A/37/PV.89 General Assembly

It is now universally ac- cepted that the question of Palestine and, in particu- lar, the unsatisfied rights and aspirations of the Pal- estinian people lie at the core of the crisis in which the whole Middle East region is at present engulfed. How- ever, although the will of the international community has been clearly articulated in successive resolutions o( the General Assembly recognizing and reaffirming the inalienable right of the people of Palestine to self-determination and national sovereignty, no progress has been made towards the achievement of these basic freedoms. Instead, Israel has sought, by resorting to the most cynical and brutal means at its disposal, to extinguish and annihilate the very spirit of Palestinian nationalism. 2. In the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, Arab lands have been systematically expro- priated by the most devious manipulations of the judicial process, and made available by the Israeli authorities for the establishment of additional settle- ments. Despite their innocuous designation, these settlements conform to the best colonial tradition and provide civilian cover for Israel's expansionist inten- tions. These intentions are further evidenced by the absolute impunity with which officially financed settler vigilante groups have pursued their barbarous attacks upon Palestinian villages. 3. It is this official indulgence, and not mental aberration as alleged, which must have encouraged the settler Alan Goodman to perpetrate the monstrous atrocities witnessed in the AI-Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusa- lem, in April of this year. Together with the rest of the Muslim world, Gambia vigorously condemned this barbarous and sacrilegious outrage upon one of Islam's most holy shrines. 4. Israeli intentions in the occupied territories were most eloquently illustrated in March of this year by the transfer to a civilian administrator of territories hitherto administered by a military governor. This move was rightly identified and condemned as creeping annexationism by the leaders of the Palestinian com- munity, who refused to acquiesce in this sinister development. The response of the Israeli authorities NEW YORK was predictably Draconian: entire municipalities were summarily dissolved on the grounds of their allegiance to the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], while the wave of protests provoked by those developments was mercilessly crushed. 5. Given Israel's propensity for armed aggression, it was in a sense inevitable that it would seek to tackle the problem of Palestinian nationalism at its perceived source, the Palestinian settlements in Lebanon. On 6 June 1982, to the outrage and disbelief of the inter- national community, Israel launched its blitzkrieg inva- sion of Lebanon, in open violation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Although the invasion was universally con- demned, Israel, with its characteristic disregard for international public opinion, ignored the successive resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly calling for its withdrawal to ihe interna- tionally recognized borders of Lebanon. As is well known, the bloody Israeli onslaught, which razed entire towns, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, culminated in the ten-week siege of Beirut, during which the civilian population was subjected to a veritable holocaust. 6. Despite the overwhelming technological and numerical superiority of its invading forces., Israel was unable to break the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people, who with cc;mrage, determination and heroism, withstood the might of the Israeli army. My delegation wishes to reiterate the total solidarity of the Government and people of Gambia with the courageous struggle of the Palestinian people under the heroic leadership of its sole and authentic r~presen­ tative, the PLO. 7. Still dazed by the surrealistic horror ofthis murder- ous siege, the international community learned with outrage and disbeliefof the diabolical Sabra and Shatila massacres in mid-September, in which more than a thousand Palestinian civilians, mainly women and children, were murdered in cold blood. My delegation is of the view that the Government of Israel-its protestations of innocence notwithstanding-as the occupying Power at the time, must shoulder a large measure of responsibility for these monstrous deeds. At the same time I wish to reiterate my Govern- ment's unequivocal condemnation of these genocidal atrocities. 8. For over three decades, the Palestinian people has been denied those rights which the United Nations considers fundamental and inalienable, the most basic being the right to self-determination. The sad events ofrecent months have dramatized the enormous tragedy that has been engendered by the prolongation of such denial. At the same time, the wider ramifica- tions of this unacceptable situation have been vividly illustrated. .. 1463 A/37/PV.89 15. Israel has altered the spiritual, the religious and even the demographic nature of Jerusalem. The member States of the European Community have affirmed that Israel had no right to alter the status of Jerusalem. Indeed, His Holiness the Pope has stressed Jerusalem's importance as a spiritual international heritage of mankind and has called for its protection from attack. 16. It is the responsibiHty of the international com- munity to safeguard the spiritual heritage ofJerusalem and to save it from continued Judaization. 17. It is obvious today that Israel's policy in the West Bank since 1967 has been designed to absorb it completely and make it an integral part of Israel. 18. Israel's occupation of Lebanon is in flagrant violation of international law and of United Nations resolutions and in defiance of world public opinion. It has exacerbated the refugee problem, particularly in Lebanon. It is obvious that this chronic problem is organically and politically linked with the question of Palestine. 19. There must be a response to the immediate vital needs of the Palestinian refugees, and we must ease their daily sufferings. This requires that the States concerned come to the aid of UNRWA so that it may guarantee its services to the refugees and be enabled to overcome the financial difficulties and the budget deficit from which it has suffered for many years. Since no international enforcement measures have been imposed against Israel, that country remains determined to stay in Lebanon and to make its occupa- tion a/ait accompli. 20. Israel deceives only itse~f when it continues to deny the right of the Palestinian people to its lands and homeland by resorting to persecution of that heroic people. Its declared purpose is the denial of the rights and the just cause of the Palestinian people, which is the core of the Middle East conflict. For' the question of Palestine is indeed the very core of the Middle East problem and it will remain so as long as the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are not recognized, including their right to return to their homeland and their right to self-determination, inde- pendence and national sovereignty. 21. Although the General Assembly has adopted the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Israel continues to ignore them totally. Hence, the Security Council and the General Assembly are duty-bound to continue to adopt positive resolutions in order to correct past errors in ~onnection with the Palestinian people. The Assembly and the Council must assist the Palestinian people to recover their legitimate and inalienable national rights. 22. The resolutions adopted by the General As- sembly represent an important step towards the repara- tion of the injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Assembly itself after the Second World War in what were extremely complex circumstances. Israel owes its very existence to a General Assembly resolution that was the subject of lengthy disputes before it was eventually adopted. Today, Israel is still defying United Nations resolutions in order to weaken the prestige and influence of the Organization. Israel has gradually vitiated Security Council resolution 242 (1967) by refusing to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands, by establishing settlements and by continuing the Judaization ofJerusalem. That is 37. General Assembly resolution 181 (11), of 2~ No- vember 1947, prov~ded for an independent Palestinian State much larger than that reflected by the Armistice lines of 1949, alongside a Jewish State and without a single PaJestinian being expelled from his homeland either-naturally-from the Palestinian Arab State, or the Jewish Slate. That many of those plans have been well-meaning and, indeed, intended to contribute to a just and lasting peace should by no means be over- looked. Their drawback has been consistently that they were alwayg met by a seemingly impenetrable wall of intransigence by Zionists irrevocably deter- mined to usurp not only the '.vhn!e of Palestine but other Arab territories beyond, in an insatiab!e search for conquest which could only be countered by a force of equal weight. The IsraeH!S, by word and deed, have made the realization of !hh\ fact remain firmly in every mind. 41. Those who gloat over disagreements amongst leaders over ways and means and timing in achieving a truly just and lastiug peace for all should never naively interpret this as disarray, still less that Arab unity is a mirage. On the contrary, the question of Palestine is sacrosanct; it is so momentous that it would be surprising if differences of opinion did not arise within the Arab nations, including the Palestinians themselves, in d~~~jng with a Zionist Israel determined to demolish any feasible solution at first sight. I wish to assure the Assembly that the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference. convened at Fez last September was one of the most incisive and in-depth dialogues on the Palestinian issue and that aB options were explored candidly and responsibly, cutting across any and all parochial considerations. 