A/37/PV.86 General Assembly

The General Assembly again has to deal wilh an urgent problem which has been on the Organization's agenda for more than three decades and to which this year alone 21 meetings of the seventh emergency special session, which resumed four times, have been de- dicated. The necessity of finding a just solution to the question of Palestine, the core of the Middle East conflict, is more urgent than ever before. The brutal aggression against Lebanon and the Israeli genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people have made the call for a just and durable solution of the question of Palestine even more emphatic. 61. The cold-blooded killing of thousands of Pal- estinians and Lebanese, the bloody massacres in Palestinian refugee camps and the immeasurable suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian people have clearly proved once again that those in the ruling circles in Is rael are trying to solve the question of Palestine through the genocide of the Palestinian people. 62. The people and the Government of the German Dcmocr-atic Republic have rc:solutely condemned the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the crimes com- mitted agai nst the Palestinian people. The Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, 72. In the message which the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic, Erich Honecker, addressed to the Secretary-General on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Pal- estinian People, it is stressed that: at its fifth session last week, reaffirmed that the Ger- man Democratic Republic stands in firm solidarity at the side of the Palestinian people and the PLO, its legitimate representative. 63. The recent Israeli war of aggression has clearly demonstrated the danger of the collaboration between Politicians of confrontation and super-armament and their regional accomplices. "The German Democratic Republic has for many years stood up most resolutely for a just, all- embracing and lasting solution to the Middle East "An international Middle East conference with the participation of all interested sides could pave the way for this. The German Democratic Republic therefore supports the six-point proposal submitted by the USSR on 15 September 1982 for a lasting peace settlement in the Middle East and commends the resolve of the Arab States manifested at their conference at Fez to make collective efforts for a just solution to the Middle East conflict. "The German Democrntic Republic will continue to extend steadfast and active solidarity to the sorely tried people of Palestine and its legitimate represen- tative, the Palestine Liberation Organization." 73. As a member of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and of the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, which will be held in Paris from 16 to 27 August 1983, the German Democratic Republic will continue to work actively in the future also for the just cause of the Palestinian people.

Developments on the question of Palestine and on the situation in the Middle East as a whole have caused grave concern among Governments and peoples since the Palestine problem was considered by the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session. Scorning the relevant resolutions of the General As- sembly and the Security Council and trampling on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the basic norms of international law, the Israeli authori- ties have continued to commit serious crimes against the Palestinian and Arab peoples during the past year. The Chinese Government and people have deep sympathy for the victimized Palestinian, Lebanese and other Arab peoples and express strong condemnation of and indignation at the aggressive outrages of the Israeli authorities. 75. On IO December 1981, at its thirty-sixth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 36/120 D on the question of Palestine, solemnly demanding that Israel should withdraw completely and unconditionally from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including Jerusalem. Yet, barely four days later, by enacting a so-called Golan Heights law in the Knesset on 14 December, the Israeli authorities decided to impose Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Golan Heights in an attempt to a nnex this inalienable part of Syria's territory per- ma nently. This was followed by a series of Israeli outrages in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Jerusalem, such as the arrest, expulsion, suppres- sion and killing of Palestinians, and even the assault on the AI-Aqsa Mosque and the shooting of worshippers within the precincts of AI-Haram Al-Sharif. 76. In total disregard ot the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time and May, the Israeli authorities brazenly dispatched their land, naval and air forces to mount a massive invasion of Lebanon in early June of this year, occupying large stretches of territory in southern and central Lebanon and penetrating right into the capital city of Beirut. After their aggressor troops had carried out massive encirclement and annihilation campaigns against the armed forces of the PLO, the Israeli authorities plotted the massacre of defence- less, innocent Palestinian civilians, including women, old folk and small children, in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, a massacre which shocked the whole world. 