A/36/PV.97 General Assembly

I call on the rf'presentative of Egypt.

It was with great sorrow that we learned of the death of Mr. Abdullah EI-Erian of the International Court of Justice. He died in The Hague where he was discharging his duties as a member of the Court. 6. Egypt has lost a great man of the law, of diplomacy and of politics. He was well known and his qualities were much appreciated by all the representatives at the United Nations and by all the others who knew him. I feel his loss personally because he was my close friend. I was particularly sorry to hear of his death, and I feel that my sorrow is shared by everyone who knew him. 7. On behalf of the Egyptian Government, I extend to the President of the General Assembly and all representatives our thanks for the kind words about the death of Mr. EI-Erian. 8. We ask God to have mercy on the departed and to gram his family comfort in their bereavement.

As representatives know, the General Assembly at its 4th meeting, held on 18 September. decided to set Tuesday, 15 December as the date for the closure of the thirty-sixth session. It is, however, quite clear that the Assembly will not be in a position to comply with that decision, as the Fifth Committee has not yet finished its work. The reports of that Committee will not be ready until 17 December. I have aln~ady held consultations with the chairmen of the regional groups on this point and have made informal contact:; with the members of the General Committee. I should like to approach this situation realistically, and I therefore propose to extend the date for the closure of the session to Friday.. 18 December. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to that proposal? REPORT OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE (A/361731)

The positions of delegations on the various recommendutions of the Third Committee have be'en made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the rdevant official records. 18. May I remind members that. in its decision 34/401. the General Assembly agreed that when the same draft resolutiorr is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting. a delegation should. as far as possible, explain its vote only once. that is. either in the Commit- tee or in plenary meeting. unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Commit- tee. May I also remind members that. in accordance with the same decision. explanations of vote should not exceed 10 minutes and should be made by representatives from their seats. 19. The Assembly will first consider the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 83 IA/36/7251. 20. The Assembly will now take a decision on the rec- ommendations of the Third Committee contained in para- graph 12 of its report. 21. Draft resolution I. entitled "International- Con- ference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa". was

I now invite members to turn their attention to draft resolution 11, entitled "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees". The Committee also adopted that draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that the General Assembly also wishes to do so?

We shall now consider the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 88 [A/36/789]. 24. The Assembly will take a decision on the draft reso- lutions recommended by the Committee in paragraph 41 of its report. 25. Draft resolution I is entitled "United Nations Dec- ade for Women: Equality. Development and Peace". It was adopted without a vote in the Committee. May I con- sider that the General Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Draft resolution 11 is entitled "Consideration within the United Nations of questions concerning the role of women in development". The~ Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that it is the wish of the General Assem- bly also to adopt it?

Draft resolution III is entitled "International Research and Training Institute for the Ad- vancement of Women". The Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that the General "Assembly wishes to do the same?

Draft resolution IV is entitled "Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women". The Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution IV?

Draft resolution V is entitled "Equal rights to work". The Committee adopted this draft resolution without a vote. May I consider that the General Assembly also wishes to do so?

Finally, in paragraph 42 of its report, the Committee recommends the adoption of a draft decision entitled "Draft Declaration on the Par- ticipation of Women in the Struggle for the Strengthening of International Peace and for the Solution of Other Vital National and International Problems.... May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt this draft decision?

The Assembly will consider next the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 129 [A/36/785]. 34. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution entitled ·'International campaign against traffic in drugs". recommended by the Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. This draft resolution was adopted without a vote. May I consider that the Assembly also wishes to do so? 35. The· PRESIDENT: The representative of Brazil wishes to explain his position on the resolution just .adopted. I call on him.

My delegation is very much in favour of the main thrust and the social purposes of the draft resolution entitled "International campaign against traffic in drugs" and consequently joined in the·consen- sus when it was adopted by the Third Committee and by the Assembly. 37. Nevertheless, in our opinion it would have been more appropriate to use the word .,drugs' , instead of "narcotics" in the third and fifth preambular paragraphs, since the word "drugs" refers both to narcotics and to psychotropics. thus covering the two main directions of the illegal traffic, namely the traffic in narcotics, which occurs mainly from developing to developed countries, and the traffic in psychotropics, which in its turn occurs mainly from developed to developing countries. The word "narcotics" seems to reduce the problem to the first kind of substance only.

The Assembly will now consider the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 79 [A/36/731]. 39. I shall call on representatives who wish to explain their vote before the vote.

My delegation has asked to be allowed to speak to explain its vote on draft resolution I in the document which is before us under agenda item 79. 41. It is my Government's firm view that the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms is an uncondi- tional responsibility of all Governments. They have as- sumed this responsibility as Members of the United Nations. My Government cannot accept formulations that could be interpreted to mean that neglect to protect and promote fully the human rights of each individual can be excused in certain circumstances. 42. Suggestions are often made to extend the concept of human rights so as to cover various categories of rights 43. In both cases we are concerned with important cate- gories of rights, but we should avoid diluting and dl~tort­ ing the concept of human rights by including them in that concept. The rights and obligations of States in their reia- tions with one another are, and have always been, a ni3in field of interest in international law, and we do not need the label of "human rights" to deal with such rights and obligations. 44. The right of the individual fully to participate in and benefit from the process of development should, in our view, be confirmed. However, the draft resolution before us may give rise also to other interpretations which in our view cannot be contained in the concept of human rights. 45. The fact that my delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution in spite of those serious hesitations is due to efforts, however inadequate, by the sponsors to improve the text. In our view, however, the text repre- sents a continued erosion of the very concept of human rights as one which essentially concerns the relationship between the State power and the individual. My delega- tion will therefore decide on how to vote on future draft resolutions under this item solely on the merits of the text at hand. '

My delegation would like to explain its vote on draft resolution I contained in the Third Committee's re- port on agenda item 79 [A/36/73/]. My delegation will vote in favour of it. It abstained in the vote on the corre- sponding draft resolution in the Third Committee. By our positive vote on draft resolution I my delegation intends to show the importance it attaches to the dialogue be- tween Member States concerning other ways and means offered within the United Nations system for improving the effective enjoyment. of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular by studying the right to develop- ment. 47. My delegation also appreciates the revisions that the sponsors agreed to make so as to secure broader agree- ment. However, we maintain the reservations that we en- tered in the Third Committee on several paragraphs of the draft resolution.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the three draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 20 of its report [A/36/731]. , 49. We shall first vote upon draft resolution I entitled· '~ltemative approaches and ways and means within the United Nations system for improving the effective enjoy- ment of human rights and fundamental human freedoms". A recorded vote has been requested.

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution n, entitled "National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights". without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?

We turn now to draft resolution Ill, entitled ••Alternative approaches and ways and means in the United Nations system for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights", which the Third Committee adopted without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly also wishes to do so?

The Assembly will turn next to the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 138 [A/36/786]. 53. The Assemblv will now take a decision on the draft resolution entitled "New international humanitarian order", recommended by the Third Committee in para- graph::; of its 'report. It adopted that draft resolution with- out a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

There is no doubt that the pres- sent situation in the Middle East is extremely dangerous. At the present time there are no signs that tension is easing or that the peace-threatening tendencies are lessen- ing. The hopes which have been voiced many times by certain parties, that tension has been lowered and that lasting peace may be established, have proved unfounded. A number of facts point to the possibility of an explosion. 55. Th~ German Democratic Republic has repeatedly drawn attention to this peace-threatening situation, stress- ing that peace and security in the Middle East can be attain~d only if all the peoples in the region can enjoy peaceful coexistence on the basis of the full exercise of their right to self-determination. 56. The main reasons for the ominous situation in the Middle East are well known. They lie 'primarily in the aggressive policy of those in the ruling ~ircles of Israel, which is directed against the Arab States and, in particu- lar. against the Arab people of Palestine. That policy, as events of recent months have clearly shown, has been fur- ther intensified. The world public remembers the overt threats of war against sovereign Arab States, the act of piracy by Israel against Iraq's peaceful nuclear facilities and also the criminal attacks on Palestinian refugee camps and on villages and towns in Lebanon. 57. The policy of terror and oppression of the Palestin- ian people has been stepped up. The decision adopted only a few days ago to create two new Israeli settlements in the occupied Golan Heights area proves that Israel is trying to annex more territories by force, although this runs counter to existing international law. 58.. It has been emphasized repeatedly in this forum that without the broad-based political, economic and above all military support given by the United States and other im- perialist Powers, those in the ruling circles of Israel would be in no position to continue their policy of occupation and aggression. If that assistance had not been given to the aggressor, the international community would long since have been in a position speedily and effectively to achieve respect in that region for the fundamental princi- ples of the Charter of the United Nations. 59. The ruling circles of the United States see Israel as the stronghold for attaining their aspirations to domination in the Middle East. The conclusion of the recent agree- ments between the United States and Israel, the creation of the so-called strategic alliance, are an attempt to give effect in that region to the United States desire for imperi- alist domination. It is understandable that the foreign min- isters and heads of delegation of the non-aligned coun- tries, at the end of their meeting which took place on 25 and 28 September of this year in New York, expressed their profound concern at the development of that al- liance. They said that the alliance ..confirms the role of Ilsrael) as a true bridgehead of imperialism, as an ele- ment threatening the stability of the countries in the Mid- dle East region as well as international peace and se- curity". ISee A/36/566. llllnex.) 61. Thousands of kilometres from the United States, }.lO- der the pretext of a threat to so-called American interests, provocative exercises have been and are being carried out off the coast of a sovereign Arab State by the United States Sixth Fleet. Here in this country war hysteria is being whipped up against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. This kind of activity must be seen for what it is-a return to the imperialist gunboat policies, policies applied from a position of strength and aimed at intimidating sovereign States to induce them to pursue policies which suit the United States. Such a policy of confrontation can be interpreted by Israel only as encour- aging it to step up its aggressive policy. 62. Much has been said in the past about certain new initiatives by the Western European States. All, that re- mains of them is nothing more than an attempt to expand de facto the sphere of action of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]. This is shown in the intention of the NATO States to participate in the so-called Sinai armed force. 63. In stating this, we see at the same time that there is a growing desire among the peoples of Western Europe to promote genuine peace in the Middle East. There is grow- ing understanding of the fact that it is hnperative finally to implement the relevant resolutions of the United Na- tions on the Middle East and on the Palestinian question. 64. The German Democratic Republic shares the opin- ion of many States that it is high time to adopt decisive measures against the aggressor, Israel. For this, the Char- ter of the United Nations offers ample opportunity. 65. Despite various imperialist manoeuvres, there is a growing understanding that the basis of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East is a solution to the Palestinian question. 66. It has become obvious to me whole world that the policy of separate agreements and the exclusion of the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], are incompatible with the interests of the Arab people of Palestine and of the Arab States and have no chance of success. That is borne out by the continuous growth of the international authority of the PLO. We welcome that development. The German Democratic Republic has long felt itself to be closely linked \Yith the Palestinian people in its just strug- gle to exercise its inalienable rights. We assure the Arab people of Palestine of our full solidarity with it, both now and in the future, in its struggle against imperialist op- pression and for the implementation of its right to self- determination. 68. The message sent by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Ger- many and Chairman of the Council of State of the Ger- man Democratic Republic, Erich Honecker, to the Secre- tary-General on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, emphasized: "In view of the increase in international tensions, which are threatening world peace, a complex peace settlement in the Middle East is becoming ever more urgent. In order to achieve it, the German Democratic Republic feels it is necessary to implement consistently the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Se- curity Council. "The convening of an international conference on the Middle East with the Palestine Liberation Organization participating on an equal footing can, in the view of the German Democratic Republic, pave the way to- wards pea~e in the Middle East." The Soviet proposal to convene such a conference indi- cates a realistic means whereby it would be possible, through the honest, collective efforts of all parties con- cerned, to attain a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. In this respect we must note that the thesis put forward by influential circles in the United States on turning the Mid- dle East into an arena for struggle against the socialist world is, as history has already amply demonstrated, a hopeless matter, but a very dangerous one. 69. The leaders of the Arab world constantly stress, quite justifiably, that ~ solution to the Middle East con- flict without the participation of the Soviet Union, or even against it, is impossible. 70. It is true that in the face of the imperialist plans which threaten the cause of peace, what is needed more than ever in order to reduce tension and transform the Middle East into a peaceful region is unity of action among the Arab peoples. 71. Concerning the situation in Lebanon, the sov- ereignty of that country demands the cessation of all acts of aggression by Israel and of support by Israel of the separatist Haddad and his mercenaries. It would be unjust to predicate the ending of the problems in which Lebanon was embroiled by Israel on an overall solution to the. Middle East problem, although we cannot deny that there is an objective link between the two. 72. -The German Democratic Republic believes that the United Nations, which has been considering the Middle East problem and the question of Palestine for decades now, must play an important role in establishing a just and lasting peace in the area. Therefore, the United Na- tions voice must be raised ever more resolutely for a con- structive programme to solve these vital questions. All-