38. This is the bottom line, the basic problem deHber- ately diffused and blurred by a stream of peripheral issues, crises and systematic brain-twisting and brain- washing, issues which cont~nue to emerge from Israel's inexhaustible Pandora's box. The Zionist objective has always beer~, and without any shadow of a doubt will continue to be, to divert attention away from dealing with the real issue at the heart of the Middle East turmoil, namely, the rights of the Palestinian peop?le and Israel's adamant refusal even to consider them. In fact, until 1974 or 1975, one of their top leaders queried the existence of the Palestinian people. Thus, the world is kept fully occupied with a multitade of issues, crises and tragedies which, though of the u~­ most gravity in themselves, perpetuate the suffering and the djspersal of the Palestinian people. 42. That Conference launched a genuine peace initiative-and I emphasize ••genuine''-which we hope will receive the consensus support of the United Nations because it is derived from the United Nations own cumulative resolutions, although in many aspects dwarfed. The initiative of that Conference is based on the following eight principles [see A/37/696]. 43. First, the withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem. 39. The cumulative effect of these diversionary but extremely unsettling Zionist pians and their adven- turism has at least temporarily s:.&cc~eded in removing from any clear view all genuine efforts for the peace- ful and rational consideration of plans for resolving the intolerable plight ofthe Palestinian people. Walking on quicksand and ever-changing slippery ground, how is it possible to untie the Gordian knot which Israel has systematically woven and tightens con- tinually? Assumptions accepted in the 1949 Lausanne Protocol4 have been ren.dered inoperative by the faits ac."omplis of the IsraeH aggressor even though Israel has initialed that Protocol, as have the Arab States involved, namely, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and prominent Palestinian leaders. Even the assumptions embodied in the Security Council resolutions of 1967 and 1973 have becC'me empty shells 'with Israel's colonization of Irom 50 to 5: per cera of the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands. Israe~ makes no gecret of its deter- mination to "annex all the occupied territories, while striving to squeeze out their lawfui inhabitants by evrrry possible means, including terror, economic strangula- tion and deportation; ~:ve1;'Y conceivable form of oppression that mankind has witnessed is the daily ordeal of every citizen in the occupied territories. They have already gou~ a long way towards achieving this goal, particularly in Holy Jerusalem, now 44. Secondly, the removal of the settlements illegally established by Israel on occupied Arab lands after 1967. Removal here might mean transfer, because, as my colleagues are aware, up until 1948 the Palestinians owned almost 94 per cent of the total area of Pal- estine. They owned most of the towns, cities, villages, the land, everything. Arrangements can be made and worked out. I am not one·of those believers in destruc- tiOl~; I believe in c-tlnstruction, unless it deforms, as it has done in areas surrounding the Holy City of Jerusalem. 45. Thirdly, a guarantee of full freedom of worship for adherents of all faiths at their holy sites. 46. Fourthly, the reaffirmation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to exer, cise its inalienable national rights, under the leader- ship of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative, and compensation for those Palestinians who may not wish to exercise their ri~ht of return. If the Israelis have since 1950 implemented their notorious Law of Return, the United Nations has in equal measure been asserting the right of every Palestinian to return to his homeland, and therefore we could refer to a United Nations Law of Return. 66. Other massacres of the Palestinian people have taken place since Deir Yassin, but the Palestinians have finally understood Israel's infamous designs and have refused to leave their land, in spite of the demolition of their homes, the murder of their leaders and the detention of their children, and the vice-like grip closing round their daily lives. Israel had only one choice left-the gradual ext~rmination of the Palestinian people, and if that proves impossible, the annihilation of its hopes, its aspirations and its dreams to return to its homeland of Palestine.

At the beginning of my inter- vention, I should like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Sarre, Chairman ofthe Committee on the Exer- ciseof the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for the positive and objective report which he has submitted to the General Assembly. I w3sh also to express my thanks to Mr. Gauci, the Committee's Rapporteur, for his important statement [see 84th meeting] on the Committee's d~liberations and . the results achieved. 67. In :1ccordance with these plans, during the past few years Israel has been exporting its terrorism out- side the occupied Arab homeland, into the Palestin- ian refugee camps and assembly centres in order to exterminate the Palestinians. The massacres of Sabra and Shatila, the murdering of women, children and old people, are the best possible proof of the nature of Israel's designs against the Palestinian people. 63. We are meeting once more today to discuss the question of Palestine, the General Assembly having already resumed its debates at four sessions in a single year to consider Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people. Each time the General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Israel'g policies and calling '4Jn it to put an end to thos~ polic!e;;, which violate the -Charter of the United Nations, the prin- ciples ofjustice and intclIlational agreements. In spite of these new resolutions, which are added to those already adopted· on the subject of the rights of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian5 find thernselves more ana more exposed to suffering, dispersion and even allni!liiation, because Israel is pursuir.g a policy whose purpose is to aUer and destroy their identity, to 68. From the time of its creation up to today, Israel has proved that it is a State that is not interested in seeking peace. This is proved by its flagrant violations of the Charter, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of the Geneva Convention relative to the ProtectEon of Civilian Persons in Time of War,· of 12 August 1949,1 and of the numerous resolutions on the question of Palestine adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council. 69. The time has come for the Security Council to assume its responsibilities Rnd end theimpotence that is aftlicting the Organization because of t~le Council's inability to impose compliance with its resolutions. The time has come for the Security Council to take seriously the resolutions adopted by the General . flh~, Republic of Lebanon, the Jsraeli rulers\ made no hum~n rights, the most important of which is the right to life. 81. As previous speakers have already said, the main reason for the impunity with which all these crimes have been committed is that we find standing at the side of the aggressor as its strategic ally and part- ner the most important imperialist Power. It is the United States which bears responsibility for the crimes of the Israeli military and for the fact that the question of Palestine has not yet been resolved. 82. . However much Washington might try to distance itself from the criminal actions of its ally, it is known that the United States has not only giver- its consent to the unleashing of the aggression but also supplied its client with the most modern weapons, including those of the most barbarous kind, such as fragmenta- .- - c~,n be more generous about the provision offunds for been extremely scrupulous in carrying out its mandate Israel. The sum of $2.5 billion originally proposed by and in a relatively short period has presented to the the Administration for 1983 has been increased, on General Assembly fC'f approval a draft provisional the basis ofa SenaW recommendation, by an additional agenda for the Conference and a number of r'ecom- $500 million. mendations, which the delegation of the Ukrainian 8' SSR supports. We hope that all States will take part in 4. Few are likely to be deluded by the attempts the work of this COnference and that its decisions will of the United States Administration to achieve by contnibute to the r~storation of the inalienabie rights political means what Tel Aviv failed to bring about of the Palestinian people. on tlbe battlefield, above an, to deprive the Palestin- ians of any hope of establishing their own State. Th~ 89. In conclusion, the delegation of the Ukrainian Ur~itel;l States proposals are in essence a programme for SSR wishes once again to express Jts solidarity with !be further worsening of relations between Arab peo- the heroic Arab people of Palestine and other Arab plies. They are aimed at the confirmatiol7. of israeli- peoples which are fighting against the aggressor. American dominance in the r~gion. We hope that the General Assembly will, in the course 85., And yet, as events this year have shown, the of its present session, adopt useful decisions and ful- Pale8tinian problem cannot be cut through with a fil the hopes placed in it by the four-million-strong sword, nor can it be ievelied to the ground, as the Palestinian people. Israeli military have tried to do. That problem is a 90. Mr. LOGOGLU (T!Jrkey): The situation in the political problem which can and must be resolved only Middle East continues to pose a very serious threat to by politica! means. regional security and world peace, primarily because 86. It is generally known that m:..,ch is being done in the problem ofPalestine