78. Such truculent pursuance of their course of aggression and expansion by the Israeli authorities is not only repugnant to truth and justice but has also seriously aggravated tension in the Middle East. 79. The international community is gravely con- cerned about the developments in the Palestine prob- lem and the situation in the Middle East as a whole. The ninth emergency special session of the General Assembly, held from 29 January to 5 February, was followed by four resumptions of the seventh emer: gency special session. which held 21 meetings. Rep- resentatives of many countries denounced Israel's crimes of aggression and expansion, reaffirmed that the Palestinian people are entitled to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and the right to establish a State of their own, strongly opposed and condemned the aggressive and expansionist acts of Israel and demanded the immediate and uncon- ditional withdrawal of all Israeli aggressor troops from Lebanese territory. All those statements and the reso- lutions adopted at the above-mentioned sessions gave expression to the just demand of the international community and reflected the strong desire of the peo- ples of the world for an early comprehensive and just solution to the question of Palestine and the Mid- dle East. 80. The problem of Palestine has always been the core of the Middle East question. There can be no peace or stability in the Middle East until the Pal- estinian people have regained their legitimate national rights and a just solution to the Palestine question has been achieved. Over a long period of time, the Palestinian people have, under the leadership of the PLO, their sole legal representative, fought against Israel's aggression in defence of their own national rights. They have registered important military. politi- cal and diplomatic victories and have won the sincere admiration of people throughout the world. 81. Taking the overall interest to heart, the PLO made 82. At the present moment, the situation in the Mid- dle East is critical. The PLO and the Arab coun- tries have made positive efforts for the settlement of the question of Palestine and the Middle East as a whole. The eight principles [ibid. ) adopted by the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez last September, provide a sound basis for a just and equit- able solution of the question of Palestine and of the situation in the Middle East, and have thus drawn the general attention of the international community. 83. However, the Israeli authorities are still ob- durately clinging to the course of aggression and expansion. They refuse to recognize the national rights of the Palestinians and reject those eight principles. As an excuse for refusing to withdraw their troops from Lebanon, they have even put forward such conditions as supervision over Lebanon's ter- ritorial air space and waters, establishment of a radar station on the Baruk Mountain in southern Beirut and the opening up of Lebanon's market to Israeli goods- conditions which no sovereign State can possibly accept. Such manifestations of regional hegemonism on the part of the Israeli authorities have come up against the stern condemnation of world opinion and of the representatives of various countries at the United Nations. ments in the occupied territories and Lebanon which brought the region perilously close to the brink of all-out war. And, as in the past, unprovoked Israeli aggression and atrocities have once again evoked universal condemnation and censure by the Organ- ization. 88. All the tragic developments in the occupied territories and Lebanon are the direct result of Israel's aggressive policies, which have as their ultimate goal the liquidation of the Palestinian cause. This again underscores the fact that the core of the Middle East conflict is the continued denial to the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights. Thus, my delegation views the item under consideration, the question of Palestine, as the priority issue which must first be resolved if there is to be any hope for progress in re-establishing peace in the region. 89. The last three resumptions of the seventh emer- gency special session of the General Assembly were held in response to Israel's massive invasion of Leba- non, which was no doubt planned well in advance with the express purpose of achieving a "final solution" to the Palestinian question through the use of military force against indiscriminate targ~ts, including civilians. 84. Israel's audacity in invading Lebanon, in open violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign State, and its obstinate persistence in a course of aggression and expansion are attributable to the con- nivance, shielding and support of the United States. The United States has not only provided Israel with powerful military support but has also done everything possible to give it diplomatic protection. The United States therefore, bears an unshirkable responsibility for the grave consequences of Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East. The international community is waiting to see what position the United States will take as regards Israel's outrageous demands and whether it !s acting in good faith in seeking a just settlement m the Middle East. It is significant that, with near unanimity, those three r~sumed sessions reaffirmed the previously stated con- viction of the Organization that the question of Pal- estine lies at the very heart of the conflict and called on the Security Council to consider practical ways and means to ensure Israeli compliance with the demands of the international community. 90. Even prior to Israel's unprovoked large-scale invasion of Lebanon, the Security Council had adopted a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of 85. The question of Palestine and that of the Middle East have been dragging on for over three decades. A comprehensive, just and lasting settlement brooks no further delay. The crux of the matter is the restoration to the Palestinian people oftheirlegi timate national rights, and the first step towards easing ten- sion in the region is the immediate, total and un- conditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from Le- banon. hostilities. Israel's typical response was to launch its forces into Lebanon, which prompted the Council to adopt a whole series of resolutions covering virtually all aspects. of the aggression. Those resolutions de- manded, inter alia, the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army to recognized international boundaries. However, the Security Council's inability to imple- ment its own unanimously adopted resolutions has led 86, In order to achieve a fair and comprehensive solution to the Middle East question, it is essential that Israel withdraw from all the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem; that the Palestinian people recover their legitimate rights, in- should be stressed that all of this has taken place despite scrupulous observance by the PLO of all the above- mentioned Security Council resolutions. 