A/35/PV.87 General Assembly

I should like to remind dele- gations that wish to submit draft resolutions on this item to do so without delay. 2. I call first on the representative of Luxembourg, who will speak on behalf of the nine members of the European Community. 3. Mr. PETERS (Luxembourg) (interpretation from French): Throughout the work of this thirty-fift ses- sion, the nine Member States of the European Com- munity have had the occasion to set forth in detail their views on the various specific questions of the Middle East, a region with which Europe has close ties. 4. Because the present debate cannot be separated from the other aspects of the situation in the Middle East, it goes without saying that the views we have already expressed, in particular on 1 December in the debate on the question of Palestine [76th meeting], remain valid in the present context. 5. The Declaration issued on 13 June 19'~O by the Heads of State and Government and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the nine member States of the Euro- pean Community, meeting at Venice as the European Council-to which the Foreign Minister of Luxem- bourg, Mr. Gaston Thorn, speaking on behalf of the European Community, referred ia the general debate [6th meeting]-gives the fundamental principles governing any comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, namely, the right to existence and secu- rity of all the States of the area, including Israel, and justice for all peoples, which implies recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people [see A/35/299-S/ /4009]. 6. In this sense, the European Community con- tinues to feel that a just, lasting and comprehensive 12. It 1Zi in that spirit that the European Council has just approved the decision of (he Foreign Ministers to consider the problems of evacuation, self-deter- mination, Middle East security and Jerusalem with the aim of clarifying the Venice principles and making them more specific. NEW YORK settlement must be based on Security Council resolu- tions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), all the elements of which must be applied to all the parties, and on the principles that they have so often proclaimed. 7. All else logically flows from two realities: the State of Israel and the Palestinian people. Above all, as the Venice Declaration says, all the countries of the area have the right to live in peace within secure, recognized and guaranteed boundaries. 8. The guarantees of a peace settlement must be provided by the United Nations on decision of the Security Council, and, if appropriate, on the basis of other mutually agreed procedures. The European Community members declare that they are prepared to participate, within the context of a comprehensive settlement, in a system of specific and binding inter- national guarantees, including participation in the region. 9. Furthermore, a just solution must be found to the Palestinian problem, which is not simply a refugee problem. The Palestinian people, which has a very definite sense of its own identity, must be enabled, according to an appropriate procedure laid down within the framework of a comprehensive peace settlement, to exercise fully the right to self-determi- nation. 10. Recognition and implementation of the right of Israel to existence and security and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination must bc the basis of negotiations leading to a comprehensive peace settlement. Such a settlement obviously presupposes the acceptance and co-operation of all the parties concerned, including the Palestinian people and the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], which must be associated in the negotiations. 11. The results of the contact mission that Mr. Gas- ton Thorn carried out or. behalf of the European Com- munity in the Middle East confirm that the principles of the Venice Declaration contain the elements neces- sary for the negotiation of such a settlement between the parties concerned. They strengthen the determina- tion of the Community to make their contribution. 13. The European Council has noted that different formulations may be used to give effect to some of these principles, in particular those concerning the length of the transitional period before the process of self-determination, the definition of the provisional authority over the evacuated territories, the condi- 16. In this connexion, the European Community would like to remind the Assembly that one of the fundamental conditions of a comprehensive settle- ment is the ending of the territorial occupation main- tained by Israel since the 1967 conflict. Community members deeply regret any action that aggravates th.a present situation and thus impedes a peaceful se, ment. We believe that only the renunciation by all the parties of the use or threat of use of force can promote in the area the climate ofconfidence that is fundamental to a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in the Middle East. 17. The European Community also opposed to the settlement policies of the Israeli Government, which throughout the year has maintained and developed existing Israeli settlements and even established new settlements. 