remains unresolved. The Arab this respect by those who are genuinely interested Palestinian people are no closer today to the realiza- in a solution of the Palestine problem. This is con- tion of their legitimate national aspirations than they firmed by the results of the Twelfth Arab Summit were a year ago when we discussed this same issue Conference, held at Fez. Of great significance also during the thirty-sixth session of the General As-- are the Soviet proposals on a comprehensive and sembly. In fact, the Arab Palestinians have since then just settlement in the Middle East, comprising six been the victim again of the most brutal form of principles [see A/37/457]. These principles include, aggression and violence as a result of the recent inter alia, total withdrawal of 'Israeli forces from all events in Lebanon. Our only consolation at this time Arab territories occupied since 1967, including East is that there are renewed efforts towards and a wider Jerusalem, implementation of the inalienable right of commitment to the achievement ofpeace in the Middle the Palestinian people to self-determination and the East. We also note with satisfaction that there is now setting up of its own independent State, and the right greater recognition of the imperative need to find ajust of all States of the region to a secure and an inde- solution to the question of Palestine. pendent existence. Such a settlement could be brought 91 about through the collective efforts of all the parties . The blind persistence of Israel in pursuing concerned, including the PLO, the sole legitimate policies of aggression, expansion, annexation, repres- representative of the Palestinian people. sion and illegal settlement remains the fundamental impediment to the initiation of an effective peace 87. A positive contribution to the solution of the process ir the Middle East. Israel's most recent Palestinian problem should be and is being made by the aggression against Lebanon highlighted once again, at United Nations, within the framework of which many the cost to the Arab Palestinian and Lebanese people useful decisions and recommendations have been of untold suffering, the futility of the use of {force to worked out, including the recommendations of the bring about justice and peace in the region. Committee ?~ the Exercise of th~ Inalienable Rights of the PalestIman People. Such recommendations were 92. When we review Israel's policies and actions, approved by the General Assembly at its thirty-first especially in the occupied terdtories and most recently and subsequent sessions. Unfortunately, they have in Lebanon, we fail to see any signs of a prepared- remained mere recommendations, because the United ness or desire on the part of Israel to search for an States has been frustrating the efforts of the Security equitable solution which would accommodate the Council to give them legal force. expectations of the Arab Palestinians: Rather, we observe precisely the contrary-that Israel appears 88. As a member of the Committee on the Exer- intent on liquidating the Palestinian problem by both cise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian Peo- physically and morally decimating the Arab Palestin- pIe, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Rf\public is making ian people. Israel must stop treading th3s dangerous ! 100. The time is propitious for finding a just and lasting solution to the question ofPalestine. The search for peace must be pursued with wisdom, vision, courage and flexibility. The present configuration of regional and global dynamics favours peace rather than confrontation. We commend the leadership ofthe PLO for its conduct after the recent developments in the area and its full understanding of and sensitivity to the situation there. 101. We again call on Israel to abandon the path of conflict and confrontation in favour of the path of peace and co-operation. If it is recognition by its neighbours and security that Israel truly desires, then the Government of Israel must prove this by its actions and policies. There is a long list of wrongs perpe- trated by Israel on the basis of which the interna- tional community justifiably heaps blame upon blame on Israel. We all must condemn Israel, and indeed we do. Yet, for lasting peace to come about and for the Arab Palestinian people to realize their most cherished dreams· as a nation, Israel too must be persuaded to choose and to make peace.

In its search for ajust and durable solution to the problem of Palestine and to the conflict in the Middle East as a whole, the General Assembly ha§ repeatedly called upon Israel and its collaborators to recognize the inaH~nable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and a national homeland in Palestine. The Assembly has repeatedly stressed that the question of Palestine is at the core of the conflict in the Middle East and that unless and until the Palestinian people are enabled to exercise their inaJienable rights. peace and security in the Middle East will continue to elude us. 103. This year's massive and barbaric Israeli invasion of Lebanon has highlighted the plight of the Palestin- ian people. All men and women of conscience the world over were horrified and deeply saddened by the Israeli act of aggression against Lebanon aimed at the liquidation of the Palestinian people. That savage Israeli action led to the death of thousands of Palestin- ians. as well as Lebanese citizens, and brought untold misery to the survivors. The Israeli invasion of Leb- anon also resulted in the removal of the PLO from that country. Thus, precjous Palestinian lives have been senselessly lost and the Palestinian people have once again been dispersed. 104. Such is the situation as we once again take up the question of Palestine in the General Assembly. The Israeli action was in itselfa most flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and was carried out contrary to the norms of interna- tional law and civilized conduct. This notwith- standing, Israeli troops to date remain in occupation of Lebanon. We call for the immediate and lEn~conditional withdrawal of those troops from Lebanon. vl~ry clear. It has been repeatedly reaffirmed, particu- la.rly through the General Assembly and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. This year alone, several meetings and conferences have taken place on the question of Palestine, at which the universal demand has been articulated. The most notable of these meetings and conferences were the emergency special sessions of the General Assembly on Palestine, the extraordinary ministerial meetings ofthe Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries, held in Kuwait and Nicosia, and the Summit Conference of Arab countries, held at Fez. 108. We have a clear and reasonable basis for a settlement. The international community has spoken loud and clear. What is now required is political will on the part of ail States, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, earnestly to commit themselves to finding a solution to the problem of Palestine within the United Nations framework. 109. The Palestinian people must be enabled to exercise their right of self-determination. They are entitled to a State of their own in Palestine. The PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestin- ian people, should have the dght to participate fully and on an equal footing with the other parties in negotiations designed to find a solution to the problem of Palestine. 110. Indeed, an overall solution to the conflict in the Middle East is long overdue. To make this possible, Israel must withdraw from all occupied Arab ter- ritories, in addition to respecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. Israel must also abandon its aggressive policies and undertake to live in peace with its neighb.ours. Ill. In conclusion, I wish to pay a tribute to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under the able leadership of my brother and colleague, Mr. Sarre, ofSenegal,for the important work it is doing in promoting the cause of the Pale~tinian people. The report before the Assem- bly bears testimony to the commitment and dedicated

The question of Palestine has engaged all the peace-loving forces of the international community ever since the land of Pal- estine was partitioned into a Jewish State, which has since existed as a cancerous outgrowth of an illegiti- mate birth, and a Palestinian State which never was. The Palestinian people had every right to remain and to enjoy peace and prosperity in their motherland, even after partition. Instead, they have been tortured, exiled and dispersed into other territories, where they have become refugees. For the past 35 years the Palestinian issue in its entirety has remained on the agenda of the General Assembly and has been the subjzct of every kind of effort in the search for a lasting solution. Throughout these years this question, which embodies the legitimate Palestinian national rights, has been addressed in all its political, cultural and human dimensions. It is unfortunate, however, that prospects for peaceful solutions to these problems have been frustrated and, indeed, have receded. This is because the Israeli authorities have refused to deviate from their illegitimate policy and practices of denying the Palestinian people the exercise of their inalienable rights, as set forth in the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Israeli forces of aggression have never ceased to launch the most destructive and the bloodiest aggres- sion against the Palestinian people, with the avowed intention of exterminating them, liquidating their leadership and destroying their organizational struc- ture. 113. The escalation of terror and violence carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against the innocent Palestinian civilians in Lebanon, the Lebanese people and other Arabs in the occupied Arab territories has all the makings of a great tragedy. This is not sur- prising, because ever since its illegitimate birth Isra~1 has committed itself to torture and to inflicting cold- blooded murder on the Palestinians and other Arabs in the occupied Arab territories. It has destroyed thear properties and gradually annexed their land, on which it has created new Jewish settlements in fulfilment of its expansionist policy. 