91. It is against this backdrop that the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Pal- estinian People, of which my delegation is a member, has compiled its report on the worsening plight of the Palestinian people [A/37/35 and Corr.I]. As the report makes clear, al no time in the past have the Palestinians been subjected to such brutal oppression and killings. While the destruction continues in Lebanon, the population of the occupied territories has also expe- rienced intensified repression. Over the past year, they have had to endure the establishment of more illegal settlements, the annexation of the Golan Heights, the closure of schools, the dissolution of city councils, the dismissal of elected mayors, mass arrests, ruthless killings at Muslim shrines and else- where and the imposition of so-called village leagues as part of the new civilian administration. In sum, it is beyond doubt that the blatant acts of terror and intimidation, taken together with the imposition of a new legal regime, pose the real danger that the oc- cupied territories will be annexed and the Arab in- habitants either exiled or forced to live under even more unbearable conditions. 92. The one undeniable conclusion that can be drawn from Israel's attempt physically to destroy the PLO in Lebanon is that, despite the massive loss of life, the PLO has emerged undaunted in its determination to see its cause through to victory. The PLO fighters' ability to withstand the full might of the Israeli military machine demonstrates that force of arms cannot subdue their just struggle for an independent homeland. 93. My Government has always maintained that, without a solution to the Palestine question, there can be no comprehensive settlement that will ensure peace in the region. Any negotiations leading to such a settle- ment must be based on the participation, on an equal footing, of all the parties concerned, including the PLO. We therefore reiterate our call for the recognition and full exercise of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to independence and sovereignty. In this regard, Indonesia welcomes the recommendation of the Com- mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People calling for the early convening of the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, as contained in the report of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference [A /37/49 and Corr./ ]. My delegation is convinced that the holding of the Conference and the widest possible participation of Member States in it could lead to a breakthrough in the long and arduous search for effective measures to enable the Palestinian people peacefully to attain and exercise their rights. This would in tum greatly facilitate the achievement of a comprehensive solu- tion to the Middle East conflict as a whole. 94. In conclusion, given the untenable conditions and the oppressive measures that the Palestinians are forced to endure, it would be unconscionable for the way not only bring justice and freedom to the long- suffering Palestinian people but would also remove one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. 95. Mr. GOLOB (Yugoslavia): For over three de- cades we have been calling for and supporting the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and the establishment of their own State. This ques- tion is at the core of the Middle East crisis, which, because of its gravity and the threat to peace which it represents, has global implications. 96. Ther,e is a long-standing consensus in the inter- national community that peace in the Middle East cannot be based on the denial of the existence of a whole peo,ple, the Palestinian people. The use of the modernized arsenals of terror against the courageous Palestinian people must cease once and for all. Objec- tives and methods well known from the colonial era were long ago condemned by the freedom-loving peoples in the world and rejected under the Charter of the United Nations. 97. Stubborn attempts by Israel to solve the ques- tion of Palestine by war and terror are a constant threat to the security of peoples and countries in the Middle East and in the world at large. The perpetra- tion by Israel of blatant aggression and further expan- sion against its neighbours is ample proof of the gravity of the situation in that region. Israel is at- tempting, by the use of force, military intervention and interference in the internal affairs of independent countries, to impose itself as the arbiter of relations in the wh,ole region. Such behaviour shows that the basic aim of Israel is not its own security but domina- tion over peoples and countries in the area. By denying the right to self-determination, independence and free national and social development to the Palestinian people, Israel has violated the basic norms of inter- national behaviour, founded on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law. 98. An a:ggressive and expansionist policy constitutes an obstacle to the peaceful solution of the Middle East crisis. None the less, we believe that aspirations to freedom, independence and peace can and should be realized. 99. In spite of the sufferings they are enduring, the Palestinian people have not yielded in their determi- nation to achieve their own liberation and to preserve their national and cultural identity. The love of freedom and the energetic resolve of the Palestinian people have mad,e the exercise of their right to self-determi- nation and independence a United Nations respon- sibility of the highest priority and a generally recog• nized obligation of the international community. 