A/37/PV.88 General Assembly

I should like to inform mem- bers that, so far, three draft resolutions have been distributed: A/37/L.42 to L.44. 5. Mr. KITTIKHOUN (Lao People's Democratic Republic) (intelpretation from French): Since the adoption by the General Assembly at its twenty- ninth session ofresolution 3236 (XXIX), which defined the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian peo- pie, the efforts made by the United Nations, ~md * Resumed from the 65th meeting. NEW YORK r~asonable, and thus restoring a climate of trust and peac;eful coexistence among all the peoples and States oftheregion-a climate which is necessary for a just and lasting settlement of the Palestine question and, consequently, of the problem of the Middle East as a whole. 10. There is certainly no shortage of peace plans, but the main obstacle lies in the hegemonic and expan- sionist aims of the United States and Israel in this region, which have been given concrete form in the signing of the agreement on strategic co-operation between the two countries. That alliance has en- couraged Israel to entrench itself even more firmly in its intransigence. 11. In his tireless struggle for peace, the late Presi- dent Leonid Brezhnev announced, on 15 September 1982 [A/37/457], a certain number of principles which should constitute the basis for a peaceful settlement in the·Middle East. Those principles take into account the interests of all the States of the region, including Israel and 0 the Palestinian State to be created, and require that they undertake to respect each other's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and to settle their disputes by peaceful means. 12. For several months now we have been pleased to note that the Arab countries have taken a construc- tive and realistic approach to the situation. For exam- ple, the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez, adopted on 9 September 1982 a plan for the settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict [see A/37/696] that is quite similar to the Soviet proposals. 13. If the main concern of the United States and Israel is the security of Israel and its recognition by the Arab countries, those two countries should show greater realism and be more receptive to those proposals, for any settlement of the question of Pal- estine and of the situation °in the Middle East without recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to establish an independent St~te in Palestine,and without the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], its sole legitimate representative, is doomed to failure. 14. In conclusion, my delegation wishes to reaffirm the position of my country which is emphasized in the message that Comrade Souphanouvong, President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, addressed to Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, on 29 November 1982 in connection with· the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: "Aware of the fact that the question of Palestine is at the heart of all the problems of the Middle East crisis and that if it is not solved it will not be possible to bring lasting peace and security to the Middle East, the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Lao people give their full support to the martyred Palestinian people in their struggle fur their inalienable right to self- determination and the creation of an independent Palestinian State in Palestine." 15. Mr. NATORF (Poland): Barely two months have elapsed since the General Assembly again considered 27. In this respect, we consider that the International Conference on the" Question of Palestine, scheduled for next year, will play an important role in the process of making possible the attainment ofPalestinian rights. 28. In conclusion, I wish also to pay tribute, on behalf of my delegation, to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and its Chairman, Mr. Sarre, of Senegal, for their tireless efforts to promote the just cause of the Palestinian people in the United Nations. 29. Mr. SAYEED (India): The year 1982 may well be remembered as a significant year in the chequered 33. The numerous resolutions adopted by the United Nations on the question of Palestine and on the situa- tion in the Middle East have recognized that the Palestini~n right to national independence is premised upon a long~standing consciousness of their distinct territorial and national identity and not merely a response to Israel's occupation of their lands. This recognition naturally entails the unconditional termi- nation of the political, geographic and cultural fragmentation to which the Palestinians have been subjected since the establishment of Israel. 