It is the universal view of the international com- munity that, because of the nature of its political dimen- sions, its economic repercussions and its negative effects on the entire spectrum of international relations, the Mid- dle East crisis is the severest and most intense crisis in the world. It has developed and become so complex that it has become the focal point of confrontation the conse- quences of which reach beyond the Middle East region. The inescapable result is that failure to resolve this crisis, or the desire to avoid it, would jeopardize the basic prin- ciples governing contemporary international relations. Anything that would directly or indirectly aggravate an already complex crisis by introducing new elements or expanding its scope would, therefore, help to increa~r; t\he potential threat to peace, not only in the region, bllll also in the world as a whole. 74. The proper approach to the settlement of the crisis is to go back to the essence of the problem. Those who listened attentively to the remarks made about the ques- tion of Palestine in the Assembly last week have undoubt- edly understood that the international community, despite its various tendencies, is unanimous in its belief that the Palestine question is the core of the problem. It was with this issue that the Middle East crisis actually began and with which it developed and became complicated, and it is with its solution that the entire crisis will be resolved. In other words, the question of Palestine and the Middle East crisis are two sides of the same coin. Nobody with a sound mind and a sense of realism would deny this, ei- ther from the moral or from the political point of view. 75. By continuing to occupy the Arab territories and re- fusing to withdraw totally and unconditionally therefrom; by continuing its atrocious military rule in the occupied Arab territories, which is based. on oppressing innocent people and denying them all their civil, political and eco- nomic rights in contravention of all international norms; by continuing its policy of establishing settlements on confiscated Arab lands in order to impose another fait ac- compli; by illegally annexing Jersualem; by attacking Lebanon repeatedly on false pretexts; by stretching its tentacles to Baghdad and striking its nuclear installation; and by its recent violation of sovereign Saudi airspace by repeated sorties, Israel is entirely responsible for the con- tinuance of the Middle East crisis, with all its potential threats to world peace and security, and for its grave con- sequences. 76. We do not exaggerate when we say that Israel bears t.he primary responsibility for the Middle East crisis. Time and again it has proved this. The latest example was the announcement this morning that the Israeli Cabinet had decided to propose to the Knesset the application of Israeli law to the population of the occupied territories in the Golan Heights. Israel has shown us that this is always the first step it takes in annexing lanJ, and it intends to do with the Golan Heights just what it did with Jerusa- lem. These schemes are another link in the chain of Is- rael's violations of all the norms of international law, and my delegation calls on the General Assembly and the Se- curity Council to fulfil their established responsibilities concerning international peace and security by collective condemnation of this illegitimate Israeli action and calling upon Israel to revoke that decision. 78. Kuwait welcomes the increasing awareness of this just cause, particularly among some countries which have not always taken encouraging positions in the past, such as those of the European Community. We hope that this increasing awareness will continue until it has become a positive influence in favour of what is just. At the same time, we should like to point out to those countries that if they are careful not to fall into the trap of exclusive solu- tions, whether directly or indirectly, this will not fail to strengthen their role or participation in any future effort to solv(; the crisis under discussion today. The countries of the European Community, which have outlined their more explicit and more positive role vis-a-vis the Middle East crisis and the Palestinian cause, should shield them- selves from any Israeli or American influence. The Arab countries have rejected the Camp David accords as a framework for peace. Any participation by the European Community nations within this framework, whether di- rectly or indirectly, will not only embroil them in a vicious circle but will also make it difficult for them to exert any meaningful effort in support of peace and se- curity in the Middle East. 79. My delegation is convinced that the United Nations is called upon, through the General Assembly and the Security Council, to respond to the speculation raised on every occasion as to how the Assembly and the- Council could go about implementing their resolutions. The pur- pose of adopting such resolutions and recommendations has never been a simple desire to express an opinion or to take a stand, because that could be done through other channels which have already been utilized and through which world opinion can now distinguish between the ag- gressor and the victim and discern the prerequisites and components of the solution. We should not allow this ex- plosive crisis to remain unsolved at a time when the As- sembly has adopted numerous recommendations constitut- ing a proper framework for the solution. Our real 80. The continued spontaneous use of the power of veto by the United States in the Security Council against any resolution relating to Israel, irrespective of its nature, im- pedes any genuine effort to carry out the will of the inter- national community. The unlimited military and economic support given to Israel by the United States is tantamount to rewarding those who deserve to be punished. We be- lieve that the responsibility of the United States and its historic role in the maintenance of world peace and se- curity require it to correct its policies which are hostile to the Arabs and totally biased in favour of Israeli aggres- sion. Its continued hostility towards the Arabs will un- doubtedly be detrimental to the vital and basic interests of the American people and cannot fail to obstruct any po- tential stability in the Middle East. 81. It is the responsibility of us all to contribute to help the world Organization pass that serious test, through seeking practical ways to force Israel to respect the will of the international community and abide by its resolu- tions and through calling upon the United States to adopt a balanced policy making the interest of world peace su- persede the interests of one of the parties to the dispute. 82. I pointed out previously that the elements of the so- lution to the Middle East crisis are not unknown and that the resolutions of the United Nations repeated annually cover every aspect of the solution-whether the aspects relating to the safeguarding of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determina- tion and to have a State of its own, or those relating to total withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories. 83. But knowing the elements of the solution is one thing, and reaching a solution is another. As is known, the road to this solution is fraught with obstacles hinder- ing a genuine momentum towards the attainment of the solution. Those obstacles are raised. by Israel together with its protector, the United States. 84. With the exception of the racist regime of South Af- rica, Israel is almost the only outlaw Member of the world Organization which ignores its resolutions and rec- ommendations with all indifference unparalleled in the history of the Organization. 85. This unparalleled indifference on the part of Israel constitutes a charge against the United States, which en- courages Israel to act in a manner entirely incompatible with its actual size by adopting policies which aim at any- thing but the restoration of peace and security in the Mid- dle East. These policies are: first, its insistence on giving Israel total moral and material support despite the brutal Israeli expansionist policies whether in the occupied ter- ritories or against the neighbouring countries; secondly, its insistence on protecting Israel from the wrath of the international community every time the latter seeks to punish Israel for disregarding the resolutions of the world Organization, by its use of the power of veto against any resolutions seeking to impose sanctions against Israel; thirdly, its insistence on providing Israel's colonialist and coercive policies with enough support by always support- ing Israel in all the resolutions at the United Nations con- 86. Everybody knows that without the United States Is- rael would never have dared to bite the hand of its bene- factor, namely, the world Organization which contributed to its creation at the beginning. The world Organization has therefore to put things back in perspective and bring Israel back to its right size, through exerting pressure on the United States to cease supporting the Israeli policies; otherwise it will help to create the impression that it is collaborating with Israel in its expansionist policies and that any alleged peaceful effort made on behalf of restor- ing peace to the Middle East is nothing but a sham. 87. Last Saturday the United States outdid even itself in its strange and suspicious support to Israel and its open challenge to Arab feelings, when it abandoned the most elementary international norms and even its hypocritical leadership in the causes of human rights by extraditing an innocent Palestinian youth and delivering him to the Isra- eli gladiators, whose torture of thousands of Palestinian detainees in the occupied territories is well documented by the United Nations. What makes the matter more pain- ful is that a super-Power such as the United States, with a history of a reputable system of justice, could stoop to such a low level for political reasons which smell of racial discrimination. 88. The United States authorities, by extraditing Ziad Abu Eain to the Israeli authorities after detaining him for two years in a jail in Chicago, did not only deviate from international norms, but also did not respect even the United States-Israeli extradition treaty on which its action was based. That treaty provides that extradition shall be granted only if the evidence be found sufficient to justify the accused's committal for trial. It also contains provi- sions dealing with exceptions relating to political of- fences. 89. However, while looking for a "probable cause" to justify the extradition, the United States District Court of lllinois refused the introduction of new evidence which would have permitted a challenge to the Israeli charges. The only witness in the case, whose confession against Abu Eain was obtained in a dubious manner-namely, by his signing a document written in Hebrew, which he does not know, after being detained for three weeks without seeing any attorney-has since twice repudiated this con- fession. Besides, Abu Eain was also able to submit 11 affidavits saying that he was in Ramallah during the whole day when the bombing took place in Tiberias, which is several hours away by car from Ramallah. ~ 90. These developments made the well-known American attorney, Ramsey Clark, who once held the position of United States Attorney General, say that the confession in this case seemed dubious and that the new evidence should be introduced to support the "probable cause" is- sue. 92. What raises suspicion and speculation about this in- famous United States behaviour is that it came only a short time after a similar incident took place concerning an Irish youth by the name of John McMullen, who ad- mitted his responsibility for a fatal bombing in Ireland and yet was allowed to stay in the United ~tates. despite his confession, in view of the political nature of his deed. 93. The former well-known American Senator WiIliam Rdbright, who was Chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked several years ago why it was that every time a matter relating to Israel was discqssed, all procedures were turned upside down. If the conditions which the former Senator said several years ago prevailed in Congress were allowed to move into the sacred arena of the judicial system, as is the case here, then this would be recorded in the annals of history as a day of infamy for the American judicial system, which allowed itself to succumb to political pressure. 94. If there were any doubt that the United States com- mitted this crime against Abu Eain because he is a Pal- estinian and is therefore an easy scapegoat for its quixotic and single-handed campaign against so-called interna- tional terrorism-and we all know what that term means in the mind of United States officials-then the com- parison between the treatment accorded to the Irish youth, despite his confession, and the one accorded to the Pal- estinian youth, despite his innocence, .should eliminate any shadow of doubt. 95. My delegation has read the Secretary-General's re- port on the situation in the Middle East [A/36/655] and believes that he was right in the conclusions he reached about the gravity of the situation in the Middle East. 96. Paragraph 33 of the Secretary-General's report accu- rately reflects the true situation which with all its com- plexities and ramifications continues to be of central con- cern to the entire international community, containing as it does an explosive potential of conflict endangering world peace. My delegation also agrees with the Secre- tary-General that the United Nations can do much to fa- cilitate a settlement and that the Organization provides a universal forum which enables us to arrive at a settlement by peaceful means. 97. However, we must reiterate that the potential of the United Nations is still blocked by Israeli rejection and intrailsigence. It is the Organization's responsibility, there- fore, to deal with that rejection and intransigence. We should rearrange our priorities in such a way as to main- tain the Organization's role, its prestige and its reputation in its efforts to further world peace and to respond to the aspirations of mankind, objectives for which the Organ- ization was created.

As we are only too aware, the fundamental principles of the United Na- tions have been repeatedly transgressed this year .in the Middle East. Israel has insisted on pursuing h strategy of pre-emptive attacks, posing new and serious threats· to 99. Realistically, if the parties directly involved are truly convinced that they must face the challenge of finding a compromise that has any possibility of permanence, it should be clear to them by now that they must concen- trate their effort~ on the fundamentals and place problems in the broader context of their historical co-ordinates. In his statement at the-opening of the general debate, the Foreign Minister of Brazil reaffirmed that the basic condi- tions (or a lasting peace are: "the' complete withdrawal of occupation forces from all Arab territories; the exercise of the right of the Palesti- nian people to return to Palestine and recognition of their right to _self-determination, independence and sov- ereignty; the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the peace negotiations; (and) the recognition of the right of all States in the region to live in peace within recognized borders." [5th meeting, para. 42.] 100. The complete withdrawal of Israel from territories occupied in 1967 and the recognition of the inalienable right of t'ne Palestinian people to establish an independent State in their homeland constitute the only formula that would ensure the free exercise of the national rights of the Palestinian people and set in motion the process of arriv- ing at a comprehensive settlement, which remains the re- sponsibility of the United Nations. It is, therefore, incum- bent upon this Organization to promote initiatives which will lay realistic bases for the achievement of that goal. Proposals exist, and they should not be left unanswered. 101. Brazil shares the prevailing conviction that there are no cogent reasons for persistently dodging the ques- tion of the establishment of a Palestinian State. Not only has the solution of this question become in itself in- creasingly urgent and necessary in recent years, but in the void created by the lack of a political settlement threats to world peace are multiplied. Because this is so we remain convinced that an overall peace will never be achieved by dealing with the issue of Palestine as if it were a second- ary aspect of the Middle East question. We all know that the Palestine issue is at the core of the instability in the Middle East. The rights of the Palestinians include the right to self-determination, which cannot be considered as the right of local autonomy, as it has been defined by some. They have the right to set up a separate State, as contemplated by the partition resolutions, and we cannot accept the denial to the Palestiniacs of the elementary rights that other peoples freely enjoy as citizens of inde- pendent States. 102. In our times the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible and cannot be legitimized, whether in Pal- estine or elsewhere. The perpetuation of the Israeli pres- ence in occupied Palestinian territory is a breach of int,~r­ national law and a recurring challenge to the Uaited Nations. In fact, no action or initiative taken so far seems to have had any effect on Israei's accelerated drive to ex- pand a network of settlements in occupied Arab territories on the West Bank. In this connection, we share the con- cern of the international community about measures taken by Israel in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, which entail changes in the demographic character of those lands, such changes being fraught with adverse con- 103. Furthermore, it is becoming idle to carp at the overwhelming international recognition of the PLO as the legiti.aate representative of the Palestinian people. No workable formula for solving the Middle East problem can ignore the existence of the PLO as a political entity. Whatever the arguments, the PLO is the only entity repre- senting Palestinian interests and capable of expressing Pal- estinian views on a permanent basis. 104. Another e:ement in a durable peace is the right of all States in the region to live ~n peace within recognized borders. This principle applies unequivocally to the State of Israel and constitutes a pillar as fundamental to· any definitive settlement as that of the creation of a Palestinian State. 105. We realize that this is a complex issue. But what is at stake is the ~ossibility of preventing the conflict from growing ever wider as a result of frequent unilateral actions, whether in Tamuz or in Lebanon, that fan the fires of war in that troubled region. 106. The conditions for peace referred to by the Foreign Minister of Brazil in the general debate constitute a widely accepted basis for progress on this complex issue. The proposals recently advanced by Saudi Arabia bear in the same direction and are an important contribution to negotiations. Those proposals present substantial and positive points that deserve full consideration. Among other points, I wish to stress the paramount importance of ensuring freedom of worship for all the religious groups in the area. The success of these endeavours to achieve peace in the region is undoubtedly beyond the control of individual countries. It is therefore for the United Nations, and especially for some of its Members together, to ensure the implementation of the steps in the peace process.

The Middle East crisis is no nearer a solution today than when this body dealt with the same problem a year ago. That area continues to be rav- aged by tension and strife, posing a threat to world peace and international security. This threat has become even more obvious and direct as a consequence of the events of the past year in that troubled part of the world. Tension in that region has been increasing. These developments have made the international community realize once ag:~in the danger posed by escalating the ~onflict, prolonging the confrontation and further delaying a solution of the prob- lem. Nevertheless, as stated by the Secretary-General in his report to the Security Council in November of this year, "the situation regarding the Middle East as a whole continued to be potentially dangerous and was likely to remain so unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem could be reached". [A/36/655, para. 31.] But in spite of all the genuine efforts by the United Nations and the world com- munity, no progress has been achieved so far on the road to a just and lasting solution. 108. The main obstacle to a comprehensive settlement and the cause for the aggravation of the situation are the same as the root cause of the entire Middle East crisis for decades: Israel's policy anc the support it enjoys from its well-known major ally. 110. The major victim of this policy and practice is the Arab people of Palestine. That people of long traditions has gone through untold sufferings and ordeals. Its prob- lem is the core of the Middle East issue, and if it is not solved, no lasting settlement in the region is possible. 111. Parallel with its unlawful practices in the occupied Arab territories, Israel has created an atmosphere of in- stability and fear in the whole region. It has committed a series of unprovoked attacks and incursions against inde- pendent countries of the Middle East violating the sov- ereignty and territorial integrity of several States Members of the United Nations. The numerous hostile actions and other steps of that kind during th~ past year have been repeated manifestations of Israel's bellicose policy. 112. The aggressive political course of Israel, based on the principle of "might makes right", challenges the world community and defies the relevant resolutions adopted by various United Nations organs. It directly threatens the peace and security of the States in the Mid- dle East and constitutes a permanent danger to interna- tional peace and security as well. 113.· At the same time, that very policy of the Tel Aviv Government runs counter to the vital interests of the Isra- eli people, for violations and the use or threat of force will lead nowhere. The secure frontiers and national se- curity of Israel so often referred to by the Tel Aviv Gov- ernment can never be achieved at the expense of, and de- nial of similar rights to, the other parties involved in the conflict. 114. It is only too obvious to everyone here that Israel could never have pursued its present policy of aggression without the multifaceted support of its major ally. Almost unconditional support for Israeli policy has for long been the COllh'110n feature of consecutive United States Admin- istrations, with the aim of thereby promoting their en- deavours to consolidate United States influence in the ~trategically important region of the Middle East. The latest manifestations of these ambitions are the strategic co-operation alliance with Israel and the joint military ex-' ercises held in close co-operation with some countries of that area. 115. The Camp David accords were designed to cover up the real nature of those aspirations and to impose sham solutions of the long-standing problems of the Middle East crisis. Time has proved that separate dea:s based on a partial approach and aimed at preserving unilatend, ego- istic interests of some of the parties involved cannot fun- damentally change the situation, cannot eliminate the root 117. The settlement to be fonnulated by the proposed international conference should be based on the principles enshrined in the relevant United Nations resolutions, namely: immediate, unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied since 1967, includ- ing Jerusalem; recognition and exercise of the inalienable national and human rights of the Palestinian people to re- turn to their homes and property, and to self-determina- tion, including the right to establish an independent sov- ereign State of their own in Palestine; and ensuring that all States in the region, including Israel, live in peace and security within secure and internationally recognized boundaries. 118. We are firmly convinced that that is the only way to turn that hotbed of unending wars into a land of lasting peace and justice for all its peop!es.

