can only come about on the basis of unanimity, the transcending of differences and the elimination of divisive factors in arriving at unity in the Arab ranks, the Arab leaders, meeting in Amman, worked together to study the present Arab situation and those political, military and economic developments which have taken place in the Arab world and in the international arena since the convening of the Tenth Arab Summit Conference in Tunis." [See A/35/7/9-SI/4289. annex.l 100. The conferees reviewed the Arab-Zionist con- flict and its developments. They also adopted political, lOt. The conferees stressed that the liberation of Arab Jerusalem is a national commitment and duty and declared their rejection of all the measures which Israel has perpetrated there. They also requested all the States of the world to adopt unequivocal and, clear- cut measures in combating those Israeli practices. They also '1,ecided to sever all forms of relationship with any S.\,:lte which recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Isr\el or transfers its embassy there. 102. The Arnb leaders stressed their determination to continue support to the PLO in its capacity as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, with a view to restoring all the rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent State on its national soil. The conferees also stressed the consolida- tion of the independence of the PLO and its free will. The conferees paid a tribute to the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian lands and its heroic sacrifices and valiant resistance in its persistent confrontation with the Israeli occupa- tion, which gives to the whole world continuing proof of its steadfast determination to obtain its right. 103. The Conference emphasized the right of the Palestinian Arab people, represented by the PLO, to return to its homeland and to determine its own future and to establish its independent State on its national soil, indicating that the PLO is the only party which possesses the right to exercise the responsibility of tackling the future of the Palestinian people. 104. The Arab Summit Conference stressed that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) is incompatible with Arab rights and does not constitute a sound basis for resolving the Middle East crises and par- ticularly the question of Palestine. .I. have stated on several previous occasions that resolution 242 (1967) was intended specifically to deal with the consequences of the 1967 conflict and not to deal with the question of Palestine, which has been on our agenda for the past 32 years. I might also add in this connexion that the Israeli occupiers over the past 13 years have already torpedoed that resolution on the ground by massive colonization and annexation. What is the fate of Jerusalem? It has already been annexed. What is the fate of the heartland of the West Bank? It has been colonized all the way from Bethlehem in the south to RamaIlah in the north, in addition to the colonization of every part of the occupied territories. The entire Jordan Valley, the only irrigated area in the West 106. The leaders reiterated their determination to confront and defeat those accords and to remove their consequences, in accordance with the resolution of the Baghdad and Tunis Summit Conferences. 107. The leaders at the Amman Summit Conference took the opportunity to send a message of brotherly solidarity to their brethren, the Arab people of Egypt, who constitute an important part of our Arab nation and whose struggle is inseparable from the struggle of all the Arab peoples, expressing the hope that the Egyptian people would be able to overcome the circum- stances which have separated them from their brethren, in order to resume their brotherly, constructive participation in the building of the Arab nation. 108. The Summit Conference discussed with great attention the current conflict between brotherly Iraq .and Iran. Emanating from the principles of Arab solidarity and with a view to preserving the brotherly relations between the Arab and Islamic States and the mobilization of their resources in support of the struggle which the Arab nation is waging against the Zionist enemy, the Conference called upon the two parties to declare an immediate cease-fire and to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. 109. The Conference supported Iraq's legitimate right to its lands and waters, in accordance with the international agreements concluded between the two States. The Conference welcomed Iraq's positive response to the appeals made by the Islamic Con- ference, the United Nations and the non-aligned States for a cease-fire and for the use of good offices for resolving the dispute through negotiations. The Conference appealed to Iran to respond favourably to that position. IW. The Conference also appealed to the two sides to commit themselves on a reciprocal basis to the prin- ciple of non-interference in each other's internal affairs, to respect rights and sovereignty and to establish close good-neighbourly relations between themselves. Those principles should be the basis of relationships between the Arab countries and Iran. Ill. The Conference expressed its total condemna- tion of the continuing Israeli aggression against sisterly Lebanon. That aggression constitutes a challenge to the dignity of the; -rnational community. I explained last week-and ' ,.; ldll not repeat it today-how Israel had planned the disintegration and the vivisec- 115. The Conference also asserted the need to strive to ensure continuance of the support and help of the States of the socialist camp concerning Arab rights and for the consolidation of co-operation with that community in such a manner as to serve their common interests and lead to the augmentation and develop- ment of the support of those States for Arab rights, with a view to strengthening Arab steadfastness. 