34. India's sympathy for the people of Palestine in their suffering and our support for the establishment of a Palestinian State are rooted in our awareness of the historical, territurial and national identity of the Palestinians. Even during the days of our struggle for national independence, our leaders identified them- selves with the Palestinian cause and raised their voice for securing the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. The continuing struggle of the Pal- estinians evokes sympathy, and understanding among the people of India to this day. India has consistently advocated that a just and comprehensive solution to the problems of West Asia should consist of the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable national and human rights, including the right to establish an independent State in their homeland, the total and unconditional withdrawal by Israel from all . Arab territories occupied since 1967, including the Holy City of Jerusalem and a guarantee for all the States in the region, including Palestine, to live within secure and recognized borders. The Palestinians have a right to return to their homes and property in Palestine, from which they have heen mercilessly displaced and uprooted. Their right to self-determina- tion should be exercised without any external inter- ference and, like other States in the region, the State of Palestine should be enabled to live in peace and security and follow its own domestic and foreign policies. An essential prerequisite for the attainment of a peaceful solution is the full and equal participation of the PLO, the only genuine representative of the Palestinian people, in any discussions relating to their future and, indeed, the future of the entire region. India has extended its support to every initiative, whether at the United Nations or outside, which is consistent with our principled position. m~ttee called on Chairman Arafat in Tunis and re- affirmed to him the commitment of the Movement to the Palestinian cause. 36. As a member of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, India has fully supported the Committee in its efforts to secure the rights of the Palestinian people and to promote their cause. The report of the Committee for 1982 [A/37/35 and Corr.!] beats testimony to its untiring efforts under the leadership of Mr. Sarre, of Senegal. Though the basic recommendations of the Committee have remjiined unimplemented so far, its activities during the year, particularly the seminars held in various regions of the world, have served to increase the support of the international community to the cause ofPalestine. In its capacity ofPreparatory Committee for the International Conference on the Questio.n of Palestine, the Committee has laid the foundations for a successful conference to be held next year. We have no doubt that with the assistance of the energetic Secretary-General of the Conference, Mrs. Lucille ~air, the Committee will be able to 49~ Facing that leadership which, in its Gadarene rush to destruction, has finally antagonized its allies and its protector and aroused indignation and con- demnation even in Israel and among thousands ofJews around the world, we find a Palestinian leadership which, while remaining determined to defend the right of its people to its freedom and its homeland, is working for justice and peace and calls for respect for the Charter of the United Nations and the resolu- tions adopted by the United Nations concerning Pal- estine. 53. And when one sees what has happened and when one imagines what could still happen, .one cannot help recalling what happened in Europe before and during the Second World War, and then one is both shocked by and convinced of the similarity of the ideas alid methods of the two Powers founded on hatred and violence. Here and there we see preventive wars, annexations, massacres, raids, mercenaries. And even Anne Frank is no longer unique or alone; there are today Palestinian and Lebanese Anne Franks. We find these similarities even in the testimony given and statements made before commissions and courts. 54. Who can forget those Nazi leaders at Niimberg who denied having any knowledge of what was hap- pening in their country and in the countries occupied by their army? And today, a generation later, the Prime Minister ofthe Israeli Government, whose army occupies an independent country Member of the United Nations, states that he learned of the heinous massacre only three days later, on a BBC broadcast. 55. Ifridicule does not kill, the cynicism ofthe Prime Minister has killed, and has forced people to flee. That cynicism has, through the action of the army and 58. Those flouted rights are the subject of a report [A/37/35 and Co,.,../] submitted by the Committee on {he Exercise ofthe Inalienable Rights ofthe Palestinian People, a·Committee to which I am happy to pay tribute. I should like to pay a particular tribute to its Chairman, Mr. Sarre, for his work within that Co'mmittee and for his work in preparing for the Inter- national Conference on the Question of Palestine, which is to be held in 1983 and in which we place great hopes. . 59. It is true that the conscience of the world was honestly startled and that e"pressions of indignation over the heinous practices of the Israeli Governmeni and of sympathy for the Palestinian people and its resistance increased in number and scope during and after the aggression. To enumerate them all would take too long, so I shall confine myself to recalling, by way of example, the statements of President Fran~ois Mitterrand and the appeal addressed by the militant anti-Fascist President Pertini, of Italy, to the con- science of the world during the meeting of the Inter- Parliamentary Union in Rome last September, to shoulder its political and human responsibilities in respect of all that had happened in Lebanon. And how can we fail to recall the meeting between His Holiness the Pope and Yasser Arafat? In 'addition, we cannot fail to mention what has happened in the United States, where tens of thousands of persons of every faith, including even Jews, have spoken out in indignation and where the official approach to the question appears to be acquiring a new dynamic. 