100. By their struggle the Palestinian people have given a striking demonstration to all that a people fighting for freedom, self-determination and indepen· dence will not and cannot remain alone. Both history 101. The aspirations for freedom and fierce resolve of the Palestinian people to achieve their just goals constitute a firm stronghold for their liberation organ- 108. That principle was reaffirmed at the Extraor- dinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Countries on the question of Palestine, held at Nicosia in July, during the last Israeli aggres- sion against Lebanon. Strongly condemning the attempts of Israel to exterminate the Palestinian people, the non-aligned countries pointed out that the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and other neigh- bouring Arab countries violated the basic norms of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the fundamental values and norms of international conduct. ization. The PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, plays a historic role and enjoys the full support of its people. 102. The exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is, above all, a political issue of the right of a people under foreign domina tion to self- determination and their own State. It is also both a moral and a humanitarian problem, since we are witnesses to the most flagrant violation of the human rights of Palestinians both as a people and as in- dividuals. The aggression against Lebanon, particu- 109. The conclusions of the Ministerial Meeting held at Nicosia to our mind reflect the continuity of the position of the non-aligned countries regarding a just and lasting peace in the Middle East: that it can be achieved only by a comprehensive settlement that ensures complete, total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian and other Arab ter- larly the massacre in the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatila, a~d the daily persecution of the Pal- estinian population in the occupied territories, all show that the Palestinian people are denied the right to existence. 103. It should be recalled that since 1947 the United Nations has been pointing out ways of solving the question of Palestine and establishing foundations of peace and security in that region. Israel, for its part, has been systematically trying to change the politi- cal, demographic and national map of the entire region in conformity with its expansionist ambitions. ritories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and that will enable the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, to exercise their in_alienable rights, including the right to return to their homes and land, the right to self-determination, national independence and the establishment of their own inde- pendent sovereign State in Palestine. 104. Through the policy of fait accompli, Israel keeps trying to carry out the ultimate annexation of all occupied Arab territories. It is violatjng the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of the Palestinian 110. In conformity with that position, Yugoslavia has always pointed out that the PLO, as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, should participate on an equal footing in all efforts, deliberations and conferences on the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and that no solution can be considered comprehensive, just and acceptable unless the PLO participates in its elabora- tion and acceptance as an independent party equal to the others concerned. This implies respect for the principles of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States in the region, as well as for the legitimate national rights of all peoples in the Middle East to live in peace, within secure and recognized boundaries and free from the threat or use of force. people in the occupied Arab territories, continuing its policy of persecution in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights and persisting in the building of settlements and the transformation of the legal and administrative systems in those ter- ritories. It is continuing to persecute legally elected mayors, as well as professors and students, denying them even their right to consider themselves Pal- estinians. 105. In the Middle East crisis, as in any other inter- national crisis, Yugoslavia supports peoples and coun- tries opposing force, aggression and the imposition of foreign will. Our own experience and history con- vinces us that there can be no freedom if it is not en- joyed by all, and that is an additional reason why we demand freedom and independence for the Pal- estinian people. 111. Yugoslavia considers that the implementation of these principles should be achieved within the frame- work of the United Nations, and we call for urgent measures to be taken to that end. States Members of the world Organization are duty-bound constantly to promote the legitimate right of all peoples to freedom and independence. We cannot tolerate any longer the blatant violation and disregard of those rights in the case of the Palestinian people. 106. During the recent meeting between the Presi- dent of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Repub- lic of Yugoslavia Petar Stambolic, and the Chairman of the PLO, Y~sser Arafat, it was again pointed out that the question of Palestine constitutes the core of the Middle East problem and that there can be no peace unless that question is resolved. The two stat~s- men reaffirmed that the international community should no longer postpone recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination a~d to a S!ate of its own, and recognition of the PLO as Its sole legitimate representative. 112. We expect that the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, with the participation of all Member States, will contribute to the realization of these rights and to a lasting peace in the Middle East. We think that constant efforts should be made to create conditions that will enable the Security Council, the General Assembly and the United Nations as a whole to exercise their responsibilities and implement their decisions concerning the rights of the Palestinian people and peace in the Middle East region. 