116. The Conference likewise decided to continue its efforts within the United Nations and tile specialized agencies, and at conferences held under its aegis, to co-ordinate a common Arab position, as decided by the League of Arab States. 117. The Conference stressed the importance of continued consultations with the Holy See, and other important Christian institutions, to ensure their con- tinued solidarity as regards the restoration of full Arab sovereignty over Jerusalem. 118. The Arab Summit Conference condemned the persistence of the Government of the United States in supporting Israel and assisting it politically, militarily and economically. which support has enabled Israel to consolidate its occupation, deny the Palestinian people their legitimate rights and ignore the international resolutions against the continuance of aggressive practices, expansion and colonization. 2 A/34/763, annex. 120. The Arab leaders expressed their grave concern over the continuing differences in the Arab front, at a moment when all resources should be mobilized in concert to confront the dangers which face the Arab nation. They called for a settlement of these passing differences in a spirit of genuine Arab awareness and faith in their unity of objective and fate. This should be achieved within the provisions ofthe Arab Solidarity Pact, adopted by the Third Arab Summit Conference in Casablanca in 1965. 121. The Arab Summit Conference in Amman adopted the strategy for joint Arab economic develop- ment up to the year 2000 which aims at achieving the functional objectives of Arab unity, freedom and complementarity. A solid economic base was deemed essential to national security, encompassing the whole spectrum of the Arab world. It is the considered opi- nion of my delegation that the resolutions of the Eleventh Arab Summit Conference, held at Amman, adopted by the 15 participant States, are historic and show unmistakably that the rights of the Palestinian people and the awareness of a deadly Zionist danger to the existence and prosperity of the Arab world are the dominant and overriding concerns of the Governments, regimes and peoples of the Middle East. All other issues are peripheral and passing, con- spicuous as they may appear momentarily, The question of Palestine was, is and will continue to be the core of the situation in the Middle East.

Like all peace-loving peoples and States, the German Democratic Republic is deeply concerned about the dangerous aggravation of the situation in the Middle East. It has become clear to the entire world that the policy of concluding separate deals and of excluding the PLO from negotiations dealing with issues that affect the destiny of the Arab people of Palestine poses a dangerous risk for peace in that region and in the world at large. 123. As a rsult of that policy the problems relating to the Middle East issue have become more acute, the piles of weapons have risen still higher and the number of victims of Israel's acts of war has increased further. Therefore, a speedy, just and comprehensive solution to the Middle East issue is of tremendous significance, and there must be no further procrastination. 124. The discussions held during the general debate at the thirty-fifth session and in connexion with the question of Palestine [item 24] have demonstrated again that the majority of the States Members United Nations are convinced that a just, comprehensive and durable settlement of the Middle East conflict will be possible only provided that first, Israel with- draws its tro0ll:s from all Arab territories occupied in 1967; secondly, the inalienable rights of the Pal- estinian people, including their right to national self- determination and to establish an independent State of their own, are implemented; and, thirdly, the right to a secure and independent existence of all States in that region is guaranteed, 127. In the face of that situation. which poses a direct threat to international peace. the following questions must be raised. How much further is the programme conceived at Camp David for the purpose of perma- nently worsening the situation to be carried? How can that be harmonized with the so-called peace process proclaimed by certain circles here in this hall? 128. Against the background of actual events and in the face of the suffering and sorrow inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime such state- ments appear to be-as indeed they really are- camouflage and demagogy. 129. The fact that the imperialist States cling to a policy which is negating the realities in the Middle East shows the course they also intend to follow in the future, namely, to act in defiance of the interests of the Arab peoples and to disregard the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Instead of according to the Arab people of Palestine, led by t.heir sole legitimate representative, the PLO, their right to national self-determination and to establish an indepen- dent State of their own, as called for in numerous United Nations resolutions, attempts are being made to bring into play a so-called administrative autonomy for the population in the West Bank udr! the Gaza Strip. 