18. We cannot accept Israel's claims to the terri- tories it has occupied since 1967. Those settlements are a serious obstacle to the peace process. The Com- munity wishes to reiterate their position that those settlements, together with demographic and housing modifications in the occupied Arab territories, are illegal under international law. 19. The law recently adopted by the Israeli Knesset on the status of Jerusalem brought about a further aggravation of the situation in the occupied territories. European Community members wish to recaIl that they cannot accept any unilateral initiatives to change the status of that city. We feel that any agreement on the status of Jerusalem must, in particular, guarantee free access to all the Holy Places. 20. We are also concerned about the information that legislation affecting the character and the status of the Golan Heights is about to be considered by the Knesset. 21. With respect to the expulsion measure which has been taken against the mayors of Hebron and Halhoul, the Community members wish to make another urgent I A Framework for Peace in the Middle East, Agreed at Camp David, and Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. signed at Washington on 17 September 1978. 31. However, the desirability of extending inter- national detente and ensuring universal peace and security, and the vital interests of the peoples in the Middle East, demand that a fundamental compre- hensive settlement be quickly achieved and that a just and durable peace be established in that area. 32. The Soviet Union has firmly and consistently favoured a political settlement on the basis of the relevant decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly on matters relating to the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian problem. Efforts to reach a just Middle East settlement are an organic part of the efforts which are being made by the Soviet Union to avert the threat of war, to extend international detente and to render assistance to those peoples that are defending their national indepen- dence, freedom and sovereignty. It was not by chance that the removal of the source of tension in the Middle East was an important and integral part of the pro- gramme put forward at the twenty-fifth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union concerning further efforts to bring about peace, international co-operation and the freedom and independence of peoples, a goal which has been constantly pursued by the Soviet Union. 33. We are profoundly convinced that a compre- hensive settlement in the Middle East should embrace all the parties involved in the conflict and should resolve all issues connected with that conflict. It should be sought on the basis of collective efforts on the part of all parties concerned, naturally including the PLO, which is the sole legal representative of the Palestinian people. 34. The position of the Soviet Union on the question of a Middle East settlement is quite well known and is one which we have consistently upheld for many years now. It envisages the need to implement three inter- related elements. First, it is essential that there be a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, including the eastern part of Jerusalem. Secondly, the Arab people of Palestine must be able to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and to establish their own inde- pendent State. Thirdly, the right of all States in the area involved in the conflict to an independent exis- tence and to security, with the necessary international guarantees, must be ensured. No other foundation for a settlement of the Middle East conflict would be just or, therefore, lasting. 35. This approach to Middle East affairs also deter- mines our attitude to the policy of separate deals. including and above all, the separate Egyptian-Israeli treaty which was concluded with the active participa- tion of the United States. The Camp David agree- ments, which were drawn up by the United States, 36. It has long been clear to everyone, apart, that is, from thos... who deliberately close their eyes to reality, that the actual purpose of the tripartite collusion is to form a military-political alliance between Israel and Egypt which would be subordinated to the United States, an alliance which would have clearly expressed anti-Arab trends and which would be intended to strengthen and expand the United States economic, political and military presence in the Middle and Near East. 37. Since the overthrow of the Shah's regime in Iran the United States has considerably stepped up its mili- tary preparations in the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. Region after region has been declared the sphere of "vital American interests" and American "vital space". Thus, the network of United States military and naval bases has been strengthened and extended. Regularly squadrons of United States military vessels are drawn up there, including aircraft carriers with dozens of aircraft on board. This armada is prepared with the most sophis- ticated weaponry to deal a death blow at any time to any portion of Arab territory. At the same time so- called rapid deployment forces have been set up. All this is done for one ultimate purpose: the interests of the oil monopolies. 