107. Together with other non-aligned countries, Yugoslavia has continuously called for the exercise !)f the legitimate rights of all peoples ~o fr~ed?m and Nat ions credibility and effectiveness became more dif- ficult to answer. We in the Arab States were caught in a dilemma: do we continue to resort to the United Nations machinery in reinforcing the legitimacy of Palestinian rights and enhancing the opportunities for a peaceful and just settlement? Do, we keep returning to the United Nations and repeating ourselves ad infinif//111, thus devaluing the deliberations and the ensuing resolutions? J 15. On the other hand, we ask ourselves: Do we al- low a tiny minority-at times a minority of one or two Member States-to paralyse tlhe will of the inter- national community? Do we allow Israel-itself the product of a General Assembly resolution-to treat the United Nations with the char:acteristic contempt with which all are now familiar and to get away with it? Do we permit Israel to heap insults on the resolutions of the Assembly and on Member States, while allowing it to remain immune from normal penalties applicable to lesser violators of international law? Do we abandon our commitment to render the United Nations what it was originally intended to be--a mechanism to achieve world order, peace and justice-only because Israel gets away at the United Nations with its campaign of intellectual, diplomatic and psychological terrorism? Do we distance ourselves from the United Nations as an instrument for contli,:::t resolution simply because Israel and its sponsors an:d apologists intend to intimidate active participation and serious com- pliance by pre-empting measures to deter Israel from the pursuit of its defiance or to constrain its addiction to violating every article of the Charter of the United Nations, every resolution of its various bodies and every expression of its general wil:I? '. 116. How are we supposed to re:solve the dilemma that these sets of conflicting questions give rise to? They are logical questions that Cal[} no longer remain unanswered, for they confront the Organization with a challenge that will affect its future as well as its self- image. 117. Let me preface my furthe,r remarks with a conceptual framework of what we envisage as the proper role of the United Nations. It is essential that we define the United Nations as the expression of mankind's general will, the articulator of its consensus. Unanimity is desirable but often iunachievable. That is why our deference is to a consensus, though our preference is for more concise universality. The relevance of the United Nations to mankind is mea- sured by the level of respect for its deliberations and the degree of readiness to comply with its resolu- tions. I J8. We are often reminded by a minority in the As- sembly that t.he overwhelming support given to Pal- issue is the "mechanical" nature of this minority of two, especially when the subject pertains to Palestinian rights and to the question of Palestine. I 19. Let me be more specific. The United States, which too often sides with Israel in blocking effective compliance with United Nations resolutions, must determine whether it is intent on excluding the United Nations from the constructive role it is expected to play; or does the United States seek exclusivity in "crisis management" in the Middle East? 120. Posing these questions at this juncture is very pertinent, for they constitute an impetus for in-depth analysis and reflection. We in the Arab world pose them because we see, especially in the aftermath of a tragic summer, how Israel's invasion of Lebanon heightened the suffering, and we know that the dilemma cannot continue unresolved and that a col- lective decision has to be reached. For too long have we been prisoners of indecision, and the con- sequences have been catastrophic for both Lebanon and the Palestinians. 121. It is needless to emphasize here that the Israeli invasion of Lebanon constitutes a turning-point in the history of the question of Palestine. To the Arabs in general and the Palestinians in particular, the summer invasion was an accelerated and heightened manifesta- tion of Israel's twin objectives behind that act of aggression: expansion and annexation. When, in the past, we used to point out those twin objectives, many, especially in the United States and elsewhere in the Western world, accused us of being paranoid. Israel's invasion and wanton bombing of Beirut, and the heartless siege of its inhabitants made many of our previously expressed fears and anxieties about Israel's intentions and behaviour self-evident truths to those who had previously been sceptical about the nature of our struggle for Palestinian rights. 122. The invasion of Lebanon had been planned by Israel for a long time. Israel sought to settle many accounts in Lebanon. It sought to destroy the socio- political fabric of Lebanon, because Lebanon repre- sented the feasible and desirable arena wherein plu- ralistic societies developed and flourished. Indeed, Lebanon constituted the · civilized response to the Zionist challenge of racism. Religious and ethnic af- filiations did not constitute a criterion of national belonging, as it does in Israel. In fact, Lebanon has been and will always be a vibrant representation of humanist integration. Israel sought in Lebanon to reinforce archaic notions of nationalist theories and ideologies. What we witnessed in Lebanon was a most anachronistic ideology, namely zionism, serviced with the most modern and sophisticated weaponry and technology. 123. Moreover, Israel's invasion of Lebanon sought to destroy the political and social infrastructure of the PLO. It perceived that its harshest attacks against the refugee camps and the Palestinian population would demoralize the Palestinian resistance to the extent that the Palestinians would abdicate not only 124. That is why while Israel was conducting its rampage in Lebanon, leaving in its wake thousands of dead women, men and children, and while Israel was demonstrating to the world its naked power and its latent brutality, ii was at the same time pursuing its creeping annexation in the West Bank and Gaza, establishing new facts, beefing up existing colonial settlements and creating new ones-all in the service of removing from the political map of the region the components of a Palestinian constituency and making sure that no trace of a Palestinian identity or a chance for Palestinian self-expression would remain or emerge. 