60. But we say to all those peoples and their Gov- ernments that this new awareness must not stop there. Any delay or recourse to obstructive procedures, even here in the United Nations, may perhaps postpone the inevitable date ofthe establishment ofa Palestinian 62. i"inally, any obstacle or delay will I.mable the ~ionist power in Israel to resort again to its demoniacal diversionary practice of using new acts of aggression, annexation or massacre to mobilize the" efforts of Foreign Ministries or of the Organization to deal with these secondary questions. How many problems have engaged our attention and called forth enormous ef- forts, from Suez to Lebanon! But this timz, thanks to the Palestinian resistance on the ground and to the politica£ maturity of its leadership, the PLO, the true problem has been clearly revealed ~o the whole world: settle the Palestinian questioTii and peace will reign in the Middle East. 63. When, durh1g the twenty-second session of the Assembly, President Bourguiba spoke, on 20 Ma~! 1968, to the conscience of the world, through ttle representatives of all the Member States of the United Nations, about the Middle East question, and specif- ically the Palestinian question, he did so, am~ng other things, to applaud the entry of Palestine on the international arena. He said in particular: "Finally, another people, dispossessed of its land and its home~and by European emigrants, is confronting the same kind of cnlonialism, accom- panied by a basically religious and racial fanaticism. The Palestinian people. whose cause has frequently been confused sometimes with political intrigues and sometimes with the ambitions for leadership that prevailed in !he Middle East, is today showing its vitality and its ability to put up an increasingly effective resi&tance to an occupier who is no longer even taking the trouble to disguise his intentions. For the first time in many years, the Palestinian problem is being posed in clear terms: it is no longer a question ofthe clash ofexacerbated nationa~ ambitions, but of the right of the Palestinian people to recover its homeland and to determine its own future." [/658th meeting, para. 14.] 64. Eighteen years have passed since then, and the Palestinian people has not ~eased to affirm, through and by the PLO, its. presem;e and to show its capacity to achieve its legitimate ·ambition to recover all its rights. Today, the Palestinian people, under the respon- sible leadership of the PLO, i't heroically resisting

If there is one problem which contributes to the campaign of denigration of (he Organization and serves as an excuse for the imperialist Powers tos~destep the United Nations in order to settle certain international disputes from the viewpoint of their own selfish interests, it is undoubtedly the ques- tion of Palestine, which the General Assembly and the Security Council have been examiningwithout decisive results for more than 30 years. Those have been more than 30 years of harsh struggle to secure recog- nition of Palestine's right to existence as a free and independent nation; more than 30 years of loss of life and heavy sacrifice on the part of the martyred Palestinian people, which has been stripped of its heritage, driven from its land and reduced to endless wandering in search of a homeland, with no alter- native for survival but that of fighting a powerfully armed enemy which has the aid of countless ac- complices among the multifarious forces of interna- tional reaction which are trying to steer world affairs in a dangerous direction. 67. The debate this year again in the General As- sembly on the question of Palestine is taking place after the premeditated aggression committed by Israel against Lebanon, the catastrophic consequences of which can now be truly assessed. This debate is takir.lg place just after crimes of unspeakable horror have been committed in cold blood in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, crimes which have truly con- veyed to an indignant international community the exact extent of the cynicism of the Israeli Govern- ment, whose entire diplomacy can be summed up as a strategy hinging on one central factor: the steady en- largement of its more and more sophisticated military arsenals in order to perpetuate its domination over the other peoples of the Middle East and continue the humiliation of the Arab nation. Thus, there has been, since the advent of Israel in 1948, a dangerous dialectic of domination and. con.frontation which elimi- nates any possibility of finding a just and lasting R(~ther, they were an expression of the international community's conviction that a grave injustice had been done to the Palestinian people and thus to the ju§tice of their cause. Those resolutions were also a reaf- firmation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law, foremost among which is the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, let alone an entire homeland. 