114. Throughout these years, the Israeli intransigence has had no limits. Defiant as ever, and in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the international code of conduct, Israel has successively occupied Arab lands in the territories of almost all its Arab neighbours. The Israeli occupation forces have intensified their ill-treatment of the Palestinian and other Arab populations in the occupied Arab ter- ritories. Deportation and expulsion of innocent Palestinians and denial of their rights to return to their own land have become the order of the day. New Jewish settlements have been established on the usurped land. Illegal measures to change the legal status, geographic nature and demographic composi- tion of the occupied territories have become a phe- nomenon which repudiates international norm'" and violates the principles of the Charter. Israel has further outraged the international community by relentlessly committing sacrilegious acts in the holy shrines in the Holy City of Jerusalem and by endangering the 119. We very much regret that the Security Coun- cil, the highest institution of its kind for the main- tenance of international peace and security, has been deliberately prevented by the United States veto from taking effective action to resolve the crisis of the Mid- dle East, which has resulted in the denial ofjustice to the Palestinian people: a homeland in an independent Palestinian State in Palestine. Such inaction on the part of the Security Council has certainly cleared the way for the perpetration of the chain of atrocities that led to the recent development in Lebanon. It was only a few months ago that we watched those criminal developments with horror and outrage. 120. The Lebanese Arabs and the Palestinians have become the unaided victims of the Israeli relentless raids, bombardments and shelling. We are appalled by the inexhaustible and massive military support from the United States which sustains the Israeli forces in exterminating the Palestinian people and dispersing them from their homeland. We condemn the Nazi- like atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces, which led to the recent tragedy in Beirut and to the massacre in the Sabra and Shatila camps, the sole aim of which was to annihilate the Palestinian people and their cause. 125. We believe that there cannot be a durable settle- ment of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East if the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are denied. Equally, we believe that no peace settlement in that region can be negotiated without the participa- tion of the PLO, the sole representative of the Pal- estinian people, as a full partner in. all negotiations directly or indirectly affecting the Palestinian people. 126. The PLO epitomizes the national aspirations of the Palestinian people. It is the vanguard of the struggle for the self-determination and national inde- pendence of the Palestinian people. 127. The international community is confronted with a situation in which an entire people, already dispos- sessed and uprooted, is facing political, cultural and even physical annihilation. The ignominious massacre of children, women--even pregnant ones-and un- armed civilians are but symptoms of an overall sinister design for the final solution of the Palestinian question, as perceived by the Zionist policy-makers. What happened in Lebanon is the climax Qf a process that has been going on in the occupied Arab territories since 1967. 128. The international community must now focus its attention on the question of the aftermath of the inva- sion of Lebanon by Israel which has caused the exile and dispersion of more Palestinian 'people and created a new situation that requires timely and appropriate 139. Jordan is the independent, sovereign State of the Palestinian Arabs. The plain facts are that the territory of Jordan constitutes 76.9 per cent of the Palestine Mandate granted to Britain by the League of Nations for the purpose of creating the conditions necessary to secure the reconstituting of the Jewish national home there; that the majority of its citizens are Palestinian Arabs; and that the majority of Palestinian Arabs are citizens of Jordan. Moreover, the Palestinian Arabs rightly occupy leading positIons in Jordan today, make up a ~ajority of the Jordanian National Assembly and constitute the backbone of the administrative, intel- lectual and economic elites of the country. 134. This refusal to recognize Israel's existence, as well as its right to exist, is the reason why the Arabs have since 1948 launched four major wars against my country. This is the reason why they have developed a ramified series of battlefronts and a vast array of weapons against Israel. These weapons include, inte" alia, an economic boycott of Israel, whDch has been extended into a secondary boycott on third parties trading with Israel. Various countries have been blackmailed into joining this campaign against Israel: A propaganda war of major proportions has been directed for years against Israel and, in total disregard oftbe.elementary canons ofdecency and parliamentary propriety, the United Nations has been seized upon 140. In fact, the terms "Palestinian Arabs" and "Jordanians" are not only overlapping but also virtually interchangeable. This has been stressed on ~"1 an its various organs and.agencies as an instrument teadilyat the disposal of the Arab States In this war. ~umerous occasions by leadiilg Jordanian personali- ties. Thus, for example, Crown Prince Hassan of 143. On the other hand, the total area of the original Palestine Mandate on which the national home of the Jewish people was to be established was about 45,000 square miles, that is, less than one per cent-four fifths of one per cent to be exact-of the enormous territories encompassed by the 21 Arab States today. This, however, is by no means the end of the story. With the establishment of Jordan, which is the Palestinian Arab State, on close to 80 per cent of the territory of the former Palestine Mandate, Israel, the Palestinian Jewish State, was left with less than one fifth of one per cent of the total area of all the 21 Arab States today. And even this tiny sliver of land for the Jewish people to exercise its right of self-determination in its ancestral patrimony has been begrudged by the Arab world, which is apparently in- capable of countenancing a non-Arab and non-Muslim State in the Middle East. 144. If we put aside the myths, the pOlitical slo- ganeering and the propaganda, the problem facing us can tt~ seen to be of manageable proportions. There is already a Palestinian Arab State called Jordan, the majority of whose population are Palestinian Arabs. What is more, the majority of Palestinian Arabs are Jordanian citizens. Jordan is thus a State in which the national identity and aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs have already found full expression. 145. Because of Arab refusal to make peace with Israel, it was not possible, for three decades, to con- duct serious negotiations about the Arab-Israeli con- flict in all its aspects. The possibility of such negotia- tions only opened up in 1977, and the elements for a 159. The Israeli practices, particularly since the adop- tion of the principles of the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez, demonstrate basic facts, the most important of which are that Israel is an aggres- sive State which does qot abide by the Charter of the United Nations and its resolutions, or by international laws and customs; that Israel is pursuing its expansionist policy to the detriment of the Pal- estinian people and the Arab States; that Israel does not want peace and security, despite its previous clai~s to the contrary; that Israel regards the Khar- toum "noes" as a new Wailing Wall-"as illustrated by the statement of its representative a few moments ago. Indeed, we have just listened to further falsifica- lions of history and facts. The representative of Natic_""~J will shoulder its responsibilities in the face of Israel's intransigence; we hope that it will reaffirm the fact that no comprehensive, just and lasting peace can be established in the Middle East without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and without the exercise by the Palestinian people of the right to self- d~termination and the recognition of that people's right to return to its homeland and recover its property in Palestine, and to establish its own inde- pend~nt, sovereign State, in conformity with the relevant United Nations resolutions, and the Charter. 161. My delegation repeats that the PLO, the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, has the right to participate on an equal footing in efforts to find a solution to this tragedy which has beera weighing on the world's conscience for a long time and which chronically endangers peace and secu- rity. 162. In conclusion, I take this opportunity to express my thanks and my appreciation to all the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inaliei.able Rights of the Palestinian People. I extend partku,i~r thanks to the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. SaFe) of Senegal, and to the Rapporteur, Mr. Gaud 1 of Malta, for their laudable efforts, which are renectted in the report submitted to us. We hope that the contents of that,report will assume tangible form so that the struggling people of Palestine will be able to exercise their inalienable rights. We also hope that the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, which is to be held next year, will achieve its objectives, thereby enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights.