38. However, here in the United Nations the United States is putting up a smokescreen. For more than 13 years now Israel's illegal occupation of Arab terri- tories has been going on, the rights of an entire people, that is the Arab people of Palestine, have been trampled underfoot. However, the United States, while expa- tiating on the inadmissibility of the use of force or violence, is preparing every condition necessary for Israel forcibly-I stress, forcibly-to annex the Arab territories occupied in 1967. It was precisely just after the Camp David deal had been signed that the Israeli Cabinet decided to allow Israelis to acquire lands in the occupied territories on the West Bank of the Jordan and in the Gaza Strip. There immediately followed the adoption by the Israeli Knesset of the so-called "basic law", which legalized the annexation of the eastern part of Jerusalem. The network of Israeli settlements is being extended. Plans are being hatched for Israel to annex the Golan Heights. But in Washington they preach as usual about human rights and the inadmis- sibility Of force. We can only guess whether it is hypocris r impudence that is more prevalent in those sermons. 39. It can be said quite clearly that Israel has become a support State for the United States, a State which is a base for it in the Middle East, the significance of which in recent times has been increasing considerably within the framework of the new United States 41. That is shown by the growing frequency of aggressive provocations by Israel against Lebanon which have become ever more overt and challenging in nature. It is also shown by the forced construction of new Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab terri- tories. It is indicated by the increased repression practised against the population of the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip. Finally, it is attested to by a new challenge of the occupiers: the adoption by the Israeli Knesset of a law to annex the eastern Arab part of Jerusalem and to proclaim all ot Jerusalem as the "united and indivisible" capital of Israel. 42. The talks about so-called autonomy for Pales- tinians are simply a screen behind which desperate efforts are being undertaken to consolidate Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands and to prevent the Arab people of Palestine from enjoying their legitimate national rights, primarily their right to establish their own independent State. Quite obviously, such talks have nothing whatever in common with a solution of the Palestinian problem and are decisively rejected-as is the entire Camp David scheme-by the Arab people of Palestine and the peoples of other Arab countries. 43. Thus there is every reason to assert that it is precisely the policies of the United States and its allies in the Middle East and their attempts to enter into separate deals that are the main factor producing instability in that already explosive part, of the world. 44. The Arab peoples' clear understanding of the essentially anti-Arab, and primarily anti-Palestinian, nature of the agreements concluded between the United States, Egypt and Israel is clearly indicated by the unanimous decisions adopted by all the pan- Arab meetings of recent times which have been aimed at counteracting the policy of capitulation of the Egyptian leadership and the policy of separate deals. 45. The Soviet Union supports the position which has been taken by the majority of Arab countries in connexion with the Camp David collusion, because this position is in harmony not only with the legitimate interests of the Arabs but also with the interests of the struggle for a comprehensive settlement in the Middle 49. One further point. The ruling circles of Israel, learning on support of every kind from the United States, are today delighted with the fruits of their occupational regime, but the people of Israel cannot be , so short-sighted. There is every possibility, even today, for establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, and if this prospect of a peaceful settlement is totally blocked, then responsibility for all conse- quences flowing from this will be borne by those who for selfish purposes are trying to undermine the pos- sibility of the bringing about of a just and lasting peace for the peoples and countries of the Middle East. 50. As was emphasized by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, L. I. Brezhnev, when he spoke in connexion with the ratification of the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation between the Soviet Union and the Syrian Arab Republic of 14 November of this year: "The Soviet Union is consistently and firmly on the side of the forces of progress, democracy and national liberation, and supports the struggle of the Arab peoples against Israeli aggression and the inroads of imperialism, and favours a lasting and just peace in the Middle East."

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 477 (V) of 1 November 1950, I now call on the Observer of the League of Arab States.