130. The very ones who, every once in 'l while, set themselves up as judges in human rights matters interfere in a flagrant manner in the internal affairs of an entire people and try to determine that people' s destiny, leaving aside its legitimate representative, the PLO. The real intentions behind the so-called auton- omy talks aim at perpetuating the Israeli occupation, for that is regarded as a guarantee of the security of imperialist interests in the Middle East. 131. Now that more than 200 resolutions adopted within the framework of the United Nations have had no effect whatsoever on Israel's attitude, it should be quite clear that Israel will continue to perpetrate aggressive acts against the Arab peoples as long as it is sure of receiving military and economic assistance from imperialist circles in the United States and certain 132. The German Democratic Republic fully under- stands the positions of the Arab States and the people of Palestine, which resolutely oppose the policy of separate deals and resist any attempt to undermine their determination. The firm solidarity of all Arab and non-aligned countries will in the future also be the best guarantee that any new manoeuvres of the imperialist circles will be withstood. 133. My country's policy concerning the settlement of problems in the Middle East is definite and clear. It has repeatedly been explained and it fully corre- sponds with the positions held by the other socialist countries, as was stated at the meeting of the Political Consultative Committee of the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty, held in Warsaw on 14 and 15 May 1980. It was declared there that no actions impeding the attainment of a political settlement in the Middle East should be taken. No State shall be entitled (0 interfere in the internal affairs of the countries and peoples of that region, and no State may lay claim to the natural resources of the peoples of that region or try to encroach upon those resources. With great concern, therefore, we have followed recent imperialist 'threats posed by the manoeuvres that the so-called Rapid Deployment Force has carried out in the very focal point of tension in that region. Those manoeu- vres can of course be hardly understood by anyone as advancing the so-called peace process. 134. It is in tr.e interest of the peoples of that region and of international security that a positive change there be brought about. The German Democratic Republic believes that the time is ripe for the interna- tional community of States to resist Israel's annexa- tionist and expansionist policy most strongly. It is also time for the policy of making separate deals to be discontinued and for endeavours towards the settle- ment of the Middle East issue to be brought back to the road of joint efforts by all parties concerned. including the only legitimate representative of the people of Palestine, the PLO. 135. The German Democratic Republic. like the other socialist States, will support any step towards achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace settlement in the Middle East. 136. At the meeting of the heads of party and Govern- ment of the States parties to the Warsaw Treaty, held in Moscow on 5 December 1980, it was once again reiterated that the socialist countries would continue their efforts to improve the international climate. strengthen peace, maintain a policy ofdetente. develop international co-operation and seek a solution to all conflicts by way of negotiations. 137. Mr. AL-SAFFAR (Bahrain) [interpretation FO/1l Arabic]: The General Assembly has just concluded the general debate on the question of Palestine. Today. this Assembly is, for the thirteenth consecutive year, again taking up consideration of the situation in the Middle East. 149. General Assembly resolution 34/70 reaffirms that the establishment of a just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Middle East conflict must be based on full respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as for Its resolutions concerning the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine. 150. The convening of a peace conference on the Middle East with the participation of all the parties concerned, including the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 3375 (XXX), under the auspices of the United Nations, taking into account all the aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict and in particular the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, is a question that must be given study. 151. The devious proposals put forward by some States for settlement of the Middle East problem do not in any way serve the cause of peace in our Arab region but rather encourage Israeli stubbornness and make it possible for Israel to continue its occupation of Arab territories and its flouting of the rights of the Palestinian people. 152. Mr. Sheikh Razzaque ALl (Bangladesh): The heart of the Middle East problem is remarkable in its simplicity. A people deprived of its natural birthright, forcibly dispossessed and uprooted from its lands, is now demanding the correction of a monumental injustice. In essence it is a struggle of a people deprived of its right to self-determination and the attainment of its legitimate natural rights. The tragedy of this situation has been obscured and diffused by treating the problem not as a political one but as an essentially humanitarian one. For 25 years the United Nations itself persisted in that fictional approach, ignoring the rights of the Palestinians, their existence as an entity and their status as a people, and settling upon them the indignity of the status of 'hapless refugees, scattered over various countries and depen- dent on international charity. 