80. Oneofthe most important facts reflected by those resolutions is the qualitative development ofthe struc- ac~ordance with the dictates of those Powers rather than the principles of international law and accepted norms. 81. I would refer anyone who continues to have doubts as to the truth of this to an article by Peter Grose, of the Council on Foreign Relations, published in The New York Times Magazine on 21 November 1982 and entitled HThe Partition of Palestine 35 Years Ago". This American scholar reminds us of the cir- cumstances and conditions in which the United Nations adopted that partition resolution. He clarifies the col- laboration of international zionism and the United States Government, both of which exerted great influence in Europe following the Second World War. He points out the manner in which international zionism managed to secure the two thirds df the votes that were' needed to pass that ill-fated resolution. Based on historical documents, he proves that votes were purchased with dollars and that the United States Government forced States dependent upon it for economic aid to support the partition resolution, if not by means of pressure and coercion, then by employing threats. Even some of its Western allies were not spared this treatment. 82. Therefore, we can state with confidence that the international community of today is basically different from the international community of the past, and especially from that of the years after the Second World Wa~. The explanation for this change is crystal clear. It can be found in a single factor, namely, the emergence of the national liberatiQn movements, along with the liquidation of the colonial heritage and the liberated will of independent peoples. This factor is reflected, as I said at the outset, in the resolu- tions the United Nations has adopted concerning the inalienable rights ofthe Palestinian people. Those reso- lutions reflect the clearly expressed will of States and reaffirm their desire to redress the serious mistake that was made as a result of the hegemony exerted by the major Powers over the international Organization. They clearly reflect the increase in the votes in sup- port of Palestinian rights in the General Assembly, or, in other words, the decrease in the number ofopposing votes, which have fallen from 18 in 1975 to only 2 in 1982. I need not point out that those two votes were cast by the United States and Israel. 83. The international community's support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-deterreination and to establish their own independent State in their own territory, Pal- estine, has not been confined to adopting resolutions in the United Nations and in other international forums. It has extended to increased recognition by the countries of the world of the PLO as the sole legiti- mate representative of the Palestinian people. There can be no doubt that the international community's increased respect for the PLO is a result of the con- duct of the leaders of that movement, as evidenced by 85. It is no longer acceptable internationaliy, or from the standpoint of logic, that anyone should fly in the face of reason and repeat parrot fashion the claims of Israel concern~ng its security needs, at a time when Israel is occupying Arab territories and has been doing so for over 15 years, and has recently ravaged the land of Lebanon in a feverish aUempt to elimi- nate the Palestinian people. 86. Logic and the physical facts require us, instead of repeating these false allegations, to consider seriously taking steps to secure the safety of the Arab countries from the threat posed by Israel. I emphasize that this applies to all the Arab coun- tries, because the threat of Israeli aggression is not confined to one Arab country alone, as has been emphasized by the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor. 87. The international community has expressed its support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in resolutions of the United Nations. But those resolutions cannot be implemented so long as the will of the international community is fettered, as it is by the use made of the right of veto by one member of the Security Council. 88. The delegation of Qatar appeals to the Security Council to assume its responsibilities fully, not only to restore the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with the resolutions ofthe United Nations and those ofthe Fez Arab Summit Conference, adopted with Arab unanimity, and to save the occupied Palestinian territories from systematic ~nnexation, but also to restore the authority and credibility of the United Nations, which are being eroded, so that the practices of the international Organization will not degenerate into fruitless acts of absurdity. 89. In conclusion, the delegation of Qatar views with extreme interest the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, to be held in Paris in 1983. That Conference represents an event of special importance for the Palestinian people and the Arab nation. All peace-loving nations are invited to participate and make an effective contdbution to ensuring its success- ful outcome, since such an outcome will be of great value in restoring the stability of the Middle East area, still plagued by occupation and instability.