I should like at the outset to ex- press the anger of my delegation over the latest step taken by the United States of Americ~ in extraditing ,m Arab citizen, a national of an Arab sovereign State, to a third party, Israel, without basing itself on established fact, as stated' by the representative of Kuwait, in spite of the promises made by United States ambassadors to offidais in many Arab countries. In addition, the United States Government, at its highest level, promised the Arab am- bassadors in Washington and some Arab leaders that the matter of Mr. Ziad Abu Eain would be considered by the courts and that there would be no injustice with respect to the rights of that citizen, who h~d been detained for two years. Today we are extremely sUfJ.trised by the extradition of that Arab citizen to an enemy country, Israel. 120. Begirming my speech here, I should like to thank the Secretary-General for his report to the General As- sembly on the item unci~r discussion, entided "The situa- tion in the Middle E.ast", in which he reviews briefly the developments in the Middle East region since the adop- tion of General Assembly resolution 35/207 on 16 De- cember 1980. We would have liked the report to be more comprehensive concerning Israel's actions and practices in contravention of international custom and human rights as well as the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The report should also have contained details of the escalation (If opemtions undel1aken by Israel against southern Lebanon, the' Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and the city of Beirut. It should also have covered Israel's violatiC'''' of the airspace of the Ki9gdom of Saudi Arabia and its brutal aggression against the nu- clear research jnstallations in Iraq. 122. During the discussion of the item on the question of Palestine last week, the head of my delegation re- viewed all the developments concerning the Palestinian cause, including Israeli action to confiscate Arab land, to establish settlements, to Judaize the Pc1lestinian homeland in order to change the national character of the usurped Palestinian territories, in addition to the acts of repres- sion, terrorism, expulsion, detention and torture of the Pc1lestinian people under Israeli occupation, the blowing up of houses, violation of the Holy Places, the changes in the education system and the closing of Pc1lestinian univer- sities, institutes and schools. 123. There is n(b doubt that the Middle East problem is today one of the most important and most serious of inter- national issues. A people-the Palestinian people-has been expelled from its homeland, and people brought in from other regions of the world have taken possession of its homeland, colonized it and created the State of Israel, which was provided with funds, weapons and political support and which has become a serious threat to interna- tional peace and security. 124. The Middle East region, with its cultllral and spir- itual prestige, financial potentiai and abundant narural re- sources, could have been a source of support for all peace-loving States aspiring to security and stability. It could have contributed to the welfare of mankind. But the implanting of that alien body, Israel, in the heart of that region and the resulting tragedy for the Pc1lestinian people contributed to the draining of its resources and potential, thus preventing it from performing that humanitarian role. 125. -Israel has waged four wars against the Arab na- tion, bringing the development process to a standstill and dispersing rural manpower in southern Lebanon, as well as on the West Bank of the Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Furthermore, Israel did not confine itself to that; its planes raided the territory of Iraq, hundreds of miles away, and destroyed the industrial development complex there. It threatens to destroy any development facilities built in the Arab world.. 126. All those wars and raids against the innocent in- habitants in Lebanon and the camps of the Palestinian ref- ugees were carried out with weapons made in the United States. The United States covertly and overtly provides Israel with the most modem weapons in its arsenal. and gives it political support in the Security Council and in other organs of the United Nations. If it had not be:~n for that United States support, Israel would never have been able to wage those wars against the Arab homeland. 127. Last week the United States concluded a strategic co-operation agreement with Israel. We view that. agree- ment, in its secret as well as public clauses, as support Israel needs to increase its arsenal of destruction against the Arab people and their resources. The agreement raises Israel's military capability and stiffens its intransigence and defiance of United Nations resolutions and of the will of peoples. We denounce that agreement and consider the United States to be responsible for any consequences it may entail. 129. With respect to the occupied territory of the Syrian Golan Heights and plains, we note the continual escala- tion of the arbitrary Zionist practices against the Arab cit- izens there by establishing new settlements for groups of people from abroad brought in to live in occupied Syrian territory. We denounce the Zionist actions aimed at changing the legal status and geographical or demo- graphic character of the Syrian Golan Heights. In this re- spect, we note in particular the attempts made by the Zionist occupation authorities to compel Syrian citizens living under military occupation in the Golan Heights to renounce their Arab identity and accept Israeli citizenship, in violation of international norms and conventions, es- pecially the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.2 On this occasion, we cannot but pay a tribute to the strug- gle and heroic resistance of the Syrian citizens and their rejection of those Zionist activities. 130. Southern Lebanon is subjected daily and regularly to land and air raids by Israel, which result in the dis- placement of its people and the loss of their homes and fields. UNIFIL in that ar~a has been witness to that brutal aggression. A number of soldiers of that Force were killed during Israeli raids against southern Lebanon. 131. On this occasion we cannot but express our sincere condolences to the families of those who were martyred for the sake of the maintenance of peace in southern Lebanon. 132. We call upon all peoples that cherish peace and justice to stand by the Lebanese, to help to preserve the territorial integrity of Lebanon and to deter the Zionist aggression. We also call upon all peoples to support the Pc1lestinian people in its struggle for its freedom and self- detennination and to return to its usurped homeland. 133. We call upon the American people, who liberated their own country from colonialism, to help the Palestin- ian peopi,;; to liberate their country, Palestine, from the Zionist settler-colonialists and to exert pressure on their government to stop providing ~srael with political, mili- tary and economic support. 134. We call upon the entire international c,lmmunity to denounce the Zionist aggression against the Lebanese and Pc1lestinian peoples and to do its utmost to bring about the return of the Pc1lestinian people to its land 'and the estab- lishment of its own independent State. . 135. Finally, I should like to affrrm here that Israel, with the help of its allies, is making plans to carry out a new act of aggression against some Arab country. The acts of military provocation. in the area, the violation of the airspace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon, and the provocation and propaganda campaigns against the Syrian Arab Republic and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the secret war being waged against the 137. The United Arab Emirates is ready to participate in any endeavour to restore freedom to the Palestinian peo- pie, to return it to its home and to establish a sovereign State in its own territory.

It is an honour for me to speak on behalf of Lebanon m the debate on the situation in the Middle East and to express our thanks to the Secretariat and to the international Organization as a whole for their efforts to solve the crisis in the Middle East. The area has become a hotbed of tension and an arena for the struggle between Powers, small and large, which threatens international peace and security. 139. In connection with the Middle East crisis the role of the United Nations has been and remains the most important of all in the search for a just, comprehensive and permanent solution that will satisfy all parties and guarantee the right of the Palestinians to establish their own independent State in their territory and to recover their legitimate, inalienable and internationally acknowl- edged rights. 140. In spite of the efforts of the international Organiza- tion, Israel has persisted not only in obstructing the sin- cere efforts but also in creating new difficulties which re- flect its policy and its expansionist ambitions. The most recent example of this is the decision announced today to enforce Israeli laws in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and to completely annex that area, as Israel did to Arab Jerusalem. 141. In the last few years Israel has persisted in its vio- lation of the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon, a peaceful State that has respected the principles of the United Nations since the foundation of the Organization, which participat~d in the drafting of the Charter, and which has supported all the resolutions adopted by the international community. Lebanon, which has suffered much from the Israeli policy that has forced Palestinians into Lebanon and has been the target of repeated acts of aggression against the Lebanese people and Lebanese ter- ritory, finds itself faced with an increasing need for sup- port from the international family and from the United Nations, which approved the partition of Palestine in 1947 but which has so far failed to solve the problem that has resulted from that partition. 142. In southern Lebanon UNIFIL, while playing a val- iant role, has so far been unable to put an end to the direct and indirect Israeli aggression against Lebanese ter- ritory and the Lebanese people. Last summer Israeli war- ships and planes, which reach beyond the theatre of oper- ~ti0ll:s of U~I.f1L. merci1ess~y ~md indi~crimimttely bombed peaceful civilian areas, leaving behind them hun- 143. Despite all this Israel claims to be the only State in the Middle East that plays a positive role in the efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive solution. Does Israel's positive attitude consist in its continuing violation of Lebanese, Iraqi, Jordanian and Saudi Arabian airspace, in its repeated attacks on Lebanese territories, in its attack on the Iraqi peaceful nuclear installations, in the annexa- tion of Arab territories occupied by force, or in the de- stabilization of the States of the region one after the other? . 144. Is it not time for Israel to realize that the solution of the Middle East crisis lies in its absolute compliance with the relevant United Nations res01utions and in the restitution of the occupied Arab territories so that the Pal- estinian people may establish their own independent State on their now occupied territory? Is it not time for Israel to realize that peace in the Middle East can be achieved only through the cessation of its threat to the security of the Arab States and the abandonment of its expansionist policies and its historical designs? 145. In this regard, we must declare that Lebanon, which has always awaited the solution of the Middle East iss.ue so that an end may be put to the current no.,.war, no- peace situation, is incapable of bearing further fighting, displacement and destruction and of continuing to be the victim of the war of others. Therefore, Lebanon appeals today to the international community to take all the nec- essary measures to preserve its independence, its sov- ereignty, its territorial integrity' and the security of its people. The continuance of the current no-war, no-peace situation will aggravate the problem and create an atmo- sphere fraught with tension and risk, because, despite the relation between the two issues, we in Lebanon cannot link the solution of our problem to the solution of the Middle East cric;is. Any solution which does not take Lebanon as its starting point will only make the crisis in the Middle East more dangerous. The solution cannot be achieved by creating a new problem; such an approach is incompatible with common sense and the principles of right and justice. Any solution which is not based on a solution of the Lebanese problem wi!l lead to the deterio- ration of the Middle East crisis and will threaten interna- tional peace.

For more than three decades the United Nations has been dealing with the Middle East situation, at times in the Security Council, and year after year in the Assem- bly. Numerous appropriate and suitable resolutions have been adopted in that regard, but they have yet to be im- plemented. 147. Today, as the Middle East crisis deteriorates and becomes more serious, it constitutes a constant threat to international peace and security. It is thus no wonder that it arouses the concern and commands attention o(the in- ternational community. 149. The position of Oman concerning the settlement of this crisis is well known and unmistakable. It is reflected in numerous United Nations resolutions and in the deci- sions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the non-aligned States. That firm position has already been expressed on many occasions, most recently in the statement by the head of the Oman delegation to the As- sembly during the general debate, on 2 October, when he said: "The claims of the leaders and officials of Israel are well known, even if they are sometimes disguised as peaceful solutions. In the past, some States believed in these Israeli claims. Then, ample evidence of the falseness of their declared desire for peace was given in the form of expansionist and aggressive Israeli policies and practices, Israel's declaration of its annexation of the Holy City of Jerusalem and its consideration of that place as its eternal capital, as well as its efforts to change the city's character and demography, and its op- pressive policies directed against the Palestinian people and the creation of settlements on Palestinian and Arab lands. "We have mentioned before, and we wish to repeat here, that there cannot be durable and just peace in the Middle East unless there is a complete withdrawal by Israel from all the occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, and unless Israel restores the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Those rights have been affirmed through reso- lutions of the United Nations and the Islamic Con- ference, as well as by the non-aligned countries." [24th meeting, paras. /73 and 174.] 150. No one can deny that Israel's violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, its deliberate defiance of the will of the international community, international legit- imacy and the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations are the only reasons for the continuing deteriora- tion of the situation in the Middle East, for further blood- shed in that area and for the continuing threat there to inter- national peace and security. 151. Israel still persists in the policy of occupation, the annexation of Arab territories by force and the establish- ment of illegal settlements in the occupied territories. This year Israel has added another dimension to its record of criminal acts by bombing densely populated towns and villages in Lebanon and the Iraqi nuclear reactor intended for peaceful purposes. Now, persisting in its disregard of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civil- ian persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1 it is proceeding to dig a canal linking the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. It continues its settler-colonialist policies and its plunder of the natural resources of the occupied territories, completely ignoring the consequences of the implementation of this project. Israel is also continuing its archaeological excavations, digging deeply around the Holy Mosque of AI-Quds AI-Sharif, undermining that holy edifice treasured by every Moslem, under the pretext of archaeological research. 153. This morning we were informed by press agencies of a new Israeli defiance of the Assembly just while we were considering the situation in the Middle East. Israel timed its latest illegal action in the occupied Arab territo- ries for this day, and the Israeli Cabinet put a draft reso- lution before the Knesset to apply Israeli laws in the occupied Golan Heights as an introduction to the area's annexation by Israel. We cannot but condemn this new ac- tion, which is in contravention of all international conven- tions and principles, especially the Geneva Convention. 154. Faced with these evil practices and the continued premeditated aggression, we have a right to wonder whether it is not high time to stop seeking to resolve the Middle East question by waiting for time to render it ob- solete. How long will the Palestinian people remain a people of refugees and a victim of conflicts and the desire of parties to outdo each other, which only benefit Israel? 155. In this respect my delegation would like to express its full support for the principles for the solution of the Middle East problem expressed in the declaration by His Royal Highness Prince Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 3 Those princi- pIes, drawn up on the basis of the just principles ap- proved by the United Nations more than once, are also based on dealing with reality from a position of strength supported by right. My delegation believes that those principles can be a source of inspiration in preparing a resolution to be adopted by the Security Council as a framework for a just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East issue. 156. But Israel, with its well-known rigidity and ar- rogance, refuses all peaceful endeavours and declares anew its intention to establish new settlements as a re- sponse to any step towards peace. In view of that, and with the intensification of terrorism in the form of the blowing up of houses, the annexation of territories and the repression of defenceless citizens, the international com- munity is today called upon more than ever to concentrate on continuous and firm efforts to solve the crisis in the Middle East by enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable national rights to return to its homeland and to self-determination, including the establishment of its own State on its territory after the complete with- drawal of the occupying forces from all the Arab territo- ries and from the Holy City of Jerusalem. In our view, these are the essential elements of a solution aimed at establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