I should like first to convey to Mr. VOB Wechmar the congratulations of the Secre- tary-General of the League of Arab States on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly, and for the competence and experience he has demon- strated in conducting the meetings of the Assembly. 63. Israel has achieved what it wants at present. It gave the American Administration what that Adminis- tration thought to be a public relations tool or a pro- paganda tool, which could attract Zionist votes in the elections. All that was achieved at the expense of peace and at the expense of the interests of the Pales- tinian people and the Arab countries, The role of the Egyptian regime in those agreements was that of a satellite which followed instructions and did what was expected of it. The Egyptian regime was thus used as a tool against its own brethren, against the interests of the Palestinian people and the Arab countries and even against the interests of the Egyptian Arab people itself. 64. An important matter we find ourselves faced with during the discussion of these problems is the position of the new American Administration. Will American policy continue to be based on total acqui- escence to Zionist influence and to Israel or will logic prevail so that we can witness a new American policy that is more objective, less partial and that thus would contribute to efforts to attain peace in the Middle East and save not only the Middle East but perhaps the entire world from a possible war? 65. When faced with this question, the Arab countries are torn between two different feelings. The first is complete despair and the absence of any hope that Washington will practise an objective and responsible policy based upon principles regarding the Middle East crisis. That feeling is based upon the history of American policy since the beginnings of the crisis in 1948. The second feeling is one of limited optimism. That optimism is based on the history of the American people who struggled, as the Palestinians are doing today, for their rights and independence; who, more than two centuries ago, adopted the great and lofty principles of freedom, equality, independence and sovereignty toward which the leaders and intel- lectuals, such as George Washington, Thomas Jeffer- son, Benjamin Franklin and others, showed the way. Those principles and values, from which all liberation movements have drawn inspiration in their struggle against colonialism and domination, today inspire the Arab Palestinian people in its just struggle for its land, freedom and sovereignty. 66. The Palestinian people find in the principles of George Washington an ally against the policies of the Carter Administration and find in the principles of Jefferson and Franklin support in their struggle against the partial policies conceived by the governing powers 68. It is important to state that, as the Arab countries have stressed in their conferences, Arab-American relations are bound to be affected to a dangerous degree if the United States continues to collaborate with Israel and to support Israel's aggressive policy. In fact, the words "collaborate" and "support" are understatements, as is shown by figures and statistics concerning the size of American military and economic assistance to Israel, which so far amounts to tens of billions of dollars. Billions more are diverted at the expense of American taxpayers, by questionable means, for the benefit of the Israeli defence budget and of some private accounts of Zionist financiers, thereby exploiting American laws which regard dona- tions to Israel as humane acts and, therefore, tax exempt. Donations for aircraft that attack Palestinian and Lebanese children in their villages, towns, fields, schools and even hospitals are regarded as humane , acts,just like donations for day-care centres in Georgia or senior-citizens homes in Texas or Florida. 69. The Arab nations have constantly affirmed their determination to pursue their efforts to achieve a just peace. Most recently they reaffirmed that at the Eleventh Arab Summit Conference, held at Amman from 25 to 27 November. 70. The bases for the establishment of peace in the Middle East are clear and supported by the resolutions of the Organization, which have gained the support of the majority of the States of the world. 71. In order to achieve peace it is necessary first to face the established fact that the Palestinian people is at the centre of the issue and has the sole respon- sibility for its own future. It is imperative that that people, like all other peoples of the world, exercise self-determination, and that includes the right to establish its independent State in occupied Palestine. The PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. That right of representation can be neither granted nor acquired: it is dictated by law and logic. The PLO has that right not only because of its wide international recognition but also because it enjoys the confidence and support of the Arabs particu- larly the Palestinians, including those living under occupation, whether in Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Nablus, Nazareth, Tiberius, Ramallah or Bethlehem. The right of representation of the PLO is a fact having the force of law; it forms the solid basis for the recognition of the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people, whether or not that is to the liking of the Israeli authorities and despite the hesita- .89. Freedom is not a gift to be expected at Christmas bu the sacred right 'of all peoples. This right can be achieved only through continued struggle and sacrifice. It is in recognition of this right that the Palestinian people and the whole Arab nation have put their faith. 88. The Arab nations' belief in the United Nations is a belief that will not be affected at all by the obstacles placed in the way of the implementation of the resolu- tions of the United Nations. The Arab nations' belief in the Organization is an expression of the belief of all Arabs in the principles of the Charter and in the neces- sity for supporting those principles. Supprot for these principles is in the imerest of all peace-loving nations and peoples that are determined to struggle for free- dom and independence.