125. Israel resorted to every available means to implement its cruel plan, the plan to exterminate the Palestinian personality. It used overwhelming military power in Lebanon and resorted to every legal trick in the book to render impossible the preserva- tion of any semblance of national cohesion in the occupied territory for the Palestinian people. When the PLO forces left Beirut and the transfer of power in Lebanon demonstrated the resilience of its consti- tutional process. Israel procrastinated in order to main- tain its occupation and undermine the ability of the legitimate Lebanese authority to exercise full sover- eignty over all the territory of Lebanon. 126. The policy of establishing new settlements in the West Bank coniinued and, while the world began to realize the dangers inherent in Israel's unfolding plans of expa:1sion and annexation, a search for means to curb Israel's propensity for aggression and its real threats to international peace and security was seriously pursued. 127. It is here that formulas were enunciated to introduce a degree of sanity and restraint, so that Israel's invasion of Lebanon and its creeping annexa- tion and coercive behaviour in the West Bank would not throw the region and perhaps the world into a state of anarchy and disorder reminiscent of the period in the late 1930s, creating such conditions as would make the trend towards confrontation, conflict and war irreversible. 128. Let me for a moment give only the latest examples of what Israel is doing at this moment in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza and ~he Golan Heights, while at !he same time sowing instability in Lebanon in order to perpetuate its occupa- tion and destabilize Lebanon at precisely the moment when national reconciliation is showing signs of progress and realization. Let me give only a few of the most recent examples of legalistic trickery and ~crobacy used by the Israeli occupation authorities in order to render life in the West Bank untenable and to reduce the inhabitants of Palestine once and for all to a disfranchised constituency, hopeless and helpless in achieving their national and inalienable ~ights. I give these examples in order to offer an 1nsight into the diabolic techniques which only a per- fectionist racist knows how to implement through military coercion and oppression . Should any_ doubt remain concerning Israel's deliberate poltcy of annexation , these latest measures will at least remove such doubts. prohibits employees from receiving their salaries from the Jordanian Government except by the express authority of the Military Governor. Military Order No. 998 prohibits receipt of any gifts from outside that are not in the form of cash, which has to be deposited with Israeli banks, which in turn control the flow of funds from Europe and the United States. Thus, Israeli policies make it impossible for any economic activity not under Israeli control to take place. Mili- tary Order No. 947 practically formalizes juridical apanhl'id. It sets up a civilian adminis1ra1ion, and military laws are redefined as din-civil law in Hebrew. This order has established two administrative systems, the first pertaining to Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the second pertaining to Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank. Under this dual administrative system, two different sees of ··secondary legislation··, referred to by Israeli authorities as "regulations" , not laws, are issued and forced upon the two sets of popula- tion. This makes it possible to bifurcate the legal and administrative laws of the two populations, per- mitting one what is prohibited for the other. 130. By using the device of "regulations" instead of the word "laws" , Israel extends the Israeli .council system of local government in the West Bank to the Jewish settlers, thus normalizing the settler status and enabling them to eajoy within the Israeli system what is denied to the Arab inhabitants of the occupied territories. Such regulations are not a matter of public record because they do not have the status of law although they have the functions of law. Thus the Palestinians have absolutely no access or right of access to regulations that were specifically formulated for Jewish settler colonialists in the West Bank. Thus Military Order No. 947 declares that a certain number of military orders may be elevated to the status of law. Anyone reading the text of the order will discover that not only is the language ambiguous but also important questions are left unanswered. And yet the order is, at this point, the only legal document available from which the public may begin to discern the nature and workings of the incipient civil admin- istration. These orders, in addition tp the prolifera- tion of settlements, arc intended to achieve one single objective-to make all options in the West Bank and Gaza completely unfeasible. For the Israeli leadership, the option of annexation alone is relevant, if not inevitable. 13 I. Do I have to mention what is being done to the universities in the West Bank-Bir Zeit, Bethlehem and Najah? Do I have to remind representatives of the various Fascist restraints on foreign teachers- humiliating signatures making any semblance of academic freedom, let alone academic pursuit, un- attainable'? J 33. While the world denounces the legal trickery of Israel in the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights and watches the Israelis mutilating the demographic and national character of the Palestinian identity and its cohesion, Israel introduces the outlines of a long- range plan lo break up the unity of Lebanon. A situa- tion is created in Lebanon in order to render impos- sible the Lebanese Government's ability to exercise its normal political administration over all its territory or to impair that ability by blackmail and by the ominous presence of Israeli troops within the inter- nationally recognized borders of Lebanon. 