I now call on Mr. Sarre, of Senegal, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to introduce the draft resolutions on this item. 164. Mr. SARRE (Senegal), Chairman of the Com- mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (intelpretation from French): During the general debate, as now, various state- ments relating to the question ofPalestine produced the following consensus. First, the Question of Palestine is a source of concern to the international community. Secondly, the failure to arrive at a just and compre~ 166. Draft resolution A/37/L.42 deals with the work of the Committee, an organ which the Assembly found it appropriate to create. Since its establishment, the Committee has regularly submitted to the Assembly a report accompanied by recommendations, which the Assembly has approved since 1976: This year's report merely restates what previous reports have said, while taking account of events this year relating to the rights of the Palestinian people. The elements in the report were tht: subject of extensive exchanges of view between :an the parties which were good enough to take part hn the Committee~s work. The consensus arrived at i!~1i those discussions is embodied in this draft resolution. The Committee is convinced that adoption of this draft resolution can' only contribute to progress on the question of Palestine. 167. Draft resolution A/37/L.43 deals with the Divi- sion for Palestinian Rights. In it we note with apprecia- tion the action taken by the Secretary-General to make the Division's work easier. It asks the Department of Public Information to work in close co-operation with the Division to ensure proper coverage of various aspects of the question of Palestine. 168. Draft resolution A/37/L.44 basically deals with the International Conference on the Question of Pal- estine, which the General Assembly decided, in its resolution 36/120 C, of 10 December 1981, should be convened. The Conference will provide a unique opportunity to heighten awareness of the underlying causesof the question of' Palestine and to contribute constructively to a comprehensive, just and lasting solution. The participation of all Member States is very important. 169. Draft resolution A/37/L.45, recalling previous relevant resolution~, defines, on the basis of the ini- 170. Those are the comments that I wish to make in submitting to the Assembly for adoption these draft resolutions. I am sure that their adoption would usher in an era of peace, stability and co-operat~on in the region, which it so badly needs after many decades of misunderstanding and discord. The United Nations, in accordance with its Charter, has the imperative duty and responsibility of contributing to the re-establish- ment of peace in this region. 177. The establishment by force of a new series of settlements in the occupied Arab territories at a time when the international community, shocked by the Zionist aggression against Lebanon, unceasingly demands peace is certainly one of the most serious events of our time. These new heinous crimes are very serious indeed, because of their intrinsic nature, because they are the forerunners of other abominable crimes and because of their political implications. These settlements in the occupied Arab territories are not a new phenomenon but show the persistent desire for territo..Eal conquest, which has never been fully satisfied. These settlements established by force and therefore devoid of legitimacy, as. the General· Assembly and the Security Council have acknowledged or several occasions in the past, represent the culmination of the so-called theory of

It is almost exactly eight years since the General Assembly took a salutary step forward, after a long silence, and decided, by a large majority of votes, in favour of the restoration to the Palestinian people of its national rights and on the appointment of the PLO, its sole legitimate representative, as an Observer to the United Nations. At the same time, it identified the question of Palestine as the central element of the Middle East problem and the element which must be settled in order to bring about the definitive solution of the problem of the Middle East. 172. Since that historic vote, the Assembly has reiterated regularly its firm commitment to recognition of the exister.lce of the Palestinian people and the I ~stonition of their inalienable rights. Nevertheless, we have never dared to hope that the principal instru- ment of the tragedy inflicted on the Palestinian peo- ple would resolutely comm;;- itself to recognition of the Palestinian fa.ct and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region. 173. On the contrary, the leaders in Tel Aviv have pursued their criminal policy with regard to the Pal- estinian people with the same arrogance and the same disdain for the resolutions of the United Nations. They have recently inflicted upon us an example of their poBcy of terror by invading southern Lei.J~non, occupying Beirut after an inhuman siege, and organizing the massacre of innocent civilians in the Sabra and Shatila camps. 174. This policy of denying the Palestinians their legitimate rights, hounding them from their lands, taking away their property, reducing them to the con- dition ofrefugees and hostages, coupled with unbridled and insatiable expanskonism, stems from the pro- foundly warlike na:ure of the Zionist entity and bears "l'~mographic vacuum" within the occupied territo- ries, a theory whose programmed realization presup- poses the expulsion of the legitimate inhabitants, delivering them to the misery of repression and then exile. These settlements are also a basic element in the large-scale undertaking begun in 1967 and designed to modify the human, geographic, physical and historical traits of these occupied Arab territories. Like the diversion of the Jordan waters or the proposal to build a canal linking the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, the proliferation of'these settlements betrays the existence of a carefully thought-out plan to annex all the occupied territories. 178. The principle of the inadmissibil~:'Y of the acquisiton of territcry by force and its corollary, that of the non-recognition of the legitimacy of situa- tions created by recourse to force, are thus publicly flouted. 179.. After the annexation, by acts ofjuridical piracy, of the Holy City of AI-Quds and of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the illegally occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank were subjected to rampant annexation. The moment they have chosen to commit these new violations of international law demon- strates tne inner workings of the Zionist leaders' minds. Indeed, it is highly significant that these crimes are deliberately p.erpetrated while the ugly con- sul~jected to that of the ,\)ccupying Power, and the the problem of the Middle East, that a comprehen- law applicable in the Arv.b' and Palestinian territories sive, just and lasting solution of the Arab-Israeli con- which have been occupied ha~ ~en replaced by flict could be brought about only with the satisfactory "miH~ary orders" which establish d~'facto a ne:w legal set~lement of the Palestinian problem and that no regime in flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention negotiations could be started wi~houtthe full participa·· relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons i\~ Time tion, on an equal footing, of the PLO, th~ snle legiti- of War, of 12 August 1949,1 mate representative of the Palestinian people. 191. We would like to ren:ind. Isra~1 that it must 195. 'VVe support the prQpos?1 of Pres~dentBrezhnev end any measures that chang;~ the legal status, the [see A/37/457] on the conven~ng of an internationa~ geographic natur~ or demograIPhic comp{1lsition of the c'!)nfe~ence to negotiatfe on t.he question of Palestine, occupic:j Arab and Palestinian territories, ~~i:d must Zlt WJlich all partks concerned, including the PLO, withdraw unconditionally from the West Bank of the 't'iuJid be duly represented. Jo.rdan, the Gaz2, Strip, Jerusaiem and .the Golan 1%. We ~ope tr~~t the International Ccnf~renc{. on Heights, in'lccordance with the wisheG of the inter- thr Questi0n of Palcsi:in~, envisaged fei Augm3t 1983 national community. in Paris, wm servte to. re:i.oive this tragic situation 192. The Israeii authori!ies~ in their recklessness 9 and, above all, contribute ~n estabHshiiig pel::',~e in even ordered the forces under their control to massacre Palest!ne, paf~~cular)y by the granting of soverei~'nty several hundred Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and and self-determination to the PalesHn,an~~ as defined Shatila camps, to the great indigna,tion of the whole in th~ United Natsons resojutk~l~ on the inalienable international community and even ~ considerable part rights of the Paa!~stinian peopie. of Israeli public opinion. In our view, ~he Sabra and 197. Finally, we; re~.ffirm our comp~e~~slbpporl j[or the Shatila massacres were the ~ogical outcome of an recommenuations of the C(}mmiU~e on the Exercise:: Israeli policy which we have continual!y condemned, of thf' 1nalienable Rfights of the Paies\\ini'ul F~OP1~~, a policy based on political short-sightedness, blind of which we are a member. repression, arbitrariness and genocide. After these massacres, wr,; are convinced;hat appropriate action 198. Mr. de P~N!ES (S~~in) (interprefatlon .from at the international level shoukl be started against the Spanish): S~nce 19479 lrJhen the Uni~ed Nations first mad Tel Aviv gang, in accordance with articles H, took up ~h~ Qalestiol) of fcJales~iHe with t~e adoption of Ill, IV and VI ofthe Convention on the Prevention and msoDutkm IS! (11), the Organizaticn has d,evoted Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, of 9 Decem- 3S years to examining this is~tJe, which, bi' virtue of ber 1948 [resolution 260 (Ill), annex], to which Israel the scove of the problem, the c9mplexity of'the ele- is a party. Here I should like to remind the Assembly ments involved and their pm;siMe impHcat.~ons foJ:' of the message of the President of the Democratic world peace, undmnbtediy represents one of the high Republic of Madagascar of 19 September 1982 [A/37/ priority items before ns. Aith ..!lgh .