The General Assembly con- sidered the question of Palestine a few days ago, and today we are considering the situation in the Middle East. These two questions arise from one problem which has occupied the United Nations since Israel was created in the Middle East as part of a Zionist, colonialist, imperialist plot based on an expansionist Zionist policy ofestablishing settlements in Palestinian Arab lands. 91. Successive summit conferences of the non- aligned countries, the Islamic States and the Organiza- tion of African Unity lOA U], as well as the United Nations in its various bodies and institutions, have reaffirmed in more than one resolution that the Pales- tinian problem is at the core ofthe Middle East problem and that it is thus part and parcel of the Middle East problem. That is why there can be no solution of the Middle East problem without a resolution of the main cause of the problem, which is none other than the Palestinian people and its right to self-determination and to establish its own independent State. 92. Today the Assembly is considering the report of the Secretary-General [A/35/563-S/ /4234], which reviews the situation in the Middle East in all its aspects. We should like, first of all, to express to the sources and cultivable lands or lands already under cultivation'. These conditions, as well as the Zionist settlements, have no other purpose than to make it possible for sovereignty over the Arab territories to be declared subsequently. To achieve that purpose, those responsible for the settlements of the Zionist entity have devoted considerable sums of money to the furtherance of settlements. 94. We also note in this connexion, in the frame- work of Israeli expansionist policy, the efforts under- taken recently by the Israeli Knesset-which some of the press agencies have taken note of-to consider a law aimed at the annexation of the Syrian Arab Golan Heights, and the subject has been dealt with as practically a fait accompli. On 17 January 1980, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz stated that 750,000 Israeli citizens, including 71 members of the Knesset and six Ministers, had signed a petition requesting the extension lf Israeli sovereignty to the Syrian Golan Heights. uegin himself said that "the Golan is an integral and indivisible part of Israel". 95. This is obviously very dangerous and a flagrant violation of the Charter and of the principles of inter- national law, as well as the various United Nations resolutions which call upon Israel to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories. There is no question but that the Golan Heights is an integral and indivisible part of those occupied territories. 96. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has alerted the international community to the dangers of this problem. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Syria, Mr. Khaddam, has sent a letter to the Secretary-General [A/35/57/- S/l4239]. That letter was intended to draw the atten- tion of the international community-the General Assembly and Security Council in particular-to the extremely dangerous implications for peace in the region and in the world as a whole of the Israeli plan. The letter also calls on the international community to take practical steps finally to put an end to the aggres- sive expansionist Israeli practices. 97. The Organization and its various organs, com- mittees and agencies have always known that Israel takes no notice of United Nations resolutions and 98. The Secretary-General, 'in his report on the question of Palestine [A/35/6/8-S/ /4250], notes Israel's refusal to accept the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its seventh emergency special session, devoted to the question of Palestine. That refusal is maintained. Israel's intransigence and arrogance prompt us to ask what is the basis of Israel's defiance of the international community. Israel unquestionably bases that defiance on United States support. The United States gives it direct financial, military and economic support and also provides political support in the United Nations, particularly in the Security Council, even when the United States must go against the majority of the Security Council membership in supporting Israel's refusal to grant the Palestinian people its right to self-determination. That is done in order to satisfy Israel, despite the fact that the United States is in the vanguard of the countries that claim to defend the principle of freedom and the right of oppressed peoples to self-determination. 99. We note that Israel stands side by side with the racist South African regime in its defiance of the inter- national community and its jeering at the various resolutions adopted by the United Nations on the subject. 100. My delegation believes that it is high time for the General Assembly to face up to its responsibilities, to apply the power conferred on it by the Charter in order to force Israel to accept the General Assembly's resolutions, bearing in mind that the United States has so far succeeded in preventing the Security Coun- cil from adopting a firm resolution imposing sanc- tions on Israel by threatening to use its right of veto, thus defying the majority of the international com- munity. 101. The Syrian Arab Republic aspires to peace, and we are working for peace, but we demand peace based on justice, for these two elements are insepa- rable. We believe that a comprehensive and just settlement, which could bring peace to our area, must be based on the following principles, First, the Pales- tinian cause is the essence of the problem of the 2 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No, 973, p. 287. 