134. It has now become clear that Jsrael is employing what might be termed a see-saw strategy: When the world, and particularly the United States, focuses its attention on the dangers inherent in (srael's settlement policy and creeping annexation in the West Bank and Gaza, and Israel is requested to dismantle-or, in the latest lexicon of American diplomacy, to "freeze"- the settlements, Israel becomes mllre intractahle in Lebanon, insisting that negotiations concerning its withdrawal be held in occupied Jerusalem, knowing full well that nobody in Lebanon-and nobody in the world-recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Alternatively, Israel ferments sectarian strife in Leb- anon in order further to hamper the central Govern- ment's ability to restore the much-desired law and order. 135. Then, when the world's attention, especially that of the United States, is focused on Lebanon-the other part of the see-saw-and the dangers inherent therein, and the memory of Israel's rampage and genocide in Lebanese towns, cities and villages and Palestinian refugee camps is again revived, Israel responds by giving the impression to the United States that it is willing to "soften" its position. It starts speaking of a "conciliatory" act, ofno longer insisting on a "ministerial" level at which to negotiate its withdrawal from Lebanon. However, the substance of Lebanon's position is that the purpose of negotiations is to ensure Israel's withdrawal, a matter of military logistics and not one of political concessions. The mere idea that Israel seeks through its invasion to alter radically Lebanon's known policies and commitments in order to satisfy its own desire 10 establish a strategic, political and economic hegemony over Lebanon reveals not only the nature of Israel's objec- tives-which are expansion and annexation-but also a recklessness inherent in its pattern of behaviour and an utter insensitivity to the legitimate rights and claims of the Arab nation. 136. This see-saw strategy enables Israel to alternate its tactics for achieving its objectives while main- taining its strategy ~or doing so .. Israel rea_li_zes parenthetically-or so 11 thinks-that Hs own political leverage inside 1he Uniced States will always prevent 138. In addition, the United States request to freeze settlements was not only ignored by Israel but, rather, openly defied. Sadly, there was no United States follow-up to deter Israel. It is this discrepancy be- tween the utterances of the United St:ites and its performance that enables Israel to continue with its tactical manreuvres, preventing the United States from retaining a comprehensive pressure consistent with its own policy pronouncements. 139. I have dwelt on the Israeli see-saw approach in order to throw light on Israel's procrastination and non-compliance with everything that the various organs of the United Nations have resolved and determined. 140. United Nations resolutions pertaining to the Palestine question, whether in the Security Council or the General Assembly, have been universally accepted as a basis for a just and durable solution. The inability of the United Nations machinery to implement them has not resulted in a cessation of further attempts to initiate new formulations or to make specific suggestions giving expression to the rights or re- sponding to the perceived anxieties of all concerned. In this respect, the two most recent plans that have emerged, and have in varying degrees struck a responsive chord in the international community are President Reagan's plan, mentioned earlier, and the Final Declaration of the Twelfth Arab Summit Con- ference, adopted on 9 September 1982 [A/37/696]. 141. Those two plans, in addition to all the United Nations resolutions and the late President Brezhnev·s suggestion for an international conference, can consti- tute a basis for the outlines of a collective Arab response. Much has been said about the PLO reaction to the Reagan plan. Let me state very clearly that the Arab States and the Arab people, including the PLO, neither reject outright the whole of the Reagan initiative, nor do they accept it in its entirety. 142. I do not think that the United States suggests that we cithe1· accept 01· ,·eject it. What we did as a 143. Although President Reagan's speech was not very specific, it was a positive indication that the United States is moving to contain the dangers of leaving the Palestinian question unresolved. President Reagan declared his agreement with the Palestinians that their "cause is more than a question of refugees'·. It was obvious that by placing the Palestinian issue and the status of the occupied territories in the fore- front of United States policy concerns, President attitude towards the United States and its role in the Middle East. It is, however, crucial that we determine more precisely whether President Reagan's statement of 1 September is a position which can be fulfilled by being declared or whether it is a policy that should be implemented and pursued. One of the issues that can determine whether the Reagan plan is a position or a policy is what the United States intends to do in the face of Israel's establishment of new settle- ments while it rejects the Reagan initiative outright. It is from this perspective that the PLO Central Com- mittee's statement in Damascus two or three days ago has to be viewed, and it is in this light that it has to be understood. Reagan was short-circuiting Israel's intention to obscure what was happening in the West Bank and Gaza while its army devastated Beirut and the oc- cupied parts of Lebanon. In our assessment, the United States is not underwriting Israel's clearly expansionist designs. If that is so, it will restore a measure of credi- bility to the role the United States wishes to assume in resolving the conflict in