153. The Middle East situation continues to challenge the international community as a major test of the credibility and viability of the United Nations in the fulfilment of its fundamental responsibility for pre- serving peace and security in the world. In the resulting turmoil, the search for peace has remained as ephem- eral as a mirage in that part of the world. No other problem has provoked so much thought, unleashed so much indignation or so polarized the emotions of nations and individuals alike. However, beyond the contradictions, the bitter emotions and ironies, beyond the bloodshed and sufferings, there has finally emerged a determination on the part of those most affected to seek an end to the turmoil, to seek peace-not a 5 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Hague COl/- ventions and Declarations of /899 and /907, (New York, Oxford University Press, 1915). 159. The position of Bangladesh on the Middle East problem is clear and unequivocal. As President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh has said; ..It its a blot on the conscience of the civilized world that Israel continues to violate with impunity the various resolutions adopted at the United Nations and in other international forums calling for the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinians, including their right to have a State of their own. As a member of the Jerusalem Com- mittee and also of the Co-ordination Committee on Jerusalem at the United Nations, Bangladesh's stand regarding complete solidarity with its Arab and Palestinian brethren is well known. Bangladesh believes that peace through justice alone can endure. In the Middle East, such a peace is yet to be won. The components of any settlement that could guar- antee a just and lasting peace in the Middle East must embrace the following essentials: an accep- tance of the fact by all parties that the question of Palestine lies at the heart ofthe Middle East problem; that no solution can be envisaged without the restora- tion of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homeland as well as to self- determination, independence and territorial sover- eignty; that the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the legitimate representa- tive of the Palestinian people, on an equal footing with all other parties, is indispensable in all efforts towards a solution; that the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force imposes an obliga- tion on Israel, under internauonal law, to withdraw completely and quickly from all the territories it occupied since 1967, including the Holy City of Jerusalem. " 160. The choice now rests squarely with Israel whether to move urgently along a realisitc path to a durable and just peace through timely and forthright action. In the event of failure by Israel to take appropriate measures in this respect, the international community should consider taking action under Chap- ter VII of the Charter. that" the Holy City is the capital of Israel, do not offer encouragement for the solution of problems which were already very serious. Thirdly, the reported inten- tion to annex the Golan Heights, illegally occupied since 1967, would be an act ofdefiance that undermines the creation of an atmosphere ofgoodwill and concilia- tion. Fourthly, the repressive measures applied by Israel to West Bank Palestinian personalities, such as the detention and deportation of the Mayors of Hebron and Halhul in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, can hardly be regarded as positive harbingers of a willingness on the part of the Israelis to coexist peacefully with their Palestinian neighbours. Finally, the military attacks launched against the territory of Lebanon must cease, for its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be safeguarded. 166. Mr. NAIK (Pakistan): More than any other international problem, it is the Middle East conflict which has constantly imperilled world peace and security. Today, the international situation is marked by a pervasive atmosphere of gloom because of the heightened tension resulting from scant respect for international law and morality. The deteriorating situa- tion in the Middle East is of especially grave concern to the international community, as the continued belligerence and expansionism of Israel has increas- ingly darkened the prospects for peace and stability in the entire world. 167. In his annual report on the work of the Organiza- tion, the Secretary-General has also urderscored this grim reality by devoting a full chapter to the Middle East problem and emphasizing that the situation in the Middle East, "continues to dominate the affairs of the international community and remains central to the political and economic stability of the world'" [see A/35/ J, sect. IV]. 