117. At its thirty-fourth session the General Assem- bly adopted resolution 34/70, in which it condemned Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories in violation of the provisions of the Charter. In that resolution the Assembly declared in unequivocal terms that peace is indivisible and that the settlement of the Middle East conflict must be based on a solution worked out under the auspices of the United Nations and which takes into account all 123. Liberation acts which are conducted by the dispersed owners of the land are considered terrorist acts contrary to the simplest rules of humanity, but Jewish terrorism in Palestine prior to 1948, the leaders of which have come to take power in that so-called democratic State, is considered a legal act ofliberation. 124. Israel and the Zionist movement still pursue those methods of challenge and rejection of all United Nations resolutions. The Jewish people was and still is entitled to establish a Jewish State in Israel, as delineated in the Partition Plan [resolution 181 (11)], but not with the extended boundaries of Israel of 1949;not with Israel's occupying the rest of Palestinian Arab territories; not in Jordan, which Israel still refers to as part of Palestine and which to its great regret it has not been able to annex so far. But the Palestinian people and other Arab peoples resist this aggression and expansion and support the Charter, which pro- hibits aggression against the integrity and indepen- dence of other countries and recognizes the right of all peoples to self-determination, as aggression con- stitutes a violation of the Charter and the subjugation of world conscience, which only Israel understands, while accusing the vast majority of the international community of being devoid of principles, without conscience, stripped of every human sentiment, and of paying attention only to its own material interests. Therefore Israel, which upholds the lofty principles of ethics and human values, refuses to comply with General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, insisting that mankind as a whole should adhere to those values, even though it is the furthest from applying them. Consequently, Israel cannot under- stand how anybody can go so far as to describe it or the Zionist movement as racist. 125. The situation in the Middle East is grave and serious because Israel pursues a policy of aggression and defiance. Israel now tries to shirk its responsi- bilities and points its finger at some Arab disputes or the Iraqi-Iranian dispute and says that they are clear evidence that Israel is not the core and source of the danger which threatens the region. My Government and all those who have followed the development of the situation in the Middle East throughout the past 32 years have no doubt that the question and the cause of Palestine have been and still are the main source of instability in the Middle East and of the dangers threatening the area. 126. Many political events have taken place in the. region since 1948. They include coups, subversions, coalitions, unifications, alliances, disputes and wars. Well-versed experts know full weil that in all cases those events emanated from the need for rebellion and revolution of the Arab peoples of the area, including the Palestinian people, because of the immense in- justices inflicted on Palestine and its people, as well 13I. The Palestinian cause is indivisible from the Middle East problem. There will be no comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the area until Israel realizes that its friends and supporters have begun to suffer from this situation. They are suffering from Israel's defiance, from its continued aggression, from the pressures exerted by world zionism to obtain con- tinued support for aggression and from the tendency of the Zionist movement on every occasion to refer to the Nazi oppression of the Jews during the Second World War, linking all that to a somber future for Jews who would be exposed to Arab persecution. But the Zionist movement and all Jews know that the Arabs have been far more tolerant than any other people in regard to Jewish minorities in their countries. 132. Israel and zionism use these methods to achieve their imperialist aspirations and ambitions, but my Government believes that there are no further grounds for accepting such pretexts. The Palestinian people has the right to live in peace and security in its own land, the land of its forefathers, handed down for thousands of years, to enjoy its own resources and the right to self-determination and independence without foreign pressures. 133. The Camp David agreements, in which the PLO did not participate and which took place outside the framework of the United Nations, do not constitute the proper road to a comprehensive and lasting peace, for the Palestinian people is a principal party con- cerned in the dispute, and no country can speak on its behalf. The General Assembly recognized this in its resolution 34/65 B, where it is clearly indicated that the Camp David accords and other agreements "have no validity in so far as they purport to deter- mine the future of the Palestinian people and of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1%7", and that such accords and analogous treaties con- stitute a flagrant violation of the rights of the Pales- tinian people, the principles of the Charter and the resolutions adopted in the various international forums .. ," . 137. Israel has become accustomed to accusing the great majority of the States Members of the United Nations of being ignorant or of submitting to Arab opinion whenever the General Assembly condemns its policies. This accusation is only a desperate attempt on the part of Israel to disguise the truth, which is so clear to one and all, namely that the Palestinian people, which has been uprooted from its lands and its father- land, still exists, that it is a living entity and that the world as a whole has recognized its inalienable rights. 