Ever since the inception of the United Nations, the question of Palestine has occupied a position of prominence in its deliberations and has occupied its attention more frequently than has any other question. 96. The Palestinian refugees have not even been allowed any peace of mind and stability even after the usurpation of their properties. They live in constant fear, pursued by the aggressive practices of the racist Fascist Zionists, such as the storming of their houses at any hour under the pretext of searches for com- mandos, and the arrests, arbitrary detentions, torture, murder, exHe and expulsion. 97. All of these tragedies to which the Palestinian people are exposed are detailed in the various reports issued by international organs and bodies, especially the reports of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories. The Zionist 99. In spite of unanimous international recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among which is its inalienable right to return to its homeland and property, to self-determination, independence and national sovereignty and to establish an independent State in Palestine, despite recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and despite the adoption ofhundreds ofresolu- tions by various United Nations bodies and organs and by regional organizations such as the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of African Unity [OA U], the Organization of the Islamic Con- ference and others and the complete international support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to regain its usurped rights, the racist Zionist entity in occupied Palegtinepersists in its denial of Palestinian rights and in its. disregard of intprnational public opinion. 100. The invasion of Lebanon,tbe devastation of its cities and villages and the aggression committed against the capital of a sovereign State provide further proof of the magnitude of Zionist arrogance and'th" danger posed by the Begin-Sharon-Shamir ~riumvirateto inter- national peace and security. 101. The blood of the victims on the hands of the rulers of Tel Aviv demands that the international community put an end to the tragedy of the Pales- tinian people and for the adoption of resolutions and statements of solidarity and support. But this is not enough; it is a completely inappropriate way ofdealing with the racist Fascist Zionists. The experience of the past 35 years, during which the Palestinian people have been subjected incessantly to all these acts of aggression and every form of humiliation and repres- sion, shows that the Tel Aviv rulers, regardless of their individual identities, belong to another kind of people, ruled by the mentality of terrorism and expan- sionism 'and adhering to theories based on race and religion. 102. It is time for the international community to take practical action commensurate with the magnitude of the Zionist crimes by boycotting the Zionist entity in all politicai, military and economic fields. It is time for the United Nations, which contributed to the tragedy of the Palestinian people by adopting the resolution on the partition of Palestine and endorsing the es~ablishmentofthe Zionist entity, to take practical action and expel that entity from the United Nations and its specialized agencies because of its disrespect for the Charter of the United Nations, its blatant violation of its principles and its disregard of United Nations resolutions. We see the representative of the Zionist entity making a mockery of United Nations 120. For the last 35 years, the question of Palestine has occupied a position of prominence in the delibera- tions of the United Nations, in the General Assem- bly, the Security Council and in various Committees. No other question has commanded such effort or such concern. No other international problem poses such a threat to international peace and security in the absence of a solution. There is no other question in the United Nations on which so many resolutions have been adopted, expressing the wish of the entire international community to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. No State has been more repeatedly condemned than Israel by numerous resolutions, more often condemned by the international community for its constant aggression against the Palestinian people and the Arab peoples. Yet it per- sists obstinately in disregarding and violating United Nations resolutions and the Charter of the United Nations. No people has been so incessantly subjected, as the Palestinian people have been by Israel, to displacement, mur.der, torture and genocide simply because it wants to return to its homeland and to live in peace, freedom and dignity like all other peo- ples of the world. Yet this heroic, patient, militant people furnishes proof of the truth of its resolve, its will-power and its wisdom in dealing with the trials afflicting it. The latest ofthese proofs was the immortal battle of Beirut in which the Palestinian people, to- gether with the Lebanese national movement, wrote anew with blood and great sacrifice a radiant page in its legitimate, just struggle to determine its future, and to return to establish an independent Palestinian State under the leadership of its sole legitimate rep- resentative, the PLO. The battle of Beirut and the subsequent heinous massacres and crimes prove that Israel is a State of aggression' based. on expansion, terrorism and murder. The brutal massacres of Sabra and Shatila were evidence of that, shaking the conscience of humanity, which condemned it as a link in the campaign of terrorism waged by Israel against the Palestinian people and its leaders everywhere. Yet the' Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, emerged more resolved than ever to pursue the struggle to achieve its inalienable rights, which constantly commanded the solidarity ofthe progressive forces in the world. 