the Middle East. 144. These are positive developments in the evolution of United States policy in the Middle East. There can be no doubt that they have lent Arab-American dialogue greater consequence and, it is to be hoped, made it more productive, as in the dialogue that took place between the United States Administration and the League of Arab States delegation last October. But recognizing these welcome and positive aspects of President Reagan's statement does not mean that we are abandoning our analytical faculties, nor do we refrain from expressing our reservations, and the reservations are as important-and perhaps, in some instances, even more important-than our appreciation of any positive aspects of the Reagan plan. Our fundamental objection is focused on the issue of Palestinian self-determination, which is basic to a comprehensive solution of the Arab-Israeli con- flict. In President Reagan's initiative the approach to that issue was not adequate enough to be considered palatable. 147. For our part, the League of Arab States, meeting at the Summit Conference at Fez, was clear in reaf- firming what the international community has spelled out as Palestinian legitimate national rights. Further- more, the Fez Conference sought to restore to the United Nations the role that it is entitled to play and that it should play, as is clearly stated in the first principle of the Final Declaration: "The withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied by it in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem" [ihid.]. 148. The seventh principle of that Declaration is the establishment by the Security Council of "guarantees of peace between all States of the region, including the independent Palestinian State" [ibid.]: When we take this principle and the fifth principle of the Declaration, which is "the placing of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the supervision of the United 145. In my reaction to President Reagan's speech, I wrote in The New York Times of 3 September 1982 that: Nations for a transitional period not exceeding a few months.. [ibid.], then the Arab consensus. as ar- ticulated in the Fez declaration, defines the territorial parameters within which the Palestinian national entity should find concrete expression. The issue is not whether we acquiesce in a State of Israel, but whether Israel acquiesces in and recognizes the ri~ht of the Palestinians to build an independent State in their homeland. The issue is not whether we have accepted the territorial parameters of a Palestinian State; the issue is whether Israel is or intends to remain content with the territorial parameters it had prior to 1967. It is here where the issue in the Fez plan is amply clear, as opposed to the deliberate ambiguity that Israel maintains whenever the subject of what constitutes its frontiers is discussed. That is why we said that we are not interested in negotiations for negotiations' sake. Negotiations must clearly be preceded by a commitment to arrive at a legitimate outcome. Negotiations are then undertaken to deter- "By insisting on the Camp David provisions of ·autonomy' for the Palestinians of the occupied territories, and by opposing at this stage the concept of an independent Palestinian State, Mr. Reagan is, in effect, denying the Palestinians the right to decide their own destiny. " ... When Mr. Reagan admits that these people have 'legitimate rights', he should not stop short of conceding that the most fundamental is self-deter- mination. Clearly his reluctance to tread on this ground is prompt~d by Israel's adamant opposition to any idea of permitting the Palestinians to exercise their basic rights." 146. Furthermore, we object to the opposition to a role for the PLO, which appears to us to be another obvious concession made to Israel by the United But to claim, as Israel repeats, that it is necessary to negotiate. to come to the table, without a prior commitment to accept what the international com- munity has repeatedly acknowledged as the Palestinian Arab patrimony, makes negotiations an exercise in futility and a further Israeli attempt at covering up its annexationist and expansionist aims and designs. 149. Furthermore, one does not negotiate the right of the Palestinians to self-determination or, for that matter, their right to an independent State in their homeland; one negotiates the modalities by which these inter~ational rights are to be attained. 150. For too long Israel has abused the word "nego- tiations", using it whenever it wishes to buy time, or to establish new settlements, or to present the world with new facts. Negotiations are then used as a means to exhaust and exasperate those whose rights are violated and whose territories are desecrated. There cannot be negotiations on whether the Palestinians have a right to self-determination or not; the only legitimate negotiations are on how to devise the means to expedite the realization of Palestinian rights. There can be no negotiations on whether Palestinians have the right to have an independent State in their home- land, but there can be negotiations on how to achieve statehood for the Palestinian people with the maximum of speed and the minimum of human tragedy. 151. The world cannot succumb to what Israel is trying to achieve through its naked and reckless power: a permanent disfranchisement of the Palestinian peo- 152. Our eagerness to be accommodating should not be mistaken for a signal that we shall abandon our commitments; our disposition to achieve peace should not be mistaken for passivity; our preference for reconciliation should not indicate any diminishing of our eagerness to bring about justice. 153. Hence, at this juncture our dilemma is resolved. We shall continue to resort to the United Nations, hoping that, outraged by Israel's. genocidal policies against the Palestinians and Lebanese, humanity will be prompted to intensify its efforts to halt a dete- riorating situation and to bring about the final realiza- tion of peace and justice. NOT E 1 United Nations, Tr<'aty Series, vol. 75, No. 973, p. 287.