-;:~JP: ·)fus are sure 465], addressed to the Se-cretary-General, in which he that justice will triu'.:~ph, thereby,ss\.iring the Pal- demanded the setting up of an international court estinian people of the righi to its territory in an inde- similar to that of Niirnberg to try the Israeli war pendent Palestine in accordance with United Nations criminals and their Lebanese accomplices. resolutions, the long time that has elapsed without a 193. At a time when many initiatives are being taken satisfactory solution being reached and the gravity of the most recent events in the Middle East make which, like the Fez Arab plan, could lead to a frame- this issue a source ofthe deepest concern to my delega- work for agreement, we would like to remind the As- tbn. I would recall here my Governmenfs traditional sembly that the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, posi~ion that the hisioric injustice committed against following the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting the Palestinian people is the root cause of the of its -Co-ordinating Bureau held in Kuwait from 5 to successive conflicts that have stained the Middle East 8 April_1982, reaffirmed that the question of Palestine with blood. and the problem of the Middle East could be resolved only by a comprehensive, just settlement guaranteeing 199. During its thirty-sixth session, the General As- the following~ the total and unconditional evacuation sembly adopted several resohutions on the question of by Israel of all the occupied Palestinian and other Palestine in which, among other things, it reaffirmed Arab territories, including Jerusalem, hl accordance that there could be no just and lasting peace in the with the basic principle that the acquisition of ter- Middle East without a just solution to the problem ritory by force is inadmissible; the free exercise of of Palestine through the attainment by the Palestinian the right of the Palestinians to return to their hom~s people of its inalienable rights, including the right and;thejr property from which they have been d~s- of return, the right to self-determination, and the right pJ~ced, or the'payment of com~croJsationto those who to national independence and sovereignty [resolution choose not to exercise their riiht of return, the'exer- 36/120 D]. The Assemb!y also determined once again t~r the SQcr~tary-Ge;lera! to work for the maintenance of pea(;e and for a jusi solution, if one of the coun- Lries~-brae!, which i!\ the party essentiaHy concerned in the implementation of ~mch resolutions-refuses to Cibide by them. Th(~ cease-fire in the Middle East and the United Nations peace-keeping operations iJ'R the region, supervised by UNTSO, UNDOF and UNIFIL, can be of little effect against the acts of aggression of a powerful nation on a war footing. 202. In our evaluation of the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East as interrelated problems, we must, despite the existence of several positive elements, such as Egypt's recovery of the Sinai, take a justifiably pessimistic view of the general situation, in the light of such other deplorable devel- opments as Israel'.s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights and, only a few months ago, its brutal armed intervention in Lebanon with its tragic aftermath of material and human losses. . 203. As a member of the Security Council, Spain can provide unimpeacnable testimony on the grave events in Lebanon and the acts of aggression per- petrated against the Palestinian people. On various _occasions, the Spanish ,delegation lent its full support to the other members of that organ, and to the Secretary- General, in their attempts to stop the escalation of war and the tragic events that took place throughout the summer of 1982. In addition to its participation in the drafting of resolutions adopted by the Council, Spain on several occasions took the initiative of sub- mitting draft resolutions demanding a cease-fire, such as the draft resolution contained in document S/15185'-which was not adopted-and the (Iraft resolution contained in document S/15325-adopted by the Security Council as resolution 515 (1982}-which demanded that the Government of Israel lift imme- ~o us for consideration, I would like to mention the report of the Secretary-General [A/37/525] dealing with agenda items 31, 34 and 61. The report is c,m- 2~ July 1982,8 thf; proposals put fmward by the Pr~si­ d~Ui \}f the United States on i September 19825 on the search for a peaceful settlement in tile Middle East, th~ principles adopted at the Arab Summit Con- ference, held at Fez [see A/37/696], and the statement of the President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on this matter [A/37/457]. Of all these, the one closest to my Government's position is represented by the principles· that were laid down at the Fez Summit Conference, which include, inter alia, the withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied by it in 1967, the dismantling of the settlements, and the reaffirmation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the exercise of their inalienable national rights under the leadership of the PLO, as well as the establishment by the Security Council of guarantees of peace among all States of the region, including the independent Palestinian State. 208. I would like to conclude by quoting from the Secretary-General's report: ••Although the above-mentioned proposals contain provisions that are, for the time being at least, unacceptable to one party oranother, 1feel that they deserve careful study and that every oppor- tunity should be seized to overcome the present impasse and shift the conflict from military con- frontation to peaceful negotiation" [A/37/525, para. 89].

The General Assembly is once again con- sidering one of the questions that is the most fraught with danger to world i-~ace, the question of Pal- estine. The situation inPalestine~ which came before the General Assembly shortly after the Second World War, concerns us because of its continuous dete- rioration, because it has been the source of succes- sive conflicts in the Middle East, and because of its explosive potential. . 210. The return of peace to the Middle East is un- thinkable without a just solution to the Palestinian problem. In his statement at the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly, the President of the Repub- lic of Mali, General Moussa Traore, solemnly affirmed this by saying: "'Because it lies at the heart of the Middle East crisis, the Palestinian problem remains the first that must be dealt with" [23rd meeting, piII'a. 37]'- 211. We must devote more ofour efforts to the search for apprD~riatesolutions to this situation. The Palestin- ian people is defending i~s rig~t to life and its right to exercise power on its native soil. That is only just and legitimate, and a people that abandons its fun- damental rights is a people that will perish. The people of Palestine is not such a people. More than 30 years of repression, frustration and incomprehension have not' succeeded in breaking its unity. Its faith in the destiny of its country, rather than being shaken, has 212. In spite of the vicissitudes experienced by the Palestinian people, the Palestinian reality has becom~ increasingly imprinted on the consci~nce of the wodd.lndeed, the General Assembly has, not wifil- out good reason, reconvened four times in emergency spedal session on the question of PalesHne, It was bef;ause of that Palestinian reality that the Security Council was to all intents and purposes mobilized, particularly in June and July of this year. It was in order that the Palestinian condition not become fatal that the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries also held extraordinary ministerial meetings, from 5 to 8 April 1982 in Kuwait and from 15 to 17 July 1982 in Cyprus. The rec;ommendations adopted during those various meetings are accompanied by many other proposals which, although different on major points, show the imperious need for a peaceful solution of the Palestinian crisis before it becomes even more dangerous for international peace and security, 213, Outside the United Nations there are few meetings which do not mention and analyse this reality or which do not propose solutions, all based on the recognition of the fundamental rights of the Palestin- ian people. On this point, we think particularly of the various proposals made by interparliamentary unions, democratic organizations, political bodies, scholars and an increasing number of persons con- c~rned about the maintenance of peace in the world. 214. Unfortunately, this reality continues to be ignored by the Israeli Government, which launches with impunity increasingly violent wars against its neighbours. The persistence of the occupation of Arab territories since the 1967 war, the annexation of the Golan Heights, the progressive Judaization ofthe West Bank and the Gaza Strip are the result of the complete contempt for the ideals and principles of the Charter and the precepts that lead to harmonious relations among States. This blind violence descended on Lebanon and led to the seizure and occupation of West ··Beirut,. the systematic destruction of refugee camps, the blind massacres of women and children- crimes that have horrified all mpn of peace, whose voices have been raised throughout the world against this wave of hatred, to the point that a Jewish daily paper AI Hamishl1lal' said that the Palestinian tragedy in Beirut was "the greatest misfortune to befall the Jewish people since the holocaust". 215. The allegations on which Israel based the campaign of aggression that it cunningly and carefully pursues against the Palestinians have been destroyed. As proof of this, we quote the Le Monde diplomatique of October 1982, which rightly said: .,For many years successive Israeli Governments have justified their negative attitude towards the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by claiming that the Palestinian fight.ers did not hesitate to use civilians as targets. Henceforth it will be difficult for the leaders of the Jewish State to invoke this argument." 