This debate on the situation in the Middle East has again highlighted the legitimate desire of peoples to see resolute action taken to do away with focal points of tension, to maintain their freedom and independence and to guarantee and strengthen international peace and se- curity. At the same time, the debate reflects the deep dis- quiet caused by the persistence of conflicts and war in various parts of the world and by the worsening of the international situation as a result of the unbridled arms race and of tendencies to consolidate and share out spheres of influence and of domination. 159. Consequently, Romania is in favour of the exclu- sion, once and for all, of force and the threat of force in international relations and is in favour of the implementa- tion of the principle of the settlement of conflicts between States solely by political means and by negotiations be- tween the interested parties, and of respect for the right of each people to develop independently. The conflict in the Middle East can be no exception, particularly in the light of experience which has shown military means to be in- valid in resolving the problems of this sorely tried region. 160. It is in this spirit that Romania and its President are in favour of a peaceful settlement to the conflict in the Middle East, through negotiations, for achieving a com- prehensive, just and lasting peace, based on Israel's total withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem; on the settlement of the prob- lem of the Palestinian people by acknowledgement of its legitimate rights, including its right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State; and on the assurance of the independence and sovereignty of all the States in the area. 161. More than ever, the Middle East is proving to be an area of great instability, one of the main sources of danger to international peace and security and co-opera- tion. The consolidating and sharing out of spheres of in- fluence in order to control areas of strategic interest, in- creasing the stockpiling of weapons and the fact that fundamental problems are still without solution and that obstacles still remain in the way of a peaceful settlement give a new dimension to the conflict. 162. The consequences of events in the Middle East show that real peace and security cannot be brought about 167. As has been repeatedly stressed in the Romanian by force, with disregard for international legality and the statements, on the basis of the', principle of the inad- denial' of the right of other peoples to a free and indepen- missibility of the occupation of territories by force, the dent existence. On the contrary, the facts show strongly realization of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in that force and war, far from contributing to a solution to the Middle East must be based on the withdrawal of Israel the problems, merely make a dangerous situation even from all the Arab and Palestinian territories occupied fol- more complicated and sow the seeds of fresh and even lowing the 1967 war, including Arab Jerusalem. more deadly armed conflicts. 168. The acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible 163. The perpetuation of the Israeli occupation of the under the Charter and the generally recognized norms of Arab and Palestinian territories, the proliferation of illegal international law, and all territories occupied in this way measures in those territories, including those which con- must be handed back to the peoples to whom they right- cern Jerusalem, the refusal to recognize the legitimate fully belong. This is precisely the case with the territories rights of the Palestinian people to an independent exist- occupied by Israel since 1967. The resolutions of the ence, Israel's military actions against Lebanon and the air General Assembly and the Security Council which laid attack against the Iraqi nuclear facilities are acts which down the fundamental principles of a just and lasting set- have given rise to many debates at the United Nations and tlement in the Middle East and the ways and means of which have been firmly disapproved of and condemned achieving it further set out the clear obligation of Israel to by the international community. Such acts merely increase withdraw from all the Arab territories it occupies. instability, maintain a dangerous hotbed of conflict and exacerbate tension, with serious consequences for peace ' 169. Any arbitrary act aimed at changing the sta.tus of and security in the region and throughout the world. ' those territories constitutes a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and of the relevant resolutions 164. The very serious tension which persists in the Mid- of the United Nations and would merely further increase dIe East means that all States must act with the highest tension in that part of the world and raise new obstacles responsibility so that the situation be settled through ne- to a comprehensive political settlement of the Middle East gotiations and so that a just and lasting peace be estab- conflict. - lished among all peoples and States of the region. Fully aware of the responsibility incumbent upon every country 170. At the same time, Romania considers, as we for the future of peace, the Romanian head of State and stressed in the recent debate on the question of Palestine, 165. From the beginning of the 1967 war, Romania has clearly expressed its deep conviction, reaffirmed many times since then, that a viable response to the problems confronting the States and peoples of the Middle East can be found only in a political settlement conforming to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which really meets the fundamental and legitimate interests of all States and peoples of the region and whicI:t would pro- mote detente, peace, and international secunty and co- operation. Such a settlement is the only way to establish a peace enabling all the peoples of the region to devote their efforts, talents and resources to the consolidation of their national independence and their economic and SOCial revival. 166. We believe it is in the interests of all peoples and all countries to act with more resolution in order to give new impetus to the peace process and to bring about a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East. To postpone indefinitely a political solution to the conflict- as the tragic experience of the region has amply shown- merely further complicates and aggravates the situation. We also feel that decisive steps must be taken without delay to bring about the necessary conditions for genuine negotiations among all the parties concerned. For that to happen, there must be an end to all action which raises obstacles to a settlement, to the policy of force against the Palestinian population and the neighbouring .Arab States, to the establishment of new settlements in the oc- cupied territories and to all illegal Israeli acts and meas- ures in those territories. rit;~ht to self-detennination, including the right to establish a national independent State, it will not be possible to bring about genuine peace in the region. In the light of these considerations and pursuant to the principle of the settlement of disputes by the parties concerned, we are convinced that broad participation on the part of the PLO in the international efforts to solve the problem of the Palestinian people would have a positive effect on all ac- tion taken to bring about a comprehensive, just and last- ing peace in the Middle East. 171. Finally, we consider that a settlement consistent with the interests and legitimate aspirations of all the States and peoples concerned presupposes guarantees for the independence, territorial integrity and national sov- ereignty of every 'State in the region. That would make it possible to establish relations of co-operation, confidence and mutual respect among all States and peoples of the region. 172. As is known, Romania has spared no effort; it has worked relentlessly, and continues to do so, for the settle- ment of the conflict by political means and by negotia- tions, and for the achievement of comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Romania's positions and actions are part of the overall effort to bring about peace in the Middle East, which, among other things, has led to a number of proposals aimed at a political settlement of the conflict. 173. Giving expression to my country's continuing con- cern for international peace and security, President Nic- olae Ceau§escu recently stressed that "Romania has stated and resolutely states that it is in favour of the convening of an international conference with the participation of all countries concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". 174. It is our view that what is called for now is the intensification of diplomatic and political activities and efforts, including those in the United Nations, to give fresh impetus to the peace process in the Middle East, thus taking advantage of the present favourable conditions to build a new negotiating framework. Romania has pro- posed in ihiiS regard that the General Assembly state its firm support for effective measures capable of ensuring lasting peace in the Middle Eas~ and conducive to the convening of an international conference under the aus- pices and with the active participation of the United Na- tions, in which all interested countries would take part, together with the PLO, the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as other States which could make a positive contribution to the comprehensive settlement of the situation in that part of the world and to the solution of the Palestinian problem. 182. One can sometimes hear that a peaceful settlement in the Middle East is allegedly being hindered by the "ri.. valry of the two super-Powers". This much trumpeted no- tion of "rivalry" is but a cover for what is happening. Actually, one Power-the United States of America- 175. It is our firm conviction that the United Nations would like to squeeze this region in its fist. It is trying to can and must play an even more active part in efforts to impose its will on independent States and to frighten· resolve the Middle East conflict and in the settlement of them. It is trying to infiltrate the region with its armed areas of conflict and tensiG'o. The adoption of a resolution forces and is showing its muscles. An additional testi- providing for the convening of an international conference mony to that is the military manoeuvres recently organ- to achieve a comprehensive settlement and a just and last-· ized by the United States which took place in the region. ing peace in that sorely tried region of the world would lbe primary target of its interventionist rapid deployment fully meet the hopes and expectations of the peoples of forces is precisely the Middle East, which the United the region and of all peoples to be able to live in a cli- States, with cynical scorn for the sovereign rights of the »:a~_o:_:aC~:~:~lm,~~:CUri~_~:,co~=o:_._:Ples ~ the region, has proclaimedasphere of its vital

The General As- sembly is again considering the situation in the Middle East, which continues to be one of the hottest and con- stantly bleeding regions of our planet. All the decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council aimed at settling the problem of the Middle East and ending ag- gressive actions by Israel are cynically being flouted by the Tel Aviv authorities and remain unimplemented. The Arab people of Palestine, which has been suffering for decades, continues to suffer. 178. The gathering clouds over the Middle East have brought this region to a very dangerous pass, and the tense situation in the region is fraught with serious conse- quences for international peace and security. 179. At the present time the noticeable worsening of the international situation because of the adventuristic actions of imperialism and reaction, which are out to undermine detente and which oppose the freedom and security of peoples, is having a negative impact on the Middle East as well. Israel's perpetration, with th~ actual encourage- ment of the United States, of the barbaric strikes against Lebanon, the piratical attack against Iraq by the Israeli Air Force, the brazen threats against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Syrian Arab Republic, the increasing colonization of the seized Arab territories and the hastily arranged military alliance with the United States and the latter's increasing military presence in the region-all are manifestations of the growing aggressiveness of the policy of imperialism and zionism in the region. 180. The tragedy of the Middle East is a clear illustra- tion of the growing dangers threatening the freedom of peoples, the independence of States, peace and interna- tional security. The neo-colonialist scheming of American imperialism and its proteges in the Middle East make it necessary to strengthen the solidarity of all patriotic forces in the Arab world and their anti-imperialist strug- gle and to activate international support for the just aspi- rations of the Arab peoples. 181. What is going on right now in the Middle East is a stark reminder to the entire world that the time is overdue to settle the Middle East conflict as a whole and solve its key problem, namely, to ensure the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine. 183. With regard to the position of the Soviet State, it was clearly and precisely laid down by the General Secre- tary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Comrade L. 1. Brezhnev, who stated: "We do not feel that we have any right to the natural resources of the Middle East countries. We do not pre- sent ourselves as the self-proclaimed guardia!ls of those countries. We want only one thing: a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. We wish to have good rela- tions with all countries in the region. This goes both for those with whom we already have friendship and mutual understanding and for those with whom our re- lations have not been completely settled or are as yet non-existent. " 184. The approach of the socialist community to Middle East problems is determined by the sole desire for justice and lasting peace, and not to infringe the rights of a sin- gle people or a single country of that region. 185. The achievement of a comprehensive political set- tlement in the Middle East should include. the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Arab territories oc- cupied by Israel in 1967 and the exercise of the inalien- able national rights of the Arab people of Palestine to self-determination, including its right to create its own in- dependent State under the leadership of the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the people of Palestine. 186. The sorry Camp David accords-no matter how they have been praised by some, including praise from this rostrum-have only aggravated the explosive nature of the situation in the region and have made the pos- sibility of achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East more remote. These accords contradict the funda- mental interests of the Arab countries and peoples. They seek to split their ranks and to consolidate Israeli colo- nization of the occupied Arab territories; they are being used by the United States to strengthen its military pres- ence in the region. Negotiations within the framework of the separate Camp David accords on so-called Palestinian autonomy are a usurpation of the rights of the Arab peo- ple of Palestine and an attempt to deprive that people of the opportunity to decide its fate on its own. Everything the United States plans to carry out with the assistance of the Camp David deal is intended above all to strengthen its military presence in the Middle East and further to militarize that region, where too many weapons have al- ready been accumulated. These goals and only these goals are served by the agreement reached between Washington and Tel Aviv on "strategic co-operation". 187. If one takes a careful look at that agreement, one can easily see that it is one more step towards the forma- tion of an American-Israeli military alliance. It is signifi- cant that this alliance was born out of the notorious Camp David process, which they tried to advertise as the begin- ning of an era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East. Now this promised peace has been turned into an in- creased United States military presenc~ in the region and a further growth of Tel Aviv's aggressiveness. The new steps by the United States and Israel are also evidence of a significant expansion in the scale of imperialist inter- ference in the affairs of Arab States and that United States 188. The delegation of the Byelorussian SSR has sup- ported in the past and supports at this session all General Assembly resolutions condemning Israel's aggressive ac- tions, the efforts of Israel to consolidate its hold on the seized Arab territories, any action by Israel to establish Israeli settlements on those lands, changing the status of Jerusalem, defiling the Arab historic, religious and cul- tural -monuments and acts of terror against the Palestinians and their leaders. All this must be considered an outright violation of international law, including the Geneva Con- vention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.2 It is also a serious obstacle to the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 189. We call for an end to the aggressive actions of Is- rael and its hirelings against the people of Lebanon and for guarantees of the independence, sovereignty and ter- ritorial integrity of that Arab State. We support the strengthening of the legitimate authority of the Lebanese Government over all the territory of its country and obser- vance of the legitimate interests of the Palestinian re- sistance movement in Lebanon. 190. .The Byelorussian SSR, like other countries in the socialist community, attaches great importance and sig- nificance to the contribution of the Arab peoples to ensur- ing lasting peace in the Middle East. The countries con- cerned-primarily the Arab countries-rightly wish to make every effort to work out agreements which can bring peace and tranquillity to the Middle East. How and where can all these efforts best be united? Where can we find the common denominator which can only be genuine peace in that region? It is our firm conviction that the answer to this question is to be found in the Soviet pro- posal to convene an international conference to work out a comprehensive Middle East. settlement, with the par- ticipation of all the parties concerned, including the PLO. 191. The fight for a comprehensive, just, political set- tlement of the situation in the Middle East and the exer- cise of the inalienable· rights of the Arab people of Pal- estine is in our view an organic component part of the efforts to eliminate the threat of war, to maintain and strengthen international detente and to give support to the peoples who are defending their national independence, freedom and social progress.

The crisis in the Middle East has been a cause of concern to the international community for some time now, since that region is one of the most sensitive centres in the world. The situation there, brought about by Is- rael's acts of aggression, continues to poison the interna- tional climate and defy efforts to make it healthier. The complex and conflicting interests of the various countries and the explosive nature of the situation in the Middle East constitute a serious threat to international peace and security. 193. Political experience ha.s shown that in order to do away with this hotbed of tension, the most critical in the world, it is imperative to put an end to the Israeli occupa- tion of all the Arab territories seized in 1967, to enable the Arab people of Palestine to exercise their inalienable rights, including the right to establish their own indepen- 194. In recent years Israeli militarism has constantly added to its already long list of crimes against peace and security. In this respect we need mention only the many occasions on which the world Organization and its prin- cipal organs have had to discuss these issues. Nev- ertheless, the scope of Israel's acts of aggression is be- coming broader, the effect of which is to increase the danger to peace throughout the world. The attack on the nuclear facility near the capital of Iraq is only one of many examples in this regard. At the same time, the bru- tal interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon is con- tinuing, while oppression of the populatior, in the oc- cupied territories is increasing. The arrogance of the aggressor, drunk with power, becomes increasingly threat- ening, particularly because of hS nuclear capability in the establishment of which close co-operation with the racist regime of South Africa has played its part. 195. The policy of "divide to rule" and of declaring whole regions "spheres of vital interest", together with the unrestrained increase in military supplies to that part of the world, the manoeuvres of the rapid deployment force and the strengthening of the American presence in the region, including the setting up of new bases, have proved once and for all that the reactionary forces of im- perialism disregard without a scruple the interests of the peoples and States of the Middle East and do not in the least desire an equitable settlement of the conflict. 196. This policy of ensuring American supremacy in the region has been made manifest once again of late with the signing of a memorandum of agreement on strategic co- operation between the United States and Israel, under the pretext of a so-called Soviet threat. This agreement shows clearly that imperialism intends to make ever more active use of "Israeli militarism to safeguard its interests in the Middle East. The aggressor, for its part, relies on the sup- port of its powerful protector in order to pursue its expan- sion and perpetuate its occupation of Arab territories, which once again proves the anti-Arab nature of the Israe- li-American alliance. 197. Interference in the internal affairs of Egypt and of its neighbours is intensifying, Nhile emergency measures are being instituted in the eastern Mediterranean and pres- sure is being brought to bear on Libya and the threats to its security are mUltiplying. The United States is adopting measures to create what are called multinational forces for the Sinai, which without a doubt introduces a fresh nega- tive anti-Arab element into the situation in this region. 198. This political line, far from eliminating tension from the Middle East, is making it worse and is increas- ing the danger to the peace and security of all tne peoples and countries in the region, without exception, including Israel itself. 199. That being so, the urgent need for a constructive alternative in this tense situation is more than obvious: constructive, frank and comprehensive dialogue likely to eliminate the last vestiges of Israeli aggression and of the Camp David policy, and to guarantee the rights of the Arab people of Palestine. The proposal made by the So- viet Union for convening an international conference on the Middle East is one constructive and suitable alter- 200. Of course, the conference could be successful only through frank, democratic and comprehensive dial9gue. Without doubt this would lead to progress in the search for an equitable settlement to the Middle East situation which would guarantee the security and independence of all the States of the region, which would be an important step towards the stabilization and strengthening of world peace. 20I . Clearly, the only ones who would not accept such an approach to the problem are those who are hatching aggressive plots in their own selfish interests. 202. My country is a sincere advocate of such an ap- proach, which would effectively ensure a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. That concern is a practical ex- pression of our peaceful foreign policy, a policy of self- less support for national liberation movements which the People's Republic of Bulgaria pursue~ as a socialist coun- try. Its interest in this regard derives also from the fact that it is geographkally close to the region. 203. Without a doubt, the efforts made by the interna- tional community, including those made within the frame- work of the world Organization, aimed at opening frank and comprehensive negotiations on the controversial prob- lems, are an important factor in ensuring victory for polit- ical wisdom and the principle of justic~. 204. A final and comprehensive settlement of the Mid- dle East problem would undoubtedly make for a healthier international situation and be a valuable contribution to the strengthening of peace and security throughout the world.