141. Despite all these challenges to the international community, Israel always claims that it is the defender of democracy in the Middle East. Is it democratic to jeopardize the lives of the representatives of the Palestinian r. "pie-its legitimate representatives- and to expc,;m from their homeland by using op- pression and repression in the manner of dictators? Is democracy, in the eyes of the Israelis, to be inter- preted as limiting essential freedoms-freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of educa- tion-in the daily lives of the inhabitants of the oc- cupied Arab territories? 142. Wte cannot refer there to all the acts perpetrated by Isr- : against the most elementary human values of contemporary times and against the inhabitants of the Arab territories. Even if Israel continues to dis- guise the racist nature of zionism, its history and its conduct reveal that nature in full daylight. 143. Joseph Weitz, the Deputy Director of the Board of the National Jewish Fund from 1951 to 1973, wrote in his memoirs, published in 1940 and quoted in the newspaper Davar on 29 September 1967: " ... among ourselves it must be clear that there is no room in this country for both peoples together. .. with the Arabs we shall not achieve our aim (If being 144. That, therefore, is the Israeli mentality, what- ever methods may be made to obscure it by deceptive appearances or by the use of propaganda methods that are contrary to the truth. 145. The policy of fait accompli practised by Israel in regard to the occupied Arab territories and, in par- ticular, the latest ordinance towards bringing the Golan Heights under Israeli control are nothing but a new strike against international conventions and practice. Israeli acts of aggression against southern Lebanon and against the Palestinian refugee camps are now carried out without ceasing, for two well-known reasons. The first is to terrorize the inhabitants and encourage them to leave their lands, which is part of the policy of Israel's leaders to which I referred a moment ago. The second reason is the desire to exter- minate the Palestinian people so that there will be no one left to keep alive the wish to return to the homeland. 146. The question of Palestine is at the very heart of the Middle East conflict. So long as that problem is not solved equitably, peace can never be established in that region. The attempts to solve the Palestinian problem outside the framework of the United Nations and without the participation of the legitimate repre- sentative of the Palestinian people will result only in protracting the problem and jn increasing the suffering of the Palestinian people, year after year. 147. The State of the United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed its rejection of the Camp David agree- .ments, because they do not solve the essence of the Middle East problem, which is none other than the problem of Palestine. Therefore, we believe that any just solution to the Middle East problem must be based on the following elements: first, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the occupied Arab territories including Jerusalem; and secondly, recognitio . uf th~ Palestinian people's right to self-determination, its right to sovereignty over its own land, without out- side interference; and recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of that people. 148. The various previous United States Administra- tions have taken an attitude towards the Palestinian question that has been characterized by a total bias in favour of Israel and a total disregard for the Pales- tinian people, from 1948 to this very day. This conduct of United States policy is directed against all the Arab peoples, whose enmity it arouses in order to please Israel. The United States has furnished Israel with the weapons it has needed to occupy Palestine and the other Arab territories. The United States has been politically and morally on Israel's side in the Security Council, while completely disregarding the other side of the problem: the aspirations of the Palestinian r~opleJ return to its homeland. That is why we wish h.J rcrr ind the next United States Administration that preceding Administrations have fa;' ed to grasp the facts of the Middle East conflict and to invite it to re- evaluate its policy and to take the following elements I Quoted in English by the speaker. i50. Egypt fully agrees with the Secretary-General when he says, at the end of his report, that "the main aspects of the Middle East problem are interdependent and cannot be separated" and " a continuous and determined effort must therefore be made to achieve a comprehensive settlement through negotiations involving all the parties concerned" [ibid., para. 48]. 151. Wt; should like to state once again here that any solution of the Middle East problem must be based on the right of all the States in the region to live in peace and security and on the assurance that the Palestinian people will regain its inalienable rights, including its natural right to self-determination without outside interference, as well as on Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories, above all from the Arab city of Jerusalem. 152. Egypt has had a stable position of principle since the very beginning of the Palestinian problem. Egypt has always asked the international community, in all forums, to use every possible means to support the struggle of the Palestinian people to regain its rights. While some Arab regimes were engaged in a race of interference in the affairs of the Palestinian people and its leaders and were attempting to limit its freedom of action to the point of perpetrating collec- tive massacres of that courageous people, those responsible being those who today claim to support Palestinian rights, Egypt has always refrained from interfering in the affairs of the Palestinian people, has called for a halt to the trusteeship practised against that people and has always condemned the exactions perpetrated against the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation authorities ':gypt has aiso drawn attention to and condemned acts committed by certain Arab States. 