217. The following was also stated in the article in Le Monde diplomatique to which I have referred: "Even if the PLO suffered a military reverse, by their two and a half months of resistance at the gates of Beirut against an enemy with overwhelming military superiority, the Palestinians forced the whole world to recognize the cause that they were defending, to accept the need to solve the political and humanitarian aspects of the problem at the same time." 218. Proposals for the settlement of the Palestinian crisis, and therefore the Middle East crisis, particularly its political aspects, are set out in the report of the Secretary-General [A/37/525] and that of the Commit- tee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People [A/37/35 and Con'./]. The latter was ably submitted by the Chairman of that Commit- tee, Mr. Sarre, of Senegal, and its Rapporteur, Mr. Gauci, of Malta, to whom the delegation of Mali offers its congratulations and apprecia~ion. 219. The recommendations ofthe Committee adopted by the General Assembly since its thirty-first session have not been followed up, unforlunately, because of the refusal of one permanent member of the Security Council to co-operate, thus preventing that body from finding just ;solutionli to a situation which is ~ontinually worsening and which, as the delegation of Mali has already said, has four times almost led mankind to perdition. 220. The Charter gives the Security Council a special role in the maintenance and preservation of peace. The conditions for the re-establishment of peace in the Middle East, and particularly in Palestine, have been affirmed here by the Head of State of Mali. They ~\ . require, necessarily, recognition of the Palestinian people as a people mobilized in a single political \ organization, the PLO, to ensure the triumph of its - ancestral rights and, the evacuation of all the occupied . Arab territories, including the Holy City ofJerusalem. Such proposals have been made by all who s aware of the seriousness of the Palestinian crisis, want to provide solutions in accordance with the Charter, the relevant General Assembly and Security Council / - resolutions, and the norms of international law. They can be found in particular in the programmes of action I adopted by the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non- Aligned Countries at its meetings in Kuwait and Cyprus. They constitute ~he basic elements of the Arab peace plan adopted at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference held in September at Fez. They were 230. Three months after the Beirut invasion, the PLO, far from being destroyed, now enjoys increased intemational political support, as the spokesman and the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Meeting in an extraordinary session on the question of Palestine in July 1982, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of member States of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries reaftirmed once again "their total and unconditional support for the struggle of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the PLO" [see A/37f366, para. 26]. The Ministers also urged all countries and organizations''to reaffirm their full commitment to the just cau&~ of the Palestinian people and its struggle under the leadership of the PLO, the sole and leg.itimate representative of the Palestinian'people" [ibid.]. This support was further demonstrated when at the Third Meeting of the Con- ference of Heads of· Government of the Caribbean Community, held in Jama~ca from 16 to 18 November 1982,lhe Heads of Government "affirmed their sup·· port for the right of the Palestinian pe:ople to self- determination and to a homeland". 231. The Committee on the Exercise of the inalien- able Rights of the Palestinian People also deserves special commendation for its contribution .to the heightened international consciommess of the Pal- estinian question, and here I should like to pay tribute 232. Guyana believes that the forthcoming Inter- national Conference on the Question of Palestine will serve to mobilize even greater international sup- port on behalfofthe Palestinian people, and we should like to express our appreciation to Mrs. Lucille Mair, Secretary-General of the International Conference, for the vigour and dynamism with which she has accepted the challenge of organizing this Conference one year earlier than the date for which it was originally scheduled. My delegation pledges its support to Mrs. Mair in her preparatory efforts. 233. Unfortunately, ~he Security Council is being kept conspicuously out of step with this progressive march of international opinion and is prevented from lending the weight of its authority to the framework for peace in the Middle East that is ~o widely recog- nized as constituting the basis for a final settlement. My delegation sincerely hopes that the Council will very soon be allowed to play its role in advancing .the cause of peace in the Middle East. The permissive- ness being shown towards Israel's acts ofaggression by its powerful Western friends and benefactors has proved to be a policy of diminishing returns for peace in the Middle East. It is therefore high time to begin to proceed in the Middle East on the basis of a sober unsentimental assessment of where the interests of peace in the region truly lie. It is time to take firm action to discourage Israeli intransigence. 234. Now that the sordid Beirut campaign is over, now that the PLO is out of Beirut, the essential question is still to be faced, and that is Palestinian nationalism. There is no force that can extinguish the desire of the Palestinian people to exercise their right of self-determination in their own independent Palestinian State. There cun be no military response to' the sentiments which the Palestinian people continue to articulate with growing intensity and effectiveness, even after the invasion of Lebanon. Those sentiments continue to find their embodiment in the PLO, and the Palestine question is even more widely acknowledged as the centre-piece of the Middle East problem. 235. If there is to be a secure and lasting peace in the Middle East, Israel has to come to terms with the Palestinian people, Israel has to come to terms with their political aspirations and with their inalienable rights, including the right to their own independent State in their own homeland. Israel must withdraw from the Arab territories occupied since 1967 in order that the enjoyment of this right by the Palestinians may become possible. There is no alternative. 239. The report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People paints a very sombre picture. Never before have the Palestinians undergone suc:h repression and killing. In the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, mal- treatment ofdetainees, arbitrary arrest ofcivilians and collective punishment and expulsion ofPalestinians are frequent occurreD( ·.~s. The poHcy ofestablishing settle- ments in the occupied territories is being pursued vigorously. It is accompanied by the expropriation of Palestinian lands, coupled with measures aimed at making the originalinhabitants flee the area. All these measures point to the fact that Israel is intent pn annexing the territories. Uganda has consistenUy maintained that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,· is applicable in fuU to the occupied Arab territories. Measures which change the legal and demographic character of the area are unacceptable. - 240. In June ofthis year, Israel, without any provoca- tion, carried out a massive invasion of Lebanon which resulted in massive loss of life and property. Israel's aggressive act can be explained only in the context of its historical designs on Lebanon and its desire to annihilate the Palestinians. The massacre of civilians , in the Sabra and Shatila camps invoked memories of the worst aspects of the Second World War. Uganda condemns these'massacres and calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from Letnnese territory. 241. The tragic events in Lebanon brought home even to those who haddoubts the need for a comprehensive .245. Mr. ABAWI (Afghanistan): Not only has it become customary for the General Assembly to con- duct a debate on the question of Palestine and to adopt pertinent resolutions on the item during each of its regular sessions, but also the Assembiy has been called upon, a number of times, ao convene an emergency special session in order to considerlle~, explosive developments related to the proble~.. '.: . -. ~ 246. Meetings are convened; lists of speakers are opened; delegation after delegation speak of the real urgency of the situation and call for its solution. Numerous draft resolutions are being adopted by an overwhelming majority of votes, yet a just, compre- hensive and lasting peace is completely out of sight. People both inside and outside the Assembly h.2ve been asking themselves whether we areengag~d.n, a futile exercise which is repeated again ~nd again iri"tbe hope th1t it may constitute political and moral pres- sure on the sources responsible for the present telision and hostility. In its repeated resolutions, the Assembly 250. The continuation of the crisis has put a very important question mark regarding the effectiveness of the United Nations is solving this problem, and thus gives urgency to renewed efforts on the part of the international community to find effective ways and means of putting an end to this unfortunate situation. 