The General Assembly considers the conflict in the Middle East year after year, for that conflict constitutes the greatest danger to regional and international peace and security. And yet, year after year we find that the situation has deteriorated still fur- ther. As correctly described by the Secretary-General in his annual report on the work of the Organization, "The situation in the Middle East with all its complexities and ramifications continues to be of central concern to the en- tire international community, containing as it does an ex- plosive potential of conflict endangering world peace". [See A/36/l, sect. IY:] 206. In contemptuous defiance of the elementary norms of international conduct and in flagrant disregard of world opinion, Israel continues to pursue with impunity its am- bitions for a greater Israel. New settlements continue to be established. Old ones in the occupied territories con- tinue to be expanded. A policy of creeping annexation is systematically pursued to change the demographic, histor- ical and cultural features of the ancient land of Palestine, 207. The past year has seen a new and more ominous escalation of this Israeli policy. There is blatant aggres- sion against neighbouring Arab States. Lebanon is today the primary focus of this wanton attention. The bombard- ment of Beirut last July alone resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and chil- dren. Palestinian refugee camps have become a daily tar- get of Israeli terrorism practised as a conscious act of State policy. 208. These acts of terrorism are not only confined to Israel's immediate neighbours, but extend as far as Israeli aircraft can reach. Last June, the peaceful nuclear in- stallations of Iraq near Baghdad were bombed and de- stroyed. Not very long ago, Saudi Arabian airspace was violated; this was followed by an official statement from Israel that in view of Saudi plans to buy advanced mili- tary equipment from the United States, "Israel will treat the Saudis exactly as it treats every confrontation State". 209. It was reported today that the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights occupied by Israel in 1967 has been annexed illegally by Israel and that Israeli law and juris- diction. have been extended to it. We condemn this action as a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, and we regard it as totally null and void. It is a development with grim portents for the peace and securi- ty of the region and betrays Israel's true intentions when it talks of a Middle East settlement. 210. In the manner of a bully, Israel declares that it, and it alone, has the right to do what it pleases, to attack whomsoever it wants, to destroy whatever it desires and that it is not answerable for its actions at the bar of world opinion. The profound concern of the international com- munity over Israel's arrogance and defiance of interna- tionallaw has been expressed time and again. The records of the United Nations are replete with numerous resolu- tions of condemnation of Israel, both by the Security Council and by the General Assembly. Two emergency special sessions of the General Assembly have been con- vened to consider the Palestine question and the Middle East conflict. The Organization of the Islamic Con- ference, the non-aligned movement and almost all coun- tries have pronounced themselves in clear and unam- biguous terms on this situation. But Israel continues on its path of aggrandizement. A most sinister feature of Is- raeli .aggression is the occupation of the Holy City of Je- rusalem and the Zionist actions aimed at destroying the historical and spiritual character of the Holy City, whose unique position was preserved with such reverence and devotion during 13 centuries of Muslim rule. Israeli aa- tions to alter the status and character of the Holy City have stirred deep indignation throughout the Islamic world and profound concern in the international commu- nity... T~e ~ecurity Council, in several resolutions, has strongly censured these actions and has declared them to be. totally invalid. 217. Amongst those there has always been the voice of Poland, a country vitally interested in the consolidation of peace and the strengthening' of international security, a country presenting a firm and consistent position on the 21L IfJsrael is so impervious to the collective will of situation in the Middle East. Our stance on this issue de- the. world community, it is obvious that admonitions- will rives lom the fundamental premises of Poland's ,.foreign not help. The Security Council, as the organ of the policy. It stems from our concern for our future and ,that 212. The elements of a just and peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict remain immutable. A just and lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved with- out ensuring the complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from all the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, in- cluding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and the exercise by the people of Palestine of their inalienable national rights, including the right to establish a sovereign State of their own in their homeland. It is also recognized that there can be no Middle East settlement without the full and equal participation of the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. 213. Partial and one-sided strategies for a settlement or any agreements which exclude the PLO from the peace process cannot bring about a just and durable peace. Nor can such an approach be a substitute for the decisions of the United Nations contained in its resolutions, notably in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). We repeat that only a comprehensive plan which has as its goal the complete restitution of the inalienable and fundamental national rights of the Palestinian people can restore peace in the Middle East. 214. We salute the Palestinian people for struggling re- lentlessly for the restitution of their just rights. They have made great sacrifices, and their indomitable courage will surely bring them victory. Those who struggle for justice and freedom always triumph. That is the lesson of history, more particularly of contemporary history. 215. We in Pakistan have rendered whatever support we could, and shall continue to do so, to the Palestinian and Arab peoples until final victory is achieved. This resolve of ours stems from our commitment to the ideals of peace, freedom and justice and'from our deep devotion to Islamic causes. In the historic final communique, adopted at the Third Islamic Summit Conference of the Organiza- tion of the Islamic Conference, held at Mecca-Taif from 25 to 28 January 1981 [see A/36//38. annex IV]. the Is- lamic nations committed themselves to liberating the oc- cupied Arab and Palestinian territories and the Holy Places and to restoring the inalienable rights of the Pal- estinian people. as recognized by international law and the United Nations resolutions. Not until that objective is achieved will there be peace in the Middle East. Until then, the spectre of a wider conflict will continue to haunt the world.

This is not the first time that the General Assembly has been faced with the dan- gerou~ trends in the development of the situation in the Middle East. Its grave implications for international peace and security have been unequivocally underlined in this Hall many times throughout the years. The overwhelming majority of statements have reflected a genuine, deep con- cern and sincere efforts to reduce temiions in the region. 218. For years now we have been pointing out that a settlement which would bring HQsting security and peace to all States and peoples of the region can be reached only through a comprehensive and just solution in which the key issue is the question of ensuring independent statehood for the Arab people of Palestine. In his state- ment during the general debate at the current session, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Polish People's Re- public said, "Until such time as this issue is made an integral part of a comprehensive rather than a separatist formula, attempts to ease tensions in this region will re- main f~itless". [llth meeting, para. 139.] 219. Indeed, the development of the situation in the Middle East unfortunately does not encourage us to cher- ish hopes for a speedy restoration of peace to that vital region of the world. Israel's aggressive acts are reflected, inter alia, in brutal interference in the internal affairs of Lebanon and attw:J·~ on its population, provocations against Syria, ignoring toe rigbts of the Palestinian people and the bombing by the Israeli Air Force of the Iraqi nu- clear centre near Baghdad in June of this year, and those are but a few examples of that dangerous trend. Poland has strongly condemned all forms of Israeli aggression against the Arab countries and has voted accordingly on General Assembly resolutions dealing with those matters. 220. For years the Israeli authorities' policy of adven- turism has made it impossible to find a lasting and just solution to the Middle East crisis, a solution responding also to the vital interests of the Israeli nation itself. In the light of the illegal acts committed by Israeli authorities, it is clearly evident that there are forces which count on escalation of tension in the region and continue their efforts to block the settlement of this conflict that has lasted for more than 30 years. Those forces are responsi- ble for t~e heightened tension. They saturate the area with sophisticated armaments. The situation in the Middle East continues to cast a long, ominous shadow over interna- tional relations. 227. It is precisely now, when there is feverish activity on the part of the opponents of international detente and when the United States is proclaiming the Middle East and the Near East to be one of its most important spheres of vital interest, th~t attention should be drawn·to the fact that it is in that region that four armed conflicts have recently taken plac'~ which brought the world, in varying degrees, to the very brink of a global catastrophe. The present situation in the Middle East grows worse every day in line with the increase in Israeli aggressiveness and the appearance and implementation of new doctrines of imperialism. Whether the talk is of the doctrine of mus- cle-flexing, of strategic consensus or of declaring various regions of the world spheres of vital interest, the purpose and essence of those statements are purely and simply to arrogate exclusively to itself the right to control the natu- ral wealth of and approaches to the Middle East and the Persian Gulf and at the same time secure its own military presence in that conflict-ridden strategic region of the world. Therefore, using the obsolete Camp David accords and the slogan 9f strategic partnership, that Power has embarked upon the course of strengthening its own mili- tary presence from Suez to the Persian Gulf, counting on the fact that by exacerbating the hotbed of tension in th~ 223. There is only one way to establish lasting peace in Middle East and alleging a so-called Soviet threat it can the Middle East, and that is by searching for a compre- s~rengthen its military bases in order to dominate that re- hensive, overall settlement on a realistic basis. A return to glOn. ~: ~ ~ ->.-_~ ===='''~:;:·~'~~f~X,..-.;¥t~~~~~?-~·''~''l=+ :;-::.~:tf.~~_. :=-:. 221. Tension in the Middle East persists, threatening a confrontation on a much larger scale. It might prove to be the pilot-flame of a wider conflagration; with disastrous consequences which are difficult to foresee. 222. It. is obvious, however, that the dangerous steps taken by Israel can only diminish the security in the re- gion and make the prospects for a settlement yet more distant. All peace efforts taken after the Arab-Israeli war of 1973 have so far been of no avail because of the total negation and neglect of the heart of the Middle East con- flict. The fIrst necessity is the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the occupied Arab territories, in- cluding Arab Jerusalem. Observance of the prins:iple of the inadmissibility of the occupation of foreign territory by force, and hence the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the territories which it has occupied by force, is a matter of principle which cannot and will not be short- changed by a piecemeal or separatist approach. the sec- ond necessity is the achievement of a just solution of the problem of Palestine on ~he basis of the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. 224. Such are the prerequisites for a just settlement in the Middle East. This position of my delegation and of other socialist States is shared, we believe, by a decisive majority of the members of the international community. 225. The difficulties and obstacles notwithstanding, we are detennined to work actively towards achieving the goal of restoring peace in the sensitive area of the Middle East. It has always been with that in mind that we have made our contribution to the common cause by concrete action. For eight years now, since October 1973, Poland has taken a direct part in United Nations peace-keeping operations. Only recently we reacted positively to the Secretary-General's request for the extension of our par- ticipation in UNOOF for another six months. Polish sol- diers have been serving with distinction and dedication under the United Nations flag. They selflessly carry out their responsible mission, thus giving yet one more proof of our strong commitment to the cause of strengthening peace and security in the world.

In the joint communique of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the member States of the Warsaw Pact dated 2 December this year, it was stated that in the recent past: "There has been a fur- ther worsening of the international climate and an increase in the military threat and the threat to the freedom and independence of peoples as a result of the intensification of the imperialist policy of force". In our opinion, that is an accurate characterization of the present international situation and is fully applicable to the situation in the Middle East, which is one of the most serious hotbeds of international tension, threatening international peace and security. 229. There has been an escalation of aggressive Israeli raids against Lebanon, a sovereign State Member of the Organization. Those raids have reached the scale of an undeclared war, in particular after the conclusion of the Camp David accords. In those attacks Israel has used the most sophisticated American weapons. All this is proof of the actual long-term character of that alliance. 230. This policy of expansion and ~mnexation in the Middle East is fully in keeping with Washington's new global strategy, which is intended to upset the established military balance in the world. Within the framework of that policy comes the establishment of the rapid deploy- ment force, which is prepared to undertake direct military intervention at any moment in that sensitive part of the planet. 231. These elements are trying to disguise their ambi- tions by equating terrorism with the legitimate struggles of peoples for national liberation. The propagandistic alle- gations of terrorism seem particularly cynical with regard to .the Middle East and the Near East, where it is pre- cisely imperialism that is giving material and military support to the forces of terror. New confirmation of this fact was provided by the Isra~li air attack against the Iraqi nuclear reactor, which showed that the ruling circles of Israel have elevated such behaviour to the level of State policy. That arbitrary act is only too obvious a reminder of the well-known first-strike concept, and surely the op- posite side of the coin is found in the attack by United States fighter aircraft on two Libyan aircraft in Libyan airspace in August of this year. 232. It is obvious that the complete liquidation of the hotbed of tension in the Middle East, the achit;vement of a genuine and comprehensive settlement and th~ estab- lishment of a just and lasting peace are not component parts of the policy being carried out by the imperialist and militarist circles of the West. furthermore, underlying that policy is a gamble on the continuing expansion of Td Aviv and the gradual capitulation of the Arab countries. The fact that these forces cannot crush the just struggle of the Arab peoples defending their rights and interests testi- fies to the futility of the attempts falsely to label the Camp David agreements a peaceful settlement. 233. A large part of the international community today clearly realizes that the policy of separate negotiations cannot lead to a genuine settlement. Given the eack- ground of the developments in the Middle East, it is now 234. The establishment of the so-called multinational force in the Sinai Peninsula next April is a continuation of the separatist Camp David settlement. The presence of United States forces, which are to replace the Israeli oc- cupiers, will just be a new source of tension in the re- gion. The real nature of that force cannot be improved by including contingents from other countries, including Western Europe, upon whose deployment the Pentagon is in fact counting. 235. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic has always stood on the side of the just struggle of the Arab people, and our position of principle is not subject to momentary, passing fluctuations. Ours has been a traditional anti-im- perialist alliance with the just national liberation move- ment of the Arab peoples. This position was once again confirmed in the joint statement adopted at the end of the official friendly visit by the General Secret?!'y CIf the Cen- tral Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslo- vakia, the President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Re- public, Gustav Husi:lk, to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in September of this year. In that joint statement they said: "The parties decisively rejected the Camp David . agreements, which constitute an element in the plot by Imperialism, zionism and reaction against the people of the Arab countries, in particular the Palestinian people, and condemned all these agreements and the conse- quences resulting from them. The high leaders con- firmed the solidarity of their countries with the Arab people of Palestine in their struggle under the lead- ership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestine people. They stated that the only possible way to a just and lasting peace in the Arab world is through the liberation of all occupied Arab territories and the guarantee of the legit- imate rights of the Arab people, including their right to return to their homeland, to self-determination and to establish their own independent State." 236. Czechoslovakia fully supports the view that it is high time to proceed to a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the situation in the Middle East. Therefore we for our part fully support the proposal of the Soviet Union to convene an international conference with the participation of all interested parties, a proposal made at the twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. We are convinced that that initiative offers a constructive means of achieving precisely that type of a settlement.