168. The Secretary-General's assessment of the current trend of events in the region fully reflects the mounting concern of the international community, which has incessantly called for a just and compre- hensive settlement of the Middle East problem in order to bring about a lasting peace in that strategic region of the world. To overlook this imperative is to reject peace. The continuing denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the illegal occupa- I tion by Israel of the Arab and Palestinian territories j constitute the core of the Middle East conflict. Total j withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories, j including the Holy City of Jerusalem, and the fulfil- 1 ment of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian j people are therefore the essential prerequisites for a J lasting and just settlement of the Middle East conflict. J 173. Successive Islamic Conferences have adopted resolutions and declarations reiterating their solidarity with the Palestinian cause and demanding the complete withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, and the full restoration of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to create an independent and sovereign State of its own in Palestine. Unless these just demands are met in full, the prospects of a genuine and lasting peace in the Middle East will elude us and the world situation will remain afflicted by a climate of increasing turmoil and tension. 174. It must also be clearly understood that no partial approach to resolving the Middle East conflict can bring peace to that region. This would be particularly true if attempts were to be made to seek peace on terms which do not fully take into account the inalien- able national rights of the Palestinian people. It was precisely for this reason that the Islamic Conference, as well as the meetings of the non-aligned countries, have categorically rejected the Camp David agreements. 175. Over the years, the United Nations has adopted various resolutions demanding the complete with- drawal of Israeli troops from the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, the annulment of illegal measures taken by Israel to change the historic, demographic and Arab character of these territories and the restitution of the inalienable national and human rights of the Palestinian 180. The deepening concern over the crisis in the Middle East was reflected in the successive meetings of the Security Council this year and also in the seventh emergency special session of the General Assembly which adopted resolutions calling upon Israel to end its aggression against the Palestinian people and its illegal occupation of the Arab and Palestinian lands. 181. A just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East conflict has assumed added urgency in the wake of the intensification of the situation in and around the Middle East as a result of pressures and counter-pressures of super-Power rivalry. If the present trend is not reversed, the future of the whole of mankind may be endangered. A firm, action- oriented approach is therefore required to put an end to the intolerable situation resulting from the persistent Israeli defiance of the verdict of the international community on the question of Palestine, which is at the heart of the Middle East conflict. In view of Israel's continuing non-compliance with the resolu- tions and decisions of the United Nations, the Security Council must now proceed with the application of effective measures against Israel under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. A delay in taking such action will not only prolong the sufferings of the Palestinian people, but will lead to grave consequences of incalculable magnitude. 182. Finally, the world community cannot afford to let an intransigent State continue the present deadlock and defy a just and lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict. The United Nations, which represents the collective aspirations of the international com- munity for peace and progress, must respond to the challenge of the Middle East situation. We share the Secretary-General's belief, as expressed in the con- cluding part of his report on the situation in the Middle East [A/35/563], of 24 October 1980, that the United Nations can do much to facilitate a settlement and that it will play an increasingly important role in this vital endeavour. 183. Mr. MRANI ZENTAR (Morocco) [interpreta- tion ji-OI11 French]: Although the problem of Palestine, which underlies the whole of the crisis in the Middle East, has been examined by the United Nations since the late 1940s, in other words almost since the inception of the Organization, we have not made any concrete and decisive steps towards a lasting solution, in spite of an impressive and unprecedented number of related and increasingly forceful resolutions. 184. Does this mean that all ofthe diplomatic action in favour of the cause of the martyred Palestinian people 186. The Middle East crisis-or, more precisely, the Middle East crises, which follow each other at an accelerating pace and pose an ever-increasing threat to the peace and security of the whole of the international community, are directly rooted in the unsavoury armed citadel that has been set up and maintained in the region by the intolerant Israeli authorities, pre- occupied with insatiable expansionist dreams that generate justified revolts. 