121. The legitimate andjust struggle ofthe Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, to regain its legitimate rights is a m~or part of the universal progress towards an era of liberation, justice and equality, free from repression, oppression and occupa- tion. Like the national liberation movements today in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which strive for freedom, independence and dignity, as an inalienable right which is in accordance with the principles of civilization and legitnmacy, and established inter- national law, the legitimate and just stru~gle of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO, 123. In addition to this, Israel strikes everywbere by land, sea and air, using the most modern and lethal weapons, wreaking total havoc with internationally prohibited weapons which it receives in the form of assistance-and what assistance! Does this bloody process have an end? Is the entire international community unable to put an end to these inhuman acts? Will the United Nations not respect its resolu- tions and the inviolability of its Charter? 124. In his statement in the General Assembly on 14 October, our Foreign Minister said: "Israel would not have been able to invade Lebanon, wage a war of·annihilation against the Lebanese and the Palestinian peoples, or occupy an Arab capital-that is, Beirut-without the support and unlimited encouragement which it has received ever since its inception from the imperialist States. By virtue of American military, political and eco- nomic support, in particular, Israel has been able to wage repeated wars against the Arab countries, usurp Palestine, occupy the West Bank and Gaza and annex the Golan Heights and Jerusalem." [A/37/PV.31, para. 35.] 125. Those who shed crocodile tears for human rights not only remain silent before the heinous crimes against humanity perpetrated daily by Israel against the Palestinian people, but they stand behind the aggression and support it in all fields, hindering the efforts of the United Nations to put an end to the grave violations of the bases of international relations, international law and the Charter, claiming that they seek to establish peace in the Middle East. 126. Our Foreign Minister further defined our view on the United States posi.~ion when he spoke before the General Assembly on 14 October: \ "There is amazing irony in the fact 'that the American Government p~ays the role of mediator for the maintenance of peace in the Middle East while it does r.ot hesitate to p'i'ovide Israel with all possible sophisticated military devices. "The United States is the only State that has used the right of veto in the Security Council against draft resolutions aimed at stopping aggression and bringing about Israeli withdrawal. It concluded a strategic alliance with the State of. terrorism and aggression. It sides with the aggressor and protects it in its expansionist greed. Is there still any doubt 128. Israel, since its inception, has consistently con- stituted a threat to international peace and security. It is time for Israel and for its friends and allies, especially the United States, to realize that peace and security in the area cannot be achieved except by the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, without which there will be no peace, and that Israeli notions of expansionism and aggression will never bring about security. 129. The talk about peace in the Middle East region will become more convincing if all possible peace- motivated efforts are made to take practical action to put an end to Israeli arrogance and to recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, as well as its right to participate on an equal footing, as a major party to a prolonged conflict, in all efforts to bring about peace in that sensitive region of the world. This is the essence of the Arab peace plan in the Middle East, which was adopted at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference.

Every year, for many years now, the agenda of the General l\ssembly has included the question of Palestine, yet a just solution to the question has still not been found. The present discussion of the ques- tion of Palestine is unusual in that it coincides with a sharp and dangerous aggravation of the Middle East crisis, resulting from the new Israeli aggression, sup- ported by the United States Administration. Once again blatantly flouting the generally accepted rules of inter- . national law, the Zionist rulers of Israel have openly challenged the world community by u~lleashing in June a large-scale aggression in Lebanon against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples. 131. This fifth Middle East War in a third ofa century has proved to be the 'most cruel in the whole history of the Middle East conflict. It has brought untold suf- ferings to hundreds of thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians and has reduced to rubble many Lebanese towns and villages. The tally of the dead and wounded already amounts to no fewer than 60,000 peaceful citizens, and the number is still rising. 132. The monstrous carnage carried out by the Fascist-minded Zionists and their henchmen in the 133. The world was shocked by the cruelty of the aggressors and the barbarity of their acts, which gave rise to angry protests throughout the world. In its statement of22 September [A/37/480] , the Government of the Mongolian People's Republic expressed deep indignation at the slaughter of members of the peace- ful population, emphasized that, like the Fascist crimes of the Hitlerites, Zionist atrocities will never be erased from the memory of mankind and declared that crime to be, at the same time, an affront to the conscience and honour of the Jews themselves, who suffered so much at the hands of Hitler. 