251. The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, while whole-heartedly supporting the struggle of the people of Palestine under the leadership of the PLO, believes that unless strict and concrete measures are taken, no solution will be found and the United Nations will remain hostage to the problem. The Security Council, as the only organ of the United Nations whose deci- sions are mandatory, can and should work out certain effective measures, including the imposition of com- prehensive sanctions against violations of the Charter of the United Nations, and thus force Israel into 252. In continuation of the tireleJs efforts of the international community 'to resolve the question of Palestine, the General Assembly decided, in its resolu- tion 36/120 C, of 10 December 1981, to convene an International Conference on the Question of Pal- estine, under the auspices of the United Nations, in order to increase international awareness of the facts relating to the question and to obtain governmental and non-governmental support for effective ways and means to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable rights in Palestine, on the basis of United Nations resolutic~s. By virtue of that resolution, a Preparatory Committee was established to undertake the necessary actions to ensure the successful con- vening ofthe Conference. The Preparatory Committee, under the leadership of Mr. Sarre, of S,enegal, and with the assistance ofthe secretariat ofthe Committee, has prepared a comprehensive report [A/37/49 and Corr./] on its work in connection with the forthcoming Conference, which is to be convened in Paris from 16 to 27 August 1983. 253. We hope that this very important Conference will provide an appropriate forum for searching for and elaborating effective ways and means of finding a solution to the problem of Palestine, a solution which is long overdue. In this connection, I should like to commend the tireless and devoted efforts of the Secretary-General of the Conference, Mrs. Lucille Mair, and ber staff, whose endeavours greatly con- tributed to the success of the work of the Preparatory Committee. 254.. I should like to quote part of the message' of Babrak Karmal, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and Pre:;ident of the Revolutionary Coun- cil, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: •'The Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is convinced that the United Nations must play an important role in promoting a lasting, just and comprehensive sOlution of the Middle East problem, based on the immediate and uncon- ditionalwithdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories and the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization, including the establishment of an independent national State of their own in Palestine. "Considering the Palestinian question to be the core of the Middle East problem, the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan believes that collusive deals or partial agreements will not lead to a just solution of the Middle East problem, particularly the Palestinian question. We believe that the best solution to this question could be found through collective efforts with the full participation of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Arab people of Palestine. "It is the moral obligation of all countries that cherish justice and peace to stand side by side with the Palestinian people until their final victory." li~s uttered by the absurd, twisted and arrogant representative of Israel. A letter will be addressed to the Secretary-General, to be circulated as an official document ofthe General Assembly. However, I should now like to make the following statement. 257. Whenever the region of the Middle East passes through one of the recurrent crises provoked by Israel, and whenever the attention of the interna- tional community is focused on efforts to find a just solution to the chronic problem of Palestine and the Middle East conflict, Israel resorts to a by now familiar tactic. It either launches unprovoked aggres- sion against a neighbouring Arab country, as in the recent invasion of Lebanon, or embarks on a process aimed at distorting the historical, legal and factual issues involved. The Israeli aim in both cases is to undermine the international collective will and direct world attention away from the underlying, central cause of the conflict in the region. ' 258. Thus, the current fashionable Israeli theme is to claim that the Palestinian people has already exercised self-determination in Jordan, that Jordan is a Palestin- ian State, and that consequently there is no Palestin- ian problem to solve. The representative of Israel hammered away at that theme in his hallucinating today in the Assembly. He ignores the historical fact that Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine. In view of his twisted logic, it is worth recalling the statement made in 1971 by the late Prime Minister of Israel, Mrs. Golda Meir, to the effect that there is no such thing as a Palestinian people and that any such notion is a myth. Now, however, the Israeli leadership suddenly realizes that the Palestinian people actually exists-but, conveniently for Israel, in Jordan. Need- less to say, that sta~ementis as absurd as the statement of Prime Minister Meir. 259. Israel argues, when it suits its purposes, that Jordan was in illegal occupation of the West Bank. Alternatively, it argues when it suits different Israeli policies, that Jordan. is in fact Palestine. If that is so, how is it that Jordan was in occupation of a part of itself? Even inverted logic is not without its contra- dictions. 260. No amount of semantic acrobatics can change the fact that the foundation of Israel was the destruc- tion of Palestine and the dispersal of the Palestinian Arab people from its ancestral homeland. We remind Israel that before ;t came into being in 1948 Jordan existed as a distinct political reality and was an inde- pendent, sovereign State. At the same time, the Pal- estinian people was living in its homeland in Palestine. 261. Even when the United Nations voted to partition Palestine in 1947 into two States, an Arab State and a Jewish St~,te, the p?rtition plan was very clear and specific regarding the territorial application of that plan and the exact location of the two proposed States in Palestine proper-west of the River Jordan. 262. The essence ofthe problem in the region remains' today, as it has always been, the persistent denial by Israel of the Pale§tinian people's legitimate rights, expelled~r what Israel calls deported-more than Arabs. If we love the land and have a historical 1,700 Palestinians, mostly professors, professionals, connection with it, so too the Arabs ... If we too doctors, lawyers, religious leaders, elected mayors, wish to live in this living space, we must live with from the West Bank and Gaza since June 1967. the Arabs, try to m&ke peace with them ... We stand 271. These dispersed, exiled and oppressed Palestin- over against the great Arab democracies as. inter- ian people 'are entitled to self-determination in their lopers ... we mu~t 10<;lk for an entente cordlale ... land, Palestine, not in Jordan. They are entitled ac- not upon the bas~s o~ force and powe~, but ,~pon cording to United Nations resolutions, repeated since that of human sohdaraty and understandmg... . 1949, to return to their homes and properties in Pal- 277. We must also heed the words of another estine-in Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramla and the Galilee, prominent Jewish philosopher, Albert Einstein, who, as well as other towns and areas in occupied Palestine. in 1949, refused the presidency of Israel and, in 1950, 272. The issue here is one of freedom, of human wrote in his book Out ofMy Later Years, on page 263: dignity: fre.edom for the Palestinian people, dignity "I would much rather see reasonable agreement for them within an independent Palestinian State with the Arabs on the basis ofliving together in peace in their land) Palestine. than the creation of a Jewish State. Apart from 273. The Israeli writer Amos Kenan actually wrote: prac!ical considerati~ns, m~ aware!1ess of the ~s-. sentlal nature ofJudalsm resists the Idea ofa Jewish :'The State of Israel controls 1 million .h.uman State with borders, an army and a measure of tem- bemgs who are not Jews. They are not equal cltlze!1s, poral power no matter how modest. I am afraid but Isra~l controls them all the sam.e. Arabs I?rovlde of the inner damage Judaism will sustain, especially Israel with .che~p labou~ power without w~l~h she from its development ofa narrow nationalism within cannot mamtam her high st~ndard of hvm~ ... our own ranks, against which we have already had Perhaps the rule of the Israeh peace-seekers IS to to fight strongly even without a Jewish Sta~e." fight for the realization of a binat;onal State in . which two peoples live as equals," 27~. Real peace will c~me to the ~~ly Land. of P~l- . . .. estme when Jew, Muslim and Chnstlan coexist with 274. .The core and cause of the conflict IS ZIOniSm, equal rights in a secular democratic society. with its military expansionist policy of occupy, con- quer and annex. The Begin-Sharon solution of wiping The meeting rose at 7.50 p.m. out the Palestinian people, committing genocide and mass murder against them-as happened in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila and other refugee camps in southern Lebanon-and uprooting them and expelling them from their towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza is a Nazi-type solution. General Sharonhas actually spoken about the "final solution" for the Palestinian problem. That is why the Zionist representative says here that Jordan is the Palestinian State. He says that because his terrorist leaders -Begin and Sharon-want to annex the West Bank and Gaza and expel the Palestinian inhabitants to Jordan after stealing their lands and their homes. 275. The cause of war and conflict is Israel's refusal, for the past 60 years, to recognize the human, civil and national rights of the Palestinian people. It is not the Arab refusal to recognize Israel. The late President Sadat of Egypt recogni1:ed Israel; yet there has beer. no peace)n the area, but more war and conflict and NOTES I United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973, p. 319. 3 Pale.\'tine Royal C()/nmission: Report, Cmd. 5479 (London, H.M. Stationery Office, 1937). 5 Weekly Compilation of Pre...idential Documents (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1982), vol. 18, No. 35, p. 1081. 6 Adopted at the Arab Summit Conference, held at Khar.:oum from 29 August to 1 SeJ:.lember 1967. 7 See Official' Records of the Security COImcil, Thirty-.\'e,'ellth Year. Supplemellt for April, May tmd June 1982. 8 Ibid.• Supplement for July, AUlfust alld September /982. docu- ment SnS317.