187. Everything that occurs in the Middle East takes on added significance as a direct result of the conflict of which Israel is the origin, for Israeli policy has simultaneously deprived the Palestinian people ofall of their rights by confiscating their territory and herding the population into refugee camps, by enlarging its questionable borders illegally to take in further terri- tories and, finally, by taking over what millions of human beings, Moslems and Christians, regard as their most precious heritage, the Holy Places where the sacred mysteries of their faiths have been performed. 188. Israel, which remains the constant aggressor of the rights of the Palestinian people by virtue of its presence on the national territory of Palestine, is aggravating that situation, which violates the basic principles of international law, by implementing an outrageous policy of repression with regard to the local populations that strikes at the property, the rights and the faith of the Palestinian people. 189. Even Palestinian property rights have been a priority goal in Israel's acts of dispossession because in that region, with its age-old Arab tradition, ties to the land form the basis of all other civil and political bonds. 190. Thus, a vast project to alter the Arab-Islamic structures of the Palestinian community has been implacably carried out for three decades, along with acts to change the identity of the principally-Islamic sites and holy places, in an illusory search for a grandeur that may well have vanished. It is a project whose immediate and certain result is the multilation, when it is not the pure and simple destruction, of historical remains that are objects of veneration for hundreds of millions of the faithful on five continents. 191. The Palestinian Arab citizens who have re- I mained in the territory against all odds continue to i endure the mass of harassing and repressive measures .j. at the peril of their basic security and often even of their lives. Following the still-unpunished attacks ••.1,.'.. against elected mayors such as Mr. Shaka'a, we have . now witnessed the actions taken against Mr. Qawasrna, mayor of the town of Al-Khalil and Mr. Milhem of the J 192. The territory of the Lebanese Republic has been repeatedly violated for years by the Israeli army which is attempting to secure new positions in that region designed to strengthen its control over the occupied Arab territories that arc in the process of being settled or undergoing definitive annexation. As a result, the Lebanese people are entitled to all our sympathy and solidarity in their valiant struggle for the defence of their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. 193. Israel is not content merely to defy United Nations resolutions; it is relentlessly continuing to step up its activities by altering, transforming and mutilating the status and characteristics ofthe occupied territories, and in particular of the Holy City of Jerusalem. 194. Israel is establishing dozens of settlements in the occupied Arab territories, in violation of the prin- ciples of international law. Israeli obduracy in this area is a denial of all the principles which constitute the foundation upon which the international com- munity is based, and it is for that reason that our community rejects all the unilateral measures that have been taken in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of the law of nations. 195. The Palestinian people, whose cause lies at the very heart of the Middle East problem being examined today, has the inalienable right to return to its home- land; it has the inalienable right to self-determination without any interference, to sovereignty and national independence, as well as to the establishment of an independent State in its homeland; and the PLO, its sole representative, must participate fully in all negotia- tions related to its destiny. 196. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, of which His Majesty King Hassan 11, Chairman of the AI Quds Committee, is a firm champion, has con- tributed greatly to the present awareness of the legitimacy of the Palestinian people's struggle and that of Arab countries that have fallen victim to Israeli aggression. 197. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has thus shown itself to be a positive, irreplaceable element, capable of playing a fundamental role in the defence of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in the search for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts and in the assump- tion of responsibility for the political and moral interests of peoples that are victims of aggression out of all proportion to their means. 198. With respect to the Middle East, the AI Quds Committee, at its second session held at Marrakesh on 11 and 12 March 1980, adopted a recommendation reaffirming the solidarity of the Islamic States and peoples with the Palestinian cause and the AI Quds cause. The Islamic Conference considers them to be the paramount issues facing the Islamic world and recommends that all efforts be co-ordinated with a view to defending the Palestinian cause and expelling the Israeli aggressor from Palestinian territory and from ~ result of the Israeli war of aggression. Once again It seems that the challenge flung by Israel at the interna- tional community will have to be endured. 