Throughout the past three decades the Middle East area has experienced dangerous and bloody events that have t.Irned it into one of the most serious hotbeds of tension ar..d cri~ " in the world, whereas for several centuries it had enjoyed stability and tranquillity and was. a true source of progress for civilization. The Zionist gangs and their racist, expansionist, Fascist regime were able to. oc- 238. In order to perpetuate that occupation, the Zionist authorities hastened to establish settlements in various parts of the occupied Arab territories after expelling the Arab inhabitants of those areas, demolishing their homes and murdering or imprisoning for long periods all those who opposed their designs. Israel's illegal occupation of the Arab and Pdlestinian territories, which has lasted for more than 30 years now, and its refusal to withdraw from those territories in any circumstances are the essential components of what is called the problem of the Middle East. Menachem Begin, in a speech last year in answer to President Jimmy Carter, said, "We are determined to go on building settlements, and we shall maintain the annex- ation of the West Bank. It would be absurd to claim that this is not the policy of the Israeli Government." Yitzhak Shamir, the Foreign Minister of the Zionist entity, says in an interview this week with the German magazine Der Spiegel that it is not possible to establish a Palestinian State in the territories now occupied by Israel, nor will it be possible to do so in the future, because the Pdlestinians have a homeland-by which he means Jordan. 239. The resolution adopted by the Knesset declaring Jerusalem the united and eternal capital of Israel is an- other example of Israel's violation of international law and legitimacy. This morning, we leamed through news agency reports and radio broadcasts that the Zionist entity had decided to apply its local laws to the Golan Heights in occupied Syria and to the Syrian citizens living in that area. That declaration is a decisive step on the path to the annexation of that Arab area by Israel. Iraq, deploring this new act of aggression, calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective action to de- ter Israel from implementing its new conspiracy and force it to rescind its latest measures .in regard to the Arab Golan. That conduct proves that Israel rejects the princi- ple of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and will continue to oppose it. In those circum- stances the Uni,ed States is clearly increasing Israel's mil- itary potential by supplying it with the most sophisticated arms and military hardware, without getting anything in return. It has thus transformed that entity into an arsenal of terrifying American weapons in order to maintain the entity's supremacy over the Arabs, thereby encouraging it to accelerate its aggression against the Arab countries. Is- rael has therefore continued to violate Lebanese sov- ereignty. Its aircraft have savagely bombarded Lebanon's largest cities, including Beirut, cJusing great material damage and the death of many pea~eful civilians. The Zionist entity has carried out aggression against Lebanon's vital services and installations. For example, the main bridges over the waterways of the country have been destroyed. 240. There has been another grave event in the Middle East region: the aerial attack by the Zionist entity on 7 June 1981 on the Iraqi nuclear research centre. That bom- 241. It is obvious today that the founders of the Zionist entity in Pdlestine drew up, from the very outset, plans for their occupation of Pdlestine with the idea in mind of possessing nuclear weapons as a means of blackmail against the Arab nation and in order to carry out their designs for expansion into the Arab territories, creating "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the Euphrates and ex- tending Zionist hegemony over the entire region, as well as preventing the Arab people from advancing, like other peoples, towards well-being and economic prosperity. 242. The Zionist entity, from the moment it was estab- lished in Palestine in 1948, was taken under the wing of American and colonialist circles, which viewed it as an advanced aggressive base for their aims of hegemony and influence in the Arab homeland. Hence, they provided the Zionist emity with broad economic, military and political support whidl made possible the building up of an ar- senal of modern weapons alld encouraged the Zionist en- tity to engage in repeated acts of aggression against the Arab nation. The United States has constantly taken care to maintain its alliance with the Zionist entity along the path that entity has followed-a path of aggression and expansion. That alliance recently culminated in the con- clusion of a strategic agreement, dated 30 November 1981. The agreement must be regarded as a specific de- velopment in the alignment of the United States with Is- rael and a legal commitment by the United States to con- tinue to support Israel in its policy of occupation of the Arab territories and the city of Jerusalem and plunder of the national rights of the Palestinian people. It also helps Israel to intensify its policy of aggression. it will, further- more, cause a postponement in the search for a just peace in the Middle East, transforming the region into a hotbed of international rivalries. It will do very great damage to the vital interests of the Arab nation and to international peace and security. 243. By this action the United States reveals the falseness of its previous claims that it desired a peaceful and just solution of the problem, just as it reveals the despicable role played by the United States in complicating the situation in the Middle East by placing itself in a sit- uation of confrontation with the Arab States and showing hostility towards them. The attempts made in recent months by Alexander Haig, Secretary of State of the United States, to convince some Arab countries of the existence of an imaginary danger other than the Zionist danger-one which would require abandoning the strug- gle with Israel, and even perhaps co-operating with it- failed miserably because the Arabs see no other enemy and no other danger to themselves and to their future se- curity, independence and sovereignty than Israel and its allies, headed by the United States. 244. If we admit th~t the Zionist occupation authorities have the force today to engage in acts of aggression and to attack and occupy the territory of others, must we ad- mit also that they have the right to use that force against the peoples of the region'? We think that Israel, with its repeated acts of aggression, is a threat to peace and se- curity in the Middle East and other regions of the world. Hence, the international Organization has the obligation to discharge its duty by forcing the Zion!st entity to with- draw, without any prior conditions. from all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories and to recognize the in- 247. It is not realistic to assume that the legitimate owners will abandon the struggle for the recovery of their rights. The Palestinian people provides the best proof of this. Despite more than 30 years of the Fascist and racist policy of Israel, and despite terrorism, murder and ar- rests, the patience and steadfastness of that people in re- sisting and struggling to recover its rights are confirmed every day. That is why we so greatly admire'that people and the able leaders of the PLO, 248. The continuous tension and the bloody events in the occupied Arab territories give us the clearest proof of the failure of the international policy followed in the Mid- dle East, which has enabled Israel to persist in violating the international will. We must refer here to the United States policy on the Middle East problem and the Arab- Israeli conflict. It is a prejudiced policy, always to the advantage of Israel, which the United States supports all the time at the expense of the Arabs and their legitimate rights. I!. ael is always supported and helped in all milir tary and financial fields by the United States. That entity is always helped in all international activities and forums and is protected from the sanctions that would otherwise be imposed by the Security Council. AJI the matters that I have, mentioned enable that entity to continue to occupy the Arab lands and to reject all the solutions aimed at a just solution of the problem. 251 . Other official Iranian sources have also confirmed that military collaboration, for on 25 November Mr. Rafsanjani, the head of the advisory council in Iran, said that his country had acquired military hardware and weap·· ons from the Zionist entity. He justified that by claiming that the value of the weapons was equivalent to a previous loan that Israel had to repay to Iran. There was further confirmation of this co-operation in what Mr. Hassan Nazih. the first president of the Iranian oil company, ap- pointed by Khomeini, told Ad-Dastour, a magazine pub- lished in London, that Khomeini had sent one of his rela- tives to London in February 1980 to investigate, with an agent of the Zionist entity, 'the possibility of acquiring military hardware from Tel Aviv: Mr. Fatimi, one of the aides closest to Khomeini, mentioned that Iran had paid 249. The Arab nation does not see in the Camp David large sums to Israel in order to break the international accoms or in the agreemen~ stemming from iliem,an~~=~e:~:g:_W=h~:>:~:een imposed_:_lra~: __ ,_ ...=_~ 250. After the conclusion of one phase of the Camp David accords, the Zionist entity moved its aggressive practices, causing still more tension in the area and preju- dicing i.ts interests by taking part in the conflict between Iraq and Iran. It concluded with Iran an agreement to pro- vide it with military hardware, with the aim of prQlonging the war and encouraging the Iranian regime to persist in it, without ever listening to the voice of reason, without accepting the mediation offered by the' non-aligned move- ment, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the special repr~sentative of the Secretary-General. That mili- tary collaboration of Iran with the Zionist entity has been officially confirmed. In an interview with Ted Koppel of ABC television, held after an Argentinian aircraft crashed on Soviet territory with a shipment of weapons from Tel Aviv to Teheran, the then President of Iran, Bani-Sadr, S'did that he had refused to deal with Israel and that in official meetings the Iranians, instead of concerning them- selves with that, should have agreed with Iraq to establish peace. He added that he had failed in his efforts because of the clergy's fear that if there were peace with Iraq the Iranian army would overthrow them. 253. Co-operation between the two regimes of Iran and Israel continued and developed until it reached the form of agreement tha.t provided for the continuance of Israeli technical, military, and other assistance. In November is- sues of a United States newspaper published in Chicago and of the British newspaper The Observer it was reported that Iran received military equipment, arms and spare parts from Israel from the very first days of the war in September 1980. These supplies reached Iran through a third party, the Netherlands, and Dutch ships carrying the supplies would deliver their consignments to three main ports, that is, Chahbar, Bandar Abbas and Bushire. The Israeli newspaper Ha' aretz published an article which said that, according to information gathered from official sources in Israel, Israeli exports to Iran were worth $40 million by the beginning of 1981. As for the news- paper Ma'ariv, which is published in Israel, it indicated that weapons had been sent to Iran during the month of February 1980 and that there was a third party, which was European, involved in that process. 254. It is natural that the Israeli authorities should have been so secretive about this relationship before the Argen- tinian aircraft crashed in Soviet territory in order not to embarrass Khomeini, especially since he pretends to be hostile to Israel. 255. When an ABC correspondent contacted a responsi- ble Zionist official, who refused to give his name, to ask him about the volume of co-operation, the Zionist offi- cial's answer was that it was better not to discuss tha-t matter in' public..Despite that, the correspondent, Bill Seamans, said in an interview that he did not doubt for a single moment the truth of the information concerning the Iranian-Israeli co-operation. 256. An expert in Israeli affairs, Mr. Orivate, said that Israel considers Iraq to be the most serious threat to it, and that is why they support Khomeini. 257. International zionism and the Zionist entity are not the only forces that have tried, with the support of inter- national imperialism, to extend their aggression at"the ex- pense of Arab rights. Iran, under its successive Govern- ments, has the same t~oal. Despite the fact that Iraq sincerely welcomed the new regime in Iran, that regime's intentions were hostile and it deliberately tried to bring about a serious crisis between the two countries, follow- ing which it unleashed an aggressive war against Iraq on 4 September 1980. 25:. The Iranian regime has often claimed that it is an ally of the Arab revolution and is in solidarity with the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. This is nothing but f~!"ence between the claims of the Iranian rulers and their ~':.",:j! conduct, which is devoid of any values or principles. In fact, there is not a single piece of evidence that proves the serious intention of the Iranian regime to establish proper relations and a true alliance with the Arabs and to stand bv them in the cause of Palestine. 259. We have read the report of the Secretary-General [A/36/655] submitted in accordance with General Assem- bly resolution 35/207, in paragraph 9 of which the Secre- tary-General is requested to "report to the Security Council periodically on the de- velopment of the situation and to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session a report covering the developments in the Middle East· in all their as- pects". We wish to p.1y a tribute to the Secretary-General for the efforts he made in compiling that report. However, al- though the report contained an account of the events in the area, we should have liked it to be more comprehen- sive and to review in more detail the development of the situation and the aggressive practices of the Zionist entity in all their aspects. 260. The United Nations has adopted many resolutions calling for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Arab and Palestinian occupied territories, including the city of Jerusalel!l, the abolition of all the illegal meas- ures adopted by the Zionist entity to change the histor- ical, demographic and .Arab character of those territories and for the restoration of the inalienable national rights and the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian peo- ple. The resolutions have specifically recognized the right of the Palestinians to return to their homeland and have repeatedly condemned the terrorist practices and policies of the Zionist entity in the occupied Arab territories and its attempts to annex them to form a "Greater Israel", as well as its attempts to impose its colonial dumination over the Palestinian people. But Israel, in spite of these resolu- tions, has persisted in rejecting the solutions of the United Nations and in defying the judgement of the international community. 261. The international community should not allow an arrogant and intransigent State to continue its challenge and to obstruct all the avenues to'a just and lasting solu- tion of the conflict in the Middle East. The United Na- tions must take up this flagrant challenge by the racist Zionist regime and compel it to comply with its resolu- tions, in order to achieve its primary aim-that is, to es- tablish a lasting and just peace in the region aild to ensure the prevalence of peace throughout the world. 262. Before concluding, I wish to deplore and protest strongly the terrorist action of the American authorities two days ago in extraditing a Palestinian youth, Ziad Abu Eain, who had been detained in Chicago for two years, to the enemies of his people, the Zionists in the occupied territories, in contravention of all international norms and laws, as a result of a false allegation which has no basis in law. This criminal act of the American Administration will be added to a record already full of criminal actions 264. It is clear that the Arab peoples did not ask the trusteeship Power at the time to establish a foreign settle- ment by bringing together hundreds of thousands of per- sons in the name of a doubtful right. 265. It is also clear that the Arab peoples did not ask for the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of their broth- ers to make way for victims of pogroms and other atroci- ties, which we censure but for which we have no respon- sibility and which can hardly justify the atrocities and crimes of every kind committed against innocent Arab populations. 266. It is even more obvious that no Arab country asked for the persistent refusal of Pdlestinian rights, even less for innumerable acts of aggression and the occupation of its lands. More than any other forum, the Assembly has heard and lived through Israel's unceasing aggression in the Middle East. Since its establishment by a conditional resolution of the United Nations, Israel 'has practised artfully every known form of terrorism, aggression, ex- pansionism and fraudulent manipulation of international public opinion by blackmail and lies. But public opinion, thanks to the sustained resistance of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples, and 'also because of the emergence on the international scene of previously dominated people, is becoming increasingly aware of the tragic truth of the Middle East situation. 267. The curtain is raised and raised high. The tragedy of the Middle East did not come about because of the wish of the victims of anti-Semitism to find a refuge in order to live in peace. It was born of a European colonial "·hilosophy of the last century pointlessly to dispose of ~ands, people and resources of colonial territories because "their backward peoples cannot look after their own affairs". But thanks' to the patriotic struggle in Pdlestine, the Zionist dream could be achieved only in part, at the taU end of traditional colonization. Thus, what we are liv- ing through in Pdlestine is the vicissitudes of outdated colonization, which would not like to claim that title but whose face cannot be hidden with all the guile in the world. 273. However, and despite Israel, the Middle East is still the Middle East. In this context the Arab peoples continue to refuse any peace based exclusively on the en- 268. The year that is drawing to a close will have been emy's terms and unanimously reject the Camp David very lich again in examples showing that this tragedy of agreements because they leave out the essential fact of the decolonization, because of the economic and emotional Israeli-Arab conflict: the question of Palestine. More par- weight of the Middle East, holds immense dangers for the ticularly, the Palestinians are demonstrating, within and entire world. This year again we have seen greater forms outside the occupied lands, that their people is united un- of repression against the Palestinian population in the oc- der the sole banner of the PLO. cupied lands. Nothing has been spared us, from the clos- ing of universities and the suspension of newspapers ~o 274. The delegation of the Islamic Republic of the assassination of young and innocent victims and other Mauritania today as always reiterates its country's position acts of terrorism. The brutal and pointless bombing of on the problem of the Middle East. First, no power in the populous quarters of Beirut recalls to us all that if the world can impose on the Middle East a foreign presence practices and pretexts of nazism still exist, they are to be which does not respect its cultural values, its ancient found in Israel. Another development on which the inter- heritage, its dignity and the, rights of its peoples to lib- national community could not look impassively was the erty. Secondly, there will be no definitive peace without bombing of the Tamuz plant for the use of atomic power, the total and unconditional withdrawal of the forces of which gave rise to an instructive discussion a few \Veeks occupation fr~m all Palestinian lands and other occupied ago in this same Hall. This year has also been marked by territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem. Thirdly, 269. The list is undoubtedly long, but now today this determination is strikingly illustrated..by the news we have just had concerning the decision, ratified this very day by the Knesset, to annex the Syrian Golan, under the dis- guise of applying Israeli laws in the occupied Syrian ter- ritory. My Government condemns this act of piracy and appeals to the Assembly and the Security Council to con- demn this new episode in the deliberate escalation of Israeli action in the Middle East. 270. There is nothing really new in. the Israeli attitude. There is only the deliberate will to trivialize the prob- lems, to make the Organization become used to faits ac- complis. All this finds its source in the persistent will to obliterate from our memories the word "Palestine", which is the cornerstone and the deep-seated reason for the Israeli-Arab conflict. 271. Israel, which has indeed accustomed us to its dis- dain for the decisions of the Organization, today wishes to dictate humiliating conditions to European Powers, whose' only crime is their timid recognition of the Pcllestinian reality. This overweaning arrogance has its roots in the extreme sensitivity of a country for which peace has never been the goal and whose strategy has always used confrontation as the only real and permanent factor. 272. This year too has been marked by the announce- ment of a strategic alliance between Israel and the United States. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mauritania said in the general debate: "The Islamic Republic of·Mauritania sincerely hopes that the United States, which in spite of everything must remain a friend of the Arab world, will not take this stance, which has unpredictable consequences and which is in any event not in keeping with the many interests of a great nation which takes on world-wide responsibilities." [33rd meeting. para. 63.] We reiterate that position and we hope to see it realized. 275. The United Nations, which to our mind remains essential for wcrld-wide understanding, peace and justice, will have to continue considering the question with lu- cidity, patience and firmness. We must not give in to Is- rael's manoeuvres designed to wear us down and have its faits accomplis accepted, make light of its crimes against the rights of peoples, tire out the universal conscience and burden it with guilt. More than ever the United Nations should multiply all the instruments of investigation in order to make sure that world public opinion is informed on all the aspects, avowed or covert, of Israeli practices against the people of Palestine and other Arab peoples and, consequently, against the stability of the Middle East and the peace of the world.. 276. The General Assembly must repeat its condemna- tions made previously and add to them if necessary, thus showing our refusal to accept or even simply to tolerate a policy based on racism, denial of human rights and the rights of peoples and scornful defiance towards interna- tional agreements. 277. Mr. M'RANI ZENTAR (Morocco) (interpretation from French): A few days ago the General Assembly was studying the Palestinian problem, which for decades now has been one of the problems of greatest concern to the international community. Today the Assembly is taking up the problem of the Middle East. In fact, this is one and the same question, one and the same situation, the SItua- tion caused by the injustice done by Israel to the Palestin- ian people and also the dramatic consequences which that has for the stability, peace and security of the Arab coun- tries and for all the countries in the entire region. 278. Since the end of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1948 the strategists of zionism have methodically planned the unrelenting process which was to lead them by successive stages, illustrated by- periodic wars of ag- gression, to achieve one day their ultimate goal. that of "Greater -Israel", to the detriment.of the Palestinian peo- ple, who were the first to be driven from their homes, and also to the detriment of the other Arab peoples whose international frontiers were for Israel nothing more than provisional lines which the Zionist State felt it had a right to modify unilaterally according to the needs of the mo- ment, needs which are renewed again and again. 279. Sometimes the lines which Israel dreamed of were intended to restore the historic limits of the State, which as everyone must know ran from the Nile to the Euphra- tes, encompassing a large number of territories located Hin the very heart of Jewish history". Sometimes these limits were dictated bv the so-called securitv needs of Is- rael and to come up· with supposedly defensible natural frontiers, whether they were the Suez Canal. the banks of the river Jordan, the Golan Heights or Lebanese territory; but each new acquisition of territory by force implied a reorganization of the so-called defensive system, until there were no limits to the voracious app~tite of Israel. 281. In only the past year the international community has several times had striking proof of the improper, ex- cessive and unjustified use by Israel of its lavish military machinery to attack its neighbours without justification and in all sorts of circumstances. We have witnessed the unprovoked attack on the peaceful Iraqi nuclear installa- tion near Baghdad, which was condemned unanimously by the Security Council not only because it was aggres- sion against an innocent country, but also because it did serious damage to the credibility of the international sys- tem of control over the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We have also seen with very great concern increasingly flagrant Israeli acts of provocation against the Syrian armed forces, particularly in the skies over Lebanon or in the positions they hold in Lebanon as part of the Arab peace-keeping force. Those are provocations whose con- sequences could be extremely grave, given the present precarious balance in the region. 282. The bloody attacks against the populated areas of Lebanon and the populous neighbourhoods of Beirut have given rise to a justified world movement of serious criti- cism and unreserved condemnation of such inhuman and irresponsible behaviour towards the people of a peaceful country which has several times already been'harmed physically, materially and psychologically. I should like to reaffirm here my country's solidarity with the Lebanese people in their struggle for unity, territorial in- tegrity and respect for their national sovereignty and all the rights deriving therefrom, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations and with international law. 283. Moreover, on the subject of Lebanon, the Twelfth ~rab Summit Conference, held at Fez in November, unanimously adopted a very relevant resolution4 the sin- cere implementation of which, together with the efforts of all the Lebanese people themselves, will certainly make it possible for that people to achieve its legitimate goals in its national territory. 284. In Palestine and in the other occupied Arab territo- ries the Israeli military authorities are continuing their op- pressive, arbitrary action against the people, in particular the young people, whose schools and universities are often closed by authoritarian administrative measures, while students are arrested or expelled on the most ridiculous charges. Many houses have been blown up by the Israeli army in the course of measures of blind collec- tive reprisal such as were the custom in Europe during the reign of nazism and fascism. 285. In administrative terms, Israel has _developed ruthles~ly its policy of outright Judaization of Jerusalem and the occupied Arab territories through the application of arbitrary measures intended to modify the economic, political and demographic structures of the territories by the forcible transfer of populations and the concomitant establishment of armed Jewish settlements in the midst of Arab territory. As a striking example of this permanent policy of conquest of the territory of others and its illegal annexation. today we have learned that Israel has for all practical purposes annexed the Syrian Golan Heights un- der cover of a law that will extend the Israeli judicial system. administration and legislation to that area. Such 286. At the historic Third Islamic Summit Conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, held at Mecca-Taif in January, the Islamic community reacted by reaffirming its commitment to the Palestinian people, un- til its just cause triumphs for the liberation of Jerusalem and· the other occupied Arab territories. RIrthermore, the Organization of the Islamic Conference reaffirmed its de- termination to work for a just peace in the Middle East, for harmony among peoples, respect for human rights and the establishment of international relations based on noble principles free of the use of force and of any kind of oppression, exploitation or infringement of the dignity of the human being. 287. In the Arab context, the Arab Summit Conference held at Fez at the invitation of His Majesty King Hassan II studied the situation in the Middle East in the light of the important developments in the present crisis. The Saudi plan, known as the Rthd plan,3 is one of the best contributions to peace which we have been offered in the recent past, and it particularly occupiej the attention of the participants in the first phase of this Arab Summit Conference. This plan. which in reality is addressed to the entire world, has proved that the Arab countries, through their history and civilization, are capable of mak- ing the most positive and most appropriate contributions to the peace and well-being of mankind. At the second stage of the Arab Summit Conference at Fez it will be possible, we are sure, to adopt appropriate specific meas- ures which can be immediately implemented. 288. In the mean time. Israel has tried to involve the international community in a labyrinth of truncated plans, which at most offer a probable Palestinian autonomy un- der political conditions which are unacceptable to the re- sponsible, emancipated Palestinian people, which for dec- ades has been carrying out an admirable struggle under the guidance of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative, to re-establish its inalienable right to create an indepen- dent State in Palestine, including the Arab city of Jerusa- lem. 289. .There can be no solution to the Midqle East prob- lem without a solution to the Palestinian problem, and there can be no solution to the Palestinian problem with- out the effective participation of the PLO in the negotia- tions to re-establish peace in the entire region. 290. The international community, which today admits this obvious fact and which has reaffirmed it in many resolutions adopted by ever larger majorities, must take all concrete measures necessary to implement such a clearly and solemnly expressed determination. That is the fervent wish of my delegation.