134. It should be noted that one of the main purposes of the Israeli warmongers in their military operations in Lebanon was the physical destruction ofthe military contingents and leadership of the PLO, through which the aggressor wanted to decapitate the Palestinian resistance movement and to crush the will of the heroic Palestinian people struggling for its national rights. That criminal aim was not attained, however, even though Israel's entire military machine was set in motion. 135. The military adventure of the Israeli rulers has turned into a major political and moral failure for them. The firmness and valour of the Palestinians in their struggle with the aggressor greatly enhanced the authority of the PLO. The just struggle of the Palestinian people is receiving ever-increasing support from the international community, as can be seen from the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People held here at the United Nations a few days ago and the statements of many representatives before this Assembly. 136. The Mongolian delegation considers that the new criminal acts of Israel against the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples are a direct consequence of the separate Camp David deal, itself a result of the so- called American-Israeli strategic co-operation, which poses a threat to' all the countries of the region. It is perfectly natural that responsibility for the crimes on Lebanese soil must be borne jointly by Tel Aviv and its American protectors. 137. It is well known that the acts of the Israeli warmongers serve the aims of the American expan- sionist policy in tlie Middle East. By providing Israel with many billions of dollars' worth of economic and military aid and' by politically and diplomatically covering up their aggressive acts, the United States Administration is u'sing Tel Aviv as a junior partner in asserting their military presence in that oil-rich region, which has particular strategic significance. It is precisely ·thanks to the comprehensive complicity of Washington that Israel is today continuing so cynically to flout the repeated decisions of the Security Council and the Genera! Assembly demanding that it cease its aggression and allow the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples to exercise their inalienable rights. For exam- ple, Security Council resolutions 508 (1982) and 509 Gen~ral Assembly at its seventh emergency special sessIOn. 138. It is interesting to note that the resolution adopted by the Assembly on 24 September 1982 [resolution £5-7/9] received the affirmative votes of 147 Member States, with only two voting against it -the United States and Israel. 139. The tragic events in Lebanon have demonstrated with new force that the Palestinian problem occupies a 'central place in the whole range of questions related to the Middle East crisis. They have reaffirmed that, without a just solution to this problem, that is, without satisfaction of the legitimate rights of the Pal- estinian people, it is impossible to establish peace and tranquillity in the Middle East and to assure the security of all the countries and peoples of the region. 140. Until a comprehensive and just solution is found for the hotbed of tension and war in the Middle East, it will not be possible to eliminate the threat to peace and international security. The Mongolian dele- gation considers that the basis for a practical solution ofthe Middle East problem and the Palestinian problem already exists. It derives from the numerous resolu- tions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly and is reflected in the weH-known principles for a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East crisis formulated by the Soviet Union in September of this year and in the Declaration adopted at the Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez. This means that Israeli troops must be withdrawn from all Arab ter- ritories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem. It means that the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including the right to set up their own State, must be implemented, and that the right of all the States of the region to a secure existence and development in conditions of mutual respect and ter- ritorial integrity should be secured under appropriate international guarantees. At the same time, we con- sider that the PLO, as the sole legitimate represen- tative of the Arab people of Palestine, must par- ticipate ~m an equal footing in all international efforts to attain a just comprehensive settlement of the Mid- dle East problem. 141. Let me take this opportunity to confirm Mon- golia's support for the convening of the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, the success- ful holding of which would doubtless make an active and constructive contribution to the solution of the Palestinian question on the basis of the well-known decisions of the United Nations. 142. In conclusion, my delegation considers that further efforts by the international community are needed to compel Israel to put into effect the repeated decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, which would constitute an active contribu- 2 Weekly Compi/tltion of PresidentiClI Documents (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1982), val. 18, No. 35, p. 1081. 3 United Nations, Tretlly Series, vol. 75, No. 973, p. 287.