201. .The United Nations and, in particular, the Security Council must draw the obvious conclusions from such an attitude and assume their responsibilities under the pertinent provisions of the Charter. That is the only way of breaking the vicious, oft-repeated sequence of unpunished violence and brutality, f?lIowed by arrogant defiance, jeopardizing interna- tional peace and security in a particularly sensitive part of the world. • 202. Mr. BALETA (Albania) [interpretation from French]: During the debate on the question of the Mid.dle. East that took place in the Assembly at the beginning of December 1979, the delegation of Albania in expressing its Government's views," stressed that various facts indicated that the enemies of the Arab peoples and of all peoples of the Middle East were undertaking very dangerous activities in that area provoking trouble and threatening to unleash eve~ more serious events. 203. A year has elapsed and we must note that the fea~s then e~pressed by a great number of peace- loving countnes have proved justified. The situation has deteriorated since then; threats against the freedom and ~n~ependence of the peoples of the region have ~ultlplIed and become more serious; and complica- nons that have arisen during this period and their ~isastrous consequences, which did not seem very likely 12 months ago, are now a bitter reality. 204. During this past year the Israeli Zionists have be~aved more arrogantly and stubbornly than ever in their aggressive, expansionist and annexationist activit.ie~ in the occupied Arab territories, against the Palestinian people and Lebanon. Once again they have shown their total disdain for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples, and for world opinion, by officially declaring the city of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. 2~5. They have acted with extreme aggressiveness, Without the slightest concern for the most elementary standards of law, to draw the greatest possible advantage from the Camp David agreements and to capitalize on the complicated conditions that have been created in the Middle East by the aggressive activities of the two imperialist super-Powers. 206. The American imperialists have intensified their aggressive acts against the Palestinian and other • 7 ~ee Officl«! Records o] 1111' General Assemblv. Thirty-fourth Se.\'.\'/(JI/, Plenary Meetings, 86th meeting, paras. 31-56. 213. This year the two imperialist super-Powers have exerted their efforts towards creating new focal points of tension in the Middle East, sowing the seeds of discord and division and provoking open conflicts between the countries of the region. Thus, the imperialist super-Powers, the Israeli Zionists and the Arab reactionaries are now engaged in a tragic game in which the fate of peace and stability in the Middle East is at stake. The main goal being pursued by the two imperialist super-Powers is to force the peoples of the region to give up their struggle against hegemonism and foreign domination. They seek to stifle any revolutionary movement or example and to prevent the peoples from embarking on the path of free and democratic development and progress. To those hostile activities have recently been added the anti-Arab actions of the Chinese social- imperialists, who have their own hegemonistic aims but who for the time being are attempting to camouflage them by pretending that they are opposed to Israel's aggressive policy. Thus they are in fact practising la policy favourable to Israel because they are unreservedly supporting the policy of American imperialism in the Middle East. 214. All the facts show how dangerous for the Arab and Moslem peoples of the Middle East are the rivalry and the plots of the imperialist super-Powers and how that redounds to the benefit of the Israeli Zionists. 215. The heroic resistance of the Palestinian people and the struggle of that people and other Arab peoples against the imperialist-Zionist aggression have always been the main obstacle to the achievement of the aggressive aims ofthe imperialist super-Powers against the Arab countries and the Middle East. 216. Another event ofgreat importance for the whole region was the victory of the Iranian revolution, which overthrew the Shah's regime. That regime was the agent and the policeman of American imperialism throughout the region and supported and assisted Israel against the Arab peoples. The triumph of the 219. Israel is not letting and will certainly not let the opportunity pass to take advantage of the split in the anti-Zionist front in order to give new impetus to its arrogance and its aggressiveness. The Israeli Zionists and their American imperialist patrons will intervene freely, thinking that much time will be needed to repair the damage and rebuild the anti-Zionist front in the Middle East. 220. The imperialist super-Powers and the Israeli Zionists, as well as other enemies of the Arab peoples, have always spearheaded their hostile activities towards those peoples against their unity in the fight. To undermine and destroy that unity, they have constantly hatched plots and intrigues, creating tension and difficult situations and provoking bloody incidents like those of which the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples have been the victim. 221. The leader of the Albanian people, Comrade Enver Hoxha, has pointed out in this regard that: "The Arab peoples are constantly exposed to Zionist-imperialist aggression and to the ferocious and extremely dangerous plots of tile two super- Powers and the other imperialist Powers. At present, efforts of all kinds are being made to divide them even more deeply and to pit them one against the other, for it is only thus that the imperialists can best achieve their hegemonistic goals throughout the Middle East and guarantee the frontiers of what international zionism calls 'Greater Israel'; it is only thus that the oil of the countries of the Middle East can continue to be plundered by the major American, Soviet and other monopolies." 222. The struggle against imperialist-Zionist aggres- sion for the liberation of the territories occupied by Israel and the-recovery of the rights of the Palestinian people is the great common cause of all the Arab peoples. The individual problems and concerns ofthose