~ln accordance with the provisions of resolution 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, I call now on the observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Fourteen years ago, the so- called Middle East crisis was not among the concerns of the world, nor was it among the problems before the in- ternational Organization. The single concern and the only 294. Since the emergence of the question of Palestine, we, along with many peoples and Governments around the. world, have been warning what the dangerous conse- quences of the situation could be if a solution- is .not found in accordance with the rules of right and justice. Unfortunately, all those warnings failed to elicit the re- quired response. The situation has deteriorated and the war has taken on such proportions in the area that today we have before us two questions instead of one. The fIrst has been on the agenda of the General Assembly for over 30 years, the second for 14. 295. We wonder whether it is useful again today to warn that if the question of Palestine is not resolved, the question of the Middle East will not be resolved either, and in that case, we should expect a further deterioration of the situation which would bring us face to face with a third crisis that would certainly reach beyond the borders of the Middle East. Signs of that deterioration loom over the hprizon already, foretelling ominous events; thus, no one will have any excuse if a volcano erupts, drowning all in a flow of blood and fire. 296. First and most worrying among those warning signs is the persistence of the State of the Zionist entity in its colonial expansionist policies, its terrorist practices ~gainst the people of Palestine and its refusal to withdraw from the occupied territories heedless of world public opinion. What is happening today in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is adequate evidence of that. 297. The second sign is the continued aggression against Lebanon, its people, the Palestinians who have been forced to take up residence in Lebanon and other Arab States. The Zionists' greed to expropriate additional Arab lands and water and their .desire to impose hegemony over the A(ab States are the two major· reasons for the suffering of fraternal Lebanon as a country and as a people. Representatives should not be taken in by the crocodile tears shed by the head of the Israeli delegation when he speaks about Lebanon while his Government swallows another piece of that country every day. 298. The third warning sign is the Zionist attempt to Judaize the Golan Heights, as a preliminary step towards annexing it to Israel. That happened with Jerusalem and with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. All this confirms that Israel has entirely renounced any recourse to political action and refused to withdraw from the territories it oc- cupies by force of arms. The Government of Israel has spared me the effort of providing any proof of this with the step it took two days ago, during this session, as if to tell us all that the Organization and its resolutions are worthless. This is really the height of arrogance, indif- ference and lack of respect for international will. 299. The fourth sign' is Israel's insistence on prev.enting the Arab States from making any progress in the develop- ment of their economic, cultural and scientific capa- bilities. That attitude took concrete form in the bomb- ing of the nuclear reactor in Baghdad. What is worse still 300. The fifth warning sign is Israel's boasting about its ability to violate Saudi Arabia's airspace to photograph bases and airports, citing the same pretexts and logic, to the effect that such acts of defiance and provocation are necessary for Israeli security. 301. The sixth sign is Israel's project for building a ca- nal linking the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, an act that suggests-even proves-that it is in no way consider- ing withdrawing from the occupied territories or respect- ing international law, which prohibits theft and usurpa- tion. - 302. The seventh warning sign is the Zionist promotion of Jordan as the homeland ef the Palestinians. Following the failure of the imperialist-Zionist plot to resettle the Palestinians in Lebanon-a- failure caused by the alertness of the Palestinians and Lebanese-Israel started to pre- pare a new plot in another Arab country, namely, Jordan. We are fully confident that that plot will not succeed; Jor- danians and Palestinians will ensure its defeat. The Pal- estinians will not accept any homeland other than Pal- estine. 303. These signs have culminated in a strategic co-oper- ation project between the United States and the usurping, intruding racist State. That great Power-which is deeply involved in its submission to Isr&eli blackmail and which a few days ago handed over to the Israeli occupation au- thorities the innocent Palestinian citizen Ziad Abu Eain- does not uphold law and conscience and sets little value on relations with Arab States which it considers friendly. That American position, which places honourable militant opposition to occupation and oppression on the same foot- ing as ordinary crime, does not harm us as much as it harms the reputation, prestige and credibility of the Gov- ernment of the United States of America. In this regard, our only concern is that all the Arab peoples should real- ize that, according to that American position, they have become in the eyes of the United States Government bands of ordinary criminals, for every Arab is an image of Ziad Abu Eain and his like--militants rejecting oc- cupation and any form of oppression and colonialism. 304. What are we to conclude from all this? The only conclusion possible is that while we attempt to solve 309. Tomorrow or the day after; the Assembly will problems that have been outstanding for decades, Israel adopt a number of draft resolutions all calling, in the fi:. and its great ally act to create new realities, that is, new nal analysis, for a political solution that will guarantee problems which will soon become included among other peace and stability for the area and defuse the situation items on the Assembly's agenda awaiting solution. which has already lasted for 30 years and tltre'atens to • explode into an enormous conflagration. We all sincerely 305. The Israelis and the Americans may be encouraged hope that those resolutions will be implemented without by the results of their continued transgressions and pol- delay in order to avoid a horrible tragedy that we would icies of force and oppression, for they have nor yet re- be unable to confront and contain and in the face of ceived the punishment that they deserve from our Arab which we would be helpless. If that happened it would be nation. For how long will they continue to gamble on the futile to stand here expressing sorrow and wishing that we Arabs submitting to humiliation and contempt and not had been aware enough to foresee the tragedy and that. we settling their differences and uniting in a battle that will had done what we could to solve the root problem, the be decisive for their destiny and their very existence? question of Palestine, which precipitated the Middle· East Those who have read Arab history know that no con- crisis and which threatens to engulf the entire' world. ~t queror or occupier has been able to remain for ever in our was here in the Assembly that the question of Palestine -...:::::;. Those fuat.~mal=:,:~:.,::=~ .=::,~,:~:!:~:~:~~":=::,.~_. 307. The leaders of the Zionist enemy, in order to jus- tify their policies based on the myth of everlasting mili:- tary superiority, have reiterated that the Arabs can afford to lose more than one war, while Israel cannot afford to lose a single battl~, for such a loss would mean an end of Israel. Listening to such talk, is there not one Jew in Is- rael who asks "What if that happens?" This is a pos:- sibility, if not today, then tomorrow; if not this year,then next year, or in 10 years, or in the following 10 years. If it happens, the only response will be that what was taken by forc~ was recovered· by force; force made Isr~el and force will break Israel. Those that impose their logic must bear its consequences. Has that not been for thousands of years the destiny of those that depend for life and survival on force alone, without any respect. for the principles .of right and justice and the stability uf peace? 308. We Palestinians, together with the Arab nation, notwithstanding the aggression against our land, agai~st our rights and against the lives of our children,and de- spite the fact that we have a just cause, as attested to by the international community as a whole, are careful to avoid bloodshed and shorten the time of tragedies ana wars. We bore the olive branch along with the gun and allowed the entire world to discuss the case, assess it and pass judgement. The Assembly has announced the verdict many times, but there is no way to get Israel to change its mentality, arrogance and superiority complex, for it can rely on the support of a strong ally which tries to give credibility to its need to continue its absurd acts of hooliganism instead of restraining it and checking such behaviour. That ally should put Israel on a straight course and persuade it to adopt other values that would guarantee its survival and save generations of its sons from blood- shed. - 311. It is now almost 35 years that the General Assem- bly has been discussing the question of the Middle East. During that period innumerable efforts have been under- taken to find a way out of this conflict, which is, to say the least, most serious because it threatens international peace and security. furthennore, it sometimes causes doubt about the ability of the Organization to deal with it. 312. Indeed, tension and violence continue to be the main characteristics of the situation in that part of the world,.despite the efforts made by the United Nations to find a just and lasting solution to -the problem. This in no way means that the United Nations will be for ever inca- pable of promoting a peaceful settlement of that question. Indeed, the lack of a settlement has depended rather less on the nature of the problem than on the various ap- proaches in seeking a solution to it, approaches which, in my delegation's opinion, did not take sufficiently into ac- count the central nature of the Palestinian question in the Middle East conflict. 313. The Assembly has, fortunately, undertaken a re- view of those approaches in the light of experience for some years now. It was in that spirit that six years ago it established, for example, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, over which my country has the honour of presiding. Since its establishment the Committee has tried to arrive at a pre- cise definition of the rights of the Palestinian people and has made recommendations on the subject to the Assem- bly: In a number of resolutions the Assembly has en- dorsed the recommendations of the Committee and has called for their implementation. After more than 30 years of useless attempts, .of lack of understanding and armed conflict, a broad consensus has now emerged on the com- ponents of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Need we recall that this consensus is based on withdrawal by Israel from all the territories that it occupies by force, the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights to self-detennination and to the establishment of an independent State in its homeland, recognition of and re- spect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of the States of the region and of their right to live in peace within recognized boundaries, and, fi- nally, a settlement with the full and responsible participa- tion of the PLO, the legitimate representative of the Pal- estinian people. 314. That consensus within the international community could be given effect if the Security Council, the organ specifically responsible for the maintenance of interna- tional peace and security, were to decide to endorse the proposals for the comprehensive political solution of the Palestinian question. That body continues to maintain an approach to the problem based on the provisions of a res- olution which, although of course important and interest- ing; is inadequate in itself because the central element of the problem, the Palestinian question, is taken up' only partially. 316. Among the prerequisites are withdrawal 'by Israel from the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, the discontinuance and dismantling of settlements in those ter- ritories, including Jerusalem, and observance of the Gen- eva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Per- sons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.2 311. I cannot close without saying something about the particularly tragic situation of the brother people of Lebanon. As everyone is aware, that country is subjected to continual aggression which endangers its territorial in- tegrity and sovereignty. The soldiers of peace of UNIFIL, to whom a tribute is due, are carrying out a mission made more difficult by the aggressions of Israel and con- frontat.ions occurring in that country. In reaffinning our consistent solidarity with the brother people of Lebanon, we should at the same time like to appeal to all the par- ties in Lebanon resolutely to turn to national reconcilia- tion to safeguard the unity of their country. 318. The lack of a solution to the Middle East conflict merely serves to accentuate the tensions, the foreseeable consequence of which is escalation towards another anned conflict, which, given the present circumstances, could be a precursor of generalized warfare. 319. The United Nations would be failing in its duty if it did not take effective preventive measures to stop a slide towards a world conflict. Duty, justice and peace make it imperative for us to take such measures without delay.