153. Egypt has participated in four wars in self- defence and so that the Palestinian people may exercise 1~9. The policy of Egypt, which is based on prin- the groundwork for its solution, foremost among them ciple, was clearly expressed once again when my ~ecur~ty Council re~olutions 242(1967)and 338(1973), country signed the Camp David agreements and the m which the Council clearly reaffirms the principle of peace trearv with Israel,' for those documents are the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by based on the provisions of Security Council resolu- force and the need to use peaceful means for the tions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and above all on the s~ttlement of international disputes; thirdly, the neces- principles of the Charter and of international law sity of the exercise by the Palestinian people of its which aim to solve all aspects of the Palestinia~ inalienable national rights, in particular its right to problem. return to its homes, its right to self-determination and 160. A comprehensive and just settlement in the its right to establish an independent State. Middle East will never be achieved until Israel with- 164. If we wish to establish a lasting peace, it must draws from all occupied Arab and Palestinian ter- be based on justice and must be comprehensive. That ritory, including the Arab city of Jerusalem, and until is why we cannot abandon any of our principles or the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are any of our fundamental rights, nor can we seek a recognized, in particular its natural and sacred right to partial peace. decide its own destiny without foreign interference. Egypt managed for the first time to get Israel to enter 165. The time has come to face reality squarely and into an official commitment-the Camp David agree- honestly. Lofty statements about other people's rights ments-to allow the Palestinian people to exercise its suc.h as we have heard yesterday and today, and to legitimate rights. The documents relating to that which some of those represented here have confined commitment are there to be read by anyone who their efforts, will never bring about complete with- whishes. Until that day, Israel had never wished to drawal or restore to the Palestinian people the exer- recognize even the existence of the Palestinian people. cise of its legitimate rights. We must all endeavour' to 161. As far as the question of withdrawal is con- adopt positive and practical action to bring about a solution to the problem. . cerned, the peace treaty, for the first time since 1967, contains the commitment by Israel to withdraw to the 166. As I said a few days ago when we were con- internationally recognized borders of Egypt. That sidering the question of Palestine [76th meetings, commitment must apply also to all the other Arab ter- ~g¥P~ has accepted its national and historical respon- ritoriesoccupied by IsraelinJune 1967. The logic ofthis . sibilities as regards the brother people of Palestine. cannot escape those who are willing to understand E.ver since 1948, when that people was uprooted and logic. Egypt is working patiently and hard for the displaced-s-for more than 30 years, that is-Egypt has restoration of Arab and Palestinian rights, and Israel's struggled ?~ both peaceful and military means to help withdrawa; from the Sinai is but one step toward the the Palestinian people to recover its legitimate rights. withdrawal by Israel from all the occupied Arab and I should like to reaffirm once again that the para- Palestinian territories. That is how we conceive and mount, historic and natural role that Egypt plays in understand the withdrawal from Sinai and how all the Arab world is not based on manoeuvres or decla- those who wish to grasp the true meaning of Israel's rations but is the fruit of moral and intellectual effort withdrawal from Sinai understand it. flowing from a creative civilization which has existed for centuries. Our role is the natural result of the 162. Since we are talking about the Middle East sacrifice of generation upon generation of Egyptians question, it is important to reaffirm here the principle for the cause of the Arab nation, to raise the standard of withdrawal to the international boundaries, the f h Ab' need for the elimination of Israeli settlements in Sinai o. t.e ra nation, to strengthen its unity, cause its as much as in the occupied Arab territories and the dignity to be respected and defend its rights. That is the role of the Egypt that we know. possibility that exists for the peaceful coexistence among all the peoples of the region without exception 167. As for.those who reject peace and shout slogans, -Arabs and Israelis-on the basis of mutual respect they do nothing to make the slightest progress towards and co-operation. That is why the peace treaty between a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement. Those Israel and Egypt sets an important precedent which people have no practical alternative solution but could be followed in all efforts to reach a settlement content themselves with shouting their slogans louder. on all the other fronts and enable the various parties to A peaceful settlement of the conflict can be brought recover their legitimate rights. This would enable about only by constructive and sincere efforts on the Syria to recover its territories and, even more impor- part of all those who, like us, cherish peace. Egypt tant, enable the Palestinian people to regain its legiti- IS not among those who advocate recourse to war of mate rights while at the same time ensuring Israel's the kind that some are carrying out now and that le~ds security within the framework of reciprocal security to destruction. Egypt continues its sincere, persistent arrangements. and laborious efforts to establish peace, paying no heed to those who reject peace. 168. The Middle East, the cradle of three divine religions-Islam, Christianity and Judaism-can 1 Treaty of Peace between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel. signed at Washington on 26 March 1979.