The representative of Israel used our country in his attempt to justify his country's occupation of Arab territories. Naturally, we cannot tolerate such an insult, particularly coming from the representative of a country for which international law has no value. 228. Mr. Blum in fact said that Qadhafi had helped one of Chad's political factions and sent more than 3,000 troops to Chad and that a certain number of African countries were concerned over this question, and so on. I should like to inform him that President Qaddafi is one of the African heads of State who fully support an African solution to the Chad conflict and thus the survival the Lagos accords and the application of the resolutions on the subject of Chad adopted at the last OAU summit meeting. Consequently, any action that he might undertake in Chad at present could only fall within the framework of assistance to the Transitional Nation Union Government, with the sole aim of combating the rebel faction. 229. That having been said, let Mr. Blum be advised that there are no Libyan troops in Chad. But if the need for such a presence were to arise, we would reserve our right to request it. As to the concern of certain African States that the representative of Israel men- tioned, we invite him to ask those States the real reasons for their concern. Thus, he will be able to see that Chad has nothing to do with it. 230. The PRESIDENT [interpretation fro 111 French]: The representative of the League of Arab States has asked to make a statement which would be in the nature of a reply. I therefore call on him in accordance with General Assembly resolution 477 (V).

We have heard the representative of Israel in his habitual manner introduce diversionary tactics to deflect this General Assembly from focusing on the item on the agenda. I say that is a habitual action because it is inherent in the very exploitation of the debate by Israel to suit its own purposes. 232. Let me ask, did the differences among African States bar the people of Zimbabwe from achieving their independence? Do territorial disputes justify, for example, the exclusion of Namibia from attaining its right of self-determination and independence? Are the transient conflicts and disputes among States in any particular region-boundary differences-to be raised to the level of Israeli aggression in Palestine and in the occupied territories? 233. There are controversies and polemics over many of those disputes. They are usually between indepen- dent States and they are argued out by the States involved. Sometimes, they resort to limited armed conflict and sometimes to negotiations, but ultimately the negotiating process is always used. However, as a result of Israel's proclivity towards aggression and expansion and its perpetual violations of the human, legal and national rights of the Palestinian people, there exists today an unprecedented international 235. Syrian troops are in Lebanon as a consequence of an Arab League decision and are part of the Arab League deterrent force. The continued presence of those troops or their withdrawal is a matter pertaining to the internal affairs of the sovereign State of Lebanon and to the legitimate and central Government of Lebanon, whose authority in southern Lebanon has been repeatedly transgressed and challenged by Israel's aggression and its continued direct military presence or indirected through its agents. 236. The fact that the Israeli representative resorts to medieval language in referring to pluralistic religious societies as a prelude to a breakdown is but a reflec- tion of the Zionist ideology, which perceives in the Arab thrust to~ards national and humanistic integra- tion In the region a real threat to its usurpation of a~d its violation of the latter's integrity and sover- eignty. All. th~se are attempts by the Zionist ideology and the ZIOnist State to create a situation of false- hood and tension so that it may play havoc with the destiny of the region and the destiny of world peace in that region. 237. T~e PRESIDENT [interpretation from French]: I now give the floor to the representative of Maurita- nia to exercise his right of reply. 2.38. Mr. OULD HAMODy (Mauritania) [interpreta- tion from French]: The representative of the Zionist authorities a little while ago mentioned what he referred t<? as the .concerns of the Islamic Republic of Maurita- nia. In thl~ regard my delegation would like to point out here that If my country expressed its concern it is with regard to those who are violating or assist others in violating the Lagos agreements on the internal situation in Chad. Those same clandestine forces, which we condemn, are striving to undermine the authority ofthe Transitional National Union Government of Chad. At all events the statements and diversionary tactics of the representative of the Zionist authorities will ~ot cause ~s to ~orget Israel's aggression or its occupa- tion-s-real In this case-of others' lands or its denial of the inalienable rights or the Palestinian people. The meeting rose at 6.45 p.m,