I shall now call on delegations that wish to exercise the right of reply. I remind them that in accordance with Gen- eral Assembly decision 34/401 first statements in exercise of the right of reply should be limited to 10 minutes and should be made by representatives from their seats.

In her statement this morning [96th meeting] the United States representative referred to my country. She accused us of engaging in acts of ter- rorism and destruction beyond our borders. While cate- gorically denying those groundless claims and allegations, I should like to review briefly the acts of sabotage and terrorism engineered by the United States itself beyond its borders. The books and articles by former high officials of the CIA of the United States concerning the conspir- acies in which they participated, with a green light from the American Administration itself, are sufficient to verify what I say. It is enough to' refer to the attempts of the CIA to assassinate President AlIende in Chile and Presi- dent Fidel Castro and to poison and assassinate the leader of the Libyan revolution, as mentioned 10 the American mass media and by officials in the Senate. 323. The United States violated our airspace and ter- ritorial waters in the Gulf of Sidra last August and has unleashed a virulent mass-media campaign engineered by the CIA, which represents Libya as having sent a so- called assassination team to kill President Reagan and other high officials of the American Administration. That campaign has not provided the least proof of the truth of that allegation. We. have refuted those fabrications more than once and have challenged the Americ~n Administra- tion to provide proof of the truth of its claims. We have also shown our readiness to have a committee of the United Nations or of the Security Council investigate such allegations. .. 324. The latest 1errorist act engineered by the American Administration against my country is its attempt to force American citizens working in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and living in security and peace there to leave Libya, fail- ing which they will be severely punished. This is an at- tempt to immobilize the oil industry in my country and to prejudice our national economy as a whole. 325. The question of Palestine can never be solved through the mediation of the United States or through its presence as a party to the Camp David accords, for the simple reason that the United States of America is a stra- tegic ally of Israel. It has recently signed a special agree- ment to that effect. Can the United States be a judge and a party at the same time? The United States of America provides assistance to the Zionist entity in excess of $15 million a day, in addition to providing information and expertise and qualified, trained American citizens, who are allowed to serve in the Israeli armed forces. The Zionist entity could not persist in its inhuman acts of ag- gression against the Palestinian Arabs within and outside the occupied territory-torture, murder, the demolition of houses, the killing of children and women, innocent civil- ians-·without the full material, political and moral sup- port provided by the United States of America. 326. The latest proof of the support the United States gives the Zionist enemy is its condoning of the Zionist decision to annex the Arab Golan Heights. This is a vio- lation of all international norms and principles and has been denounced by my country and all other peace-loving countries.

Like all my Arab colleagues, I was tempted over and over again to interrupt the Israeli representative on Friday [95th meeting]. His statement insulted not only Arab history and civilization, past and present, but also the intelligence of the members of the Assembly. If I restrained myself and did not interrupt it was because of my reaHza~ion that the more he spoke the more he contradicted himself, and the more he prattled the more the Assembly was exposed at first hand to the workings of the Zionist mind. 328. Last week we heard Mr. Blum review the Middle East situation, which demonstrated not only the ignorance of an alien to the region but also a unique brand of ar- rogance built into the Zionist colonialist mind. Mr. Blum passed sweeping moral judgements on Arab Governments and Arab civilization, past, present and future. He re- minded me of a child looking through his kaleidoscope, 329. His diatribe against the Ar3b people illustrated the famous notion of the late Jean-Paul Sartre, which is that oppression means above all the oppressor's hatred of the oppressed. That hatred was amply demonstrated in Mr. Blum's speech, demonstrating again Mr. Sartre's portrait of the dehumanized colonizer assuming "the opaque rigidity and imperiousness of stone". Mr. Blum, who rep- resents a colonial system implanted in the heart of the Arab nation, safe so long as he is protected by United States guns, cannot but be aware of the illegitimacy of his status, yet it is this same embarrassing status which he has to defend-that of a usurper. Therefore, he has to resort to both casuistry and sophistry in order to legit- imize his crime against the Palestinians, whose ghosts haunt every Israeli. In whose house, Mr. Blum, do you live? On whose land? How many Palestinians have to toil in order to pay your salary? As Albert Memmi would have told you, Mr. Blum, the more freely you breathe, the more the Arabs choke. 330. Yes, we do have problems in our region, both in- ternal and external, as we believe all other developing na- tions have. But surely you know that the Zionist entity is at the root of all our major problems. Was it not im- planted in this strategic region in order to start fires and feed them? 33 I. The Israeli representative's lecture analysing the Arab world-he put it in the form of the East to the West, the North to the South-demonstrated the vision of a usurper colonialist, who must have learned his termi- nology and based his theories on a recent article in the right-wing journal The New Republic by our colleague Mrs. Kirkpatrick, who, in her anxiety to prove the non- existence of an Arab nation, decided to divide the Arab regimes into authoritarian and totalitarian. Mr. Blum learned his lesson from his mentor and repeated it. Might we suggest that he go back to his source of inspiration and have his professor define which category Israel's mil- itary occupation and expansion and annexation fall into'! Is it totalitarian, is it authoritarian. or is it a democratic. benign occupation'! 332. Finally, the representative of the Zionist entity con- tradicted himself when he recognized in his speech on the situation in the Middle East that this item was a mere continuation of the preceding item on the question of Pal- esiine. Ironically, he thereby admitted, though unaware of doing so and though his intention.was both confused and confusing, that the core of the problem is that of Pal- estine. By doing so he confirmed exactly what he intended to deny, focusing on what he intended to blur- the indivisibility of the two items, of the Palestinian ques- tion and the situation in the Middle East. 333. But we shall not rest until the real criminals in (he Middle East tragedy are brought to justice, foremost among whom are the terrorists Begin and Sharon, who should immediately be put on trial for their war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In his statement last Friday on the item on the Middle East Iibid. ) the Zionist representative spoke of my country as if it were a dark jungle in which ferocious prehistoric 335. Iraq, which was called Mesopotamia in the past, established on the banks of its two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, one of the greatest civilizations, which· forged the early beginnings of the civilization of contem- porary man: Ur, Eridu, Babylon, Akkad, Ashur, Sumer and others, led by great men like Sennacherib, Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal and Nebuchadnezzar. 336. That representative, who claims to be civilized, has failed to read about the physician-philosopher Avicenna, or about AI-Kendi, AI-Razi, Gaber Ben Hayan, or lbn Khaldun, and others. Many of those famous men excelled in science, medicine, philosophy, astronomy and mathe- matics. Has he read anything about the flourishing of the Iraqi civilization during the Abbasid era? Did he learn anything about the library of Baghdad, which at the time '"Jas the greatest library in the world? 337. If this describes ancient Iraq, we wish to tell the Zionist representative that Iraq today is experiencing ac- celerated development and growth in all fields. Thousands of visitors to my country, from the highest officials to journalists and the representatives of foreign companies working there, see for themselves how Iraq races ahead at present in the battle for development. 338. Fran~ois Duriaud, the Middle East editor of the Reuters news agency, stated in a re!'ort from Baghdad that Iraq spends billions of dollars on economic develop- ment projects, despite the war being waged against Iran in- the last 15 months. He confirmed that commercial endeavours and reconstruction demonstrate a prosperity greater than at any time before. He referred in this COIl- text to the· fact that. 72 States participated in the Baghdad international fair this year, in addition to 2,200 foreign firms. He went on to say that no country in the third world is expanding economically as fast as Iraq, despite the costs of the war waged against Iran. That corre- spondent described the city of Baghdad as it prepares to host the summit conference of the non-aligned movement scheduled for September next year as an immense con- struction workshop, where the number of cranes exceeds the number of palm trees. 339. Everybody should know the meaning of the words ..Saddam al Takriti" used by the Zionist and Iranian rep- resentatives. Takrit is a town dear to the heart of Iraq and is linked to the ancient and modem history of Iraq. We are proud, as Iraqis and Arabs, that the town of Talcrit gave birth to Saladin, the great leader who liberated Pal- estine from Western colonialism, and to Saddam Hussein, who liberated Iraq from imperialism and dependence and put it on the road to complete independence in order to rejoin the ranks of the non-aligned. 340. I wish to ask about Begin, the Prime Minister, and Shamir, his Foreign Minister, as well as the President of his State. Where did they come from to usurp the -land of Palestine? Do we have a transformation of values in the 341. The Zionist representative's skill in falsification has led him to refer to Kurdish citizens, pretending not to know that the dissension that took place in northern Iraq was engineered by American-Iranian design using their well-known agent, Mustapha Barzani. Barzani died a few years- ago in one of the hangouts of the CIA and his body was sent on one of Khomeini's aircraft to be buried in Teheran. The Iraqi national regime, thanks to its deep conviction and by unifying all the national forces of the Kurdish people, was able to realize the Kurdish aspira- tions and to proclaim self-rule for the Kurdish area in 1971. On this basis, legislative and executive councils were established, and a number of Kurdish ministers par- ticipate in them. 342. The Zionist representative's attacks and manoeu- vres will not convince anyone. He is trying to divert the General Assembly's attention from the item under discus- sion, while all the countries of the world know well the practices of his Fascist, racist regime-the acts of murder, dispersion and terrorism against the people of Palestine and the barbaric acts of aggression perpetrated against the Arab· States-in flouting the resolutions of the United Nations and the calls of the international community which so often have condemned and deplored such acts and aggressive practices. 343. My delegation was not surprised by the statement of the Zionist reprefentative in defending its ally, the Ira- nian regime, after documents and the international media, including the Zionist press, disclosed the facts and details about providing the Khomeini regime- with Israeli military hardware and the Iranian officials' admission of that col- laboration. The Zionist leadership welcomed the war of Iran against Iraq. General Aharon Yariir, former director of Israeli intelligence and director of the Institute for Stra- tegic Studies at Tel Aviv University, proclaimed that Iran, thanks to its influence and power, played an important role in consolidating the presence of Israel, because of .. their mutual interests.and aims.

Words cannot even begin to describe the hypocrisy of the representative of Saddam Hussein. Nothing better than the various statements of the Iraqi representative of Saddam can describe his double standard and sheer hypocrisy. It is incredible that he could speak loudly and at length about the undeniable ag- gression of the Zionists against the Palestinians and their bombardment of southern Lebanon and not mention even one single word about Iraq's invasion and daily bombard- ment of civilian targets inside the Islamic Republic of Iran. 345. Tonight all that the representative of Iraq said was more lies about our so-called connection with the Zionist regime of occupied Palestine. Interestingly, the foundation of all his baseless allegations was the American and Brit- i:;h news media, which long ago lost their credibility and authenticity in the Western world and third-world coun- trie~,. I shall not digri:fy those baseless lies. Unlike the Iraqi representative, who gave quotations from Western news sources, I shall use our own sources. I repeat the statem made by the representative of the- PLO in Teheran. who refuted these baseless allegations and con- 347. We should like to make it clear that the Moslem people of Iran hold Saddam Hussein and his mercenary collaborators responsible for the crimes that they have committed and are committing daily against the Iranian people and reiterate in the most sincere way our determi- nation to resist the forces of barbarity in Iraq until ulti- mate victory. Saddam may try to cover up his barbarous crimes with massive propaganda for a short time, but he cannot prevent history from recording his ever-increasing criminal acts. 348. Documents have been found on Iraqi prisoners of war indicating that orders have been given to Iraqi sol- diers to execute on sight any Iranian Revolutionary Guards taken prisoner at the front. We know whom we have lost as prisoners at the front, and we shall await their return to the Islamic Republic of Iran sooner or later. Then we shall hold Saddam al TaImti responsible for every single one of our prisoners who does not return. 349. The degree of despotism and fascism of Saddam is not aimed against my country alone but is also aimed at the slightest opposition inside Iraq. It is so prevalent that Saddam has repeatedly declared, "Whoever shows any in- terest in ruling Iraq should expect a land without a peo- ple':. This is, of course, a clear reference to his intention of eliminating every Iraqi citizen in order to secure his own throne. Ironically, the defunct dictator Shah of Iran, befOre his overthrow, was making statemel1ts almost iden- tical to those of Saddam. The events of the last three years in Iraq bear witness to this fact. Besides executing innumerable ordinary citizens on the slightest suspicion, he even resorted to executing his own loyal Ba'athist col- . leagues as soon as they showed signs of disagreement with his own dictates.

·It is precisely due to the dependent nature of Saddam's regime that it has either to rely on outside forces for survival or to create a mecha- nism for the fabrication of lies and baseless allegations directed against my people to gain some badly needed credibility. We know for a fact that the main reason be- hind these ridiculous innovatiolls of the bloody Ba'athist Saddam is that he wants only te, divert the attention of world public opinion from the continuing illegal invasion of the Islamic Republic of Iran, against all international law and norms of behaviour, by the mercenaries of Saddam with the direct approval of world imperialism and international zionism. A vivid example of this genius of the blood Ba'ath is the repeated allegation made by Saddam's representative, including in today's session of the"General Assembly, that the Islamic Republic of Iran is allegedly racist in nature. But the Ba'athist henchmen . . Ill 350. An atmosphere of extreme fear and suspicion dom- inates the whole structure of the dreadful Ba'ath Hrrty in Iraq. Today it is a well-known fact in Iraq that no one can

I call on the representative of Iraq, who wishes to exercise the right of reply.

Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the opportunity to respond. The Iranian representative has spoken of ab- surd matters, and I do not believe that the representatives here doubt that such speeches, too, have become absurd. This interference in the internal affairs of Iraq is irrelevant because th~ whole world knows about the situation in Iraq. It is regrettable that the representative of Iran has repeated the same absurd pretexts and arguments stated by the representative of the Zionist entity. Thus I do not intend to answer the arguments he has stooped so low as to offer.

The representative of Iran has asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply a second time. I call on him. constitut~on that.the Iranian head of State must belong to the PersIan ethmc group". [Ibid., para. 300.] 355. Here we are not going to deal with this issue sim- ply because of that baseless allegation made by Saddam's repre.sentativ~, since we know, and they kno~ very well, that It was pIcked from the fruitful farm of their fabrica- tions and was put forward for one reason and one reason ~nly: so that the main issue, that is, the aggression car- ned out by Saddam's army against my country in clear violation of all international laws and agreements and the Charter of the United Nations, should be covered up. But we wiU try to use this opportunity to show representatives here and the whole of world public opinion the degree of bankruptcy and the low level of credibility surrounding the desperate regime of Saddam. 356. Article 115 of the Constitution of the Islamic Re- public of Iran states that: ,,"The President shall be elected from among religious and political personalities possessing the following qualifications: a natural born Iranian of Iranian parent- ~ge possessing Iranian nationality, initiator and organ- Izer of good name, trustworthy and pious, believing in As I have just indicated in that quotation and contrary to the obvious lie and distortion of the truth by Saddam's repre~entative, there is not even a single word in our Con- stItutIOn to the effect that our President has to be a Per- sian. I regret to have to embarrass the representative of ~addam further by reminding representatives that, iron- Ically, both our President and Prime Minister are of Turk- ish Iran. 357. Mr. Saddam, it is too late to remedy your sad ~ituation: By. this kind of silly game you only make your Illegal mvaslon. of our land more conspicuous. Mr. Saddam, you and your regime are guilty and you have to pay for your crimes, and you will. NOTES I The delegation of Panama subsequen2ly infonned the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution. ~ United Nations. Treaty Series. vol. 75. No. 973. p. 287. 3 Expo!Jnded ill a radio interview broadcast by Riyadh Domestic Serv- ice on 7 August 198I. For a transcription of the interview. see Foreign Broadcast Infonnation Service, Daily Report. FBIS-MEA-81-IS3. of 10 August 1981. vol. V. No. 153. p. C 3.