A/40/PV.103 General Assembly

In accordance with resolution 477 (VI, of 1 November 1950, I now call on the Observer of the League ot Arab States. Hr. EL-PARRA (League of Arab States) (interpretation from Arabic) : I should like to begin my statement on behalf cf the League of Arab States by offering my congratulations ta Mr. de Pinibs .L his election as President of this session of the General %ssembly and on the world-wide confidence he haa so deservedly wan 0 During the Pong years WC have Forked together in Lhe inLerna&ional. arena 1 have come to recqnize and a3mj.r~ bin ctutctandiq ab%bities;, his quiet dipPomacy and objectivity in dealing with issues, and his efforts ta Mister the valuers we al&o aslsociate uth his great country, Spain, with which we Arabs history, duringm&ich they intertwined -theit~Ciwilizations and-drew sustenance from the wellsprings of the smae culture and heritage. That is reflected today in the 3-r “Of Qy~sE-, u~g$&pggitfos g-&&&g g& _&ngu&~3,_li~eP.k” c- *. . - &b... .PGLhicand ha3te.#zy-oi: -&..a%- Arabs, and in the numerous Sp+m@ lib_rpriesp_rll~~r_ving_lthe ~~eq.qres of AK:!, ., culture. This comaon heritage also left its mark on the great monuments - the palaces, mosques and gardens - of Angaluaia and North Africa, the products of a civilizationPthat xmce made Andalusia. amcultural -centrefully the equal of Athens - -7;. and Alexandria in their prime. The,genius of that civilization was represented by many, among them Zbn Zahr, who excelled in medicine; Al-Maqqarri and Xbn al-Khatib, in literature, geography and history; and others who pioneered in the fields of aStrOnomy, chemistry, algebra and philosophy, such as Xbn Hwm, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Tufail and Ibn Rushd. The nomination of Spain to this high office is proof of Spain’s great xespect for this international Organization, which remains the repository of the hopes of nations and of future generations. I wish to record on behalf of the League of Arab States our appreciation and gratitude to Ambassador Massamba SarrG, Chairman of the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his constructive efforts, guidance and stewardship which is distinguished by knowledge an3 wisdom. We have comz to the conclusion of the General Assemb;by’s debate oi? the Palestine queGticm which, de,spite its iit!prtance, was accord&i only thrlje daj’e of @onceen oE the international cor;u?lunity ahut this problem. (Mr. El-Parra, League of Arab Statea) It is difficu%t, while si? #any dangers beset the question of Palestine, to diuctm the issue without feelings of pain and alarm. Thi3 problem has btgm 4efcm the United Nations far nearby 40 years 7 that is, since its.inctption. And the 11188 lW2dia hW@ U¶&? US 60 WCXWt~ tQ ifB ‘3VtntS th&t ti’@ UB8 Of fOKce, VfOhSlce? and crimes ~etrn~ through repetition , to have kcwxme rratural means of inttrnaticmal our international Organizatian. , inr. El-Parra, League of Arab States) The General Assembly has more than once condemned the policy of aggression and terrorism practised by fsrael both within and outside the occupied Arnb territories and its resolutions have affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian &people. Yet, in practice, the people of Palestine continue to suffer not only exile, dispersal and dispossession outside PaEestine but also Israeli repression, arbitrary arrests, and terrorism within Palestine. Israel’s shameless arrogance and the policy of escalating the terrorism that it practises against the Arab States and people are, of course, encouraged by the unlimited support it receives f rem outside. Despite the pressures that this Organization facew from States with special responsibilities in the Security Council and regardless of the attempts to undermine the people af Palestine, the Arab States and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people, continue to abide by international legitimacy, the principles of the United Nations and ethical values. They come to the United Nations year after year to remind it of that legitimacy and those principles. Xt was on that basis that the Arab States and the Palestine Liberation Organizatfon adopted a peace plan which the Arab States have strenuously sought to push towards an acceptable solution to achieve peace in our region and stability and security in the area. witi;lut that peace the area will never rejoice in sccurfty. Swurity Councils with the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the other parties cuncerned. That is in additim TV the individual and bilatecal actions underCtukw by the Arab States as pa& of their effort to achieve peace and end the crisis in a manner that; would guarantee the rights of all the people6 of the region. But what was the response ix that txmcirageoiis 2%~ ~a& pwce initiative - an initiative that cxdkl be killed by being ignored Eor a lmg perfodl The answer came recently on the wings of Israel’s mrplanes, which flew tlwusands of miles to destroy peaceful hoses and bury their inhabitantu - old men, wmen and children - in an Arab country which is a Member of the United Nations. That is how faraal responds to all. peace efforts in the region - an answer characterized by hysterical behaviour . Xerael strikes north and south, east and west, inside and outside Palestine, until even theme who stiBR had fingering doutcs now understand that Israel not only rejects peace but intends to destroy the peace process as well. Following Xa~aeY.‘s barbarous act of aggression against Tunisia - its bombing of the homes OF Tunftrtan citizens and the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organizatiion - regrettable incidents took place that resulted in the death of a passenger aboard the Italien cruise ship Achille Laucol and a United States --- citizen, Wlex Qdah, was assassinated simply because he wanted to exercise his right 0rgani2atd0n. He wanted to reply to that% chaeyee in the so-called land of the (Mr. of Arab Stateaj voices raised in denunciation of Zionist terrorism; on the contrary, the united States Goverrunent and news media persisted in encouraging anti-Arab feelings until th.e Arigricgn pu&ic began to view attacks agofnnt Arabs; IS almost acceptable and justif ied. The attempts to institutionalize racist practices in Israel and the occupied Arab territories against the Arab inhabitants have entered a new phase. Meir Kahane recently submitted two proposed laws to the Knesset; one would exclude non-Jews from the right of citizenship in Israel and the other would prevent any integration between Jews and non-Jews. The fact that the Chairman of the KnesGet refused to accept the proposed laws does not alter the situation, especially since the attempt is far from being abandoned. Kahane has asked the Xsraeli Supreme Court for a ruling, to force the Knesset leadership ta receive the propqsed two racist laws. But even if the Supreme Court rejects Kahane’s request that does not mean the Zionist racists will give up. That is a first attempt which will certainly be follwed by others. The question now is: Does that sort of mentality not support the same racist ideas that constituted the major rc?ason for the persecution of the Jews throughout history? Is it not time for Israeli leaders to adhere to the spirit of the Charter of this Organization concerning the rights of man, the equality sP man, and the breiherhm of man? It is that kind of sick mentalLty that prompts many in lisrael to con-unit vaCiGu6 crimes, acting on the urge to erase all vestiges Gf the Gentiles, destroying their mosques and churches and attacking tileir heritage in preparation for their ultFmate expulsion, SO that the State would remain Jewish with no place jnr. Bi-Parra, League of Arab States) We denounce from tkis international rootrum all forms of terrorism and at the same kiue support all the legitimate liberation movements, We dPf ferentiate between terrorism and the right of peoples-to fight, by all available meansr for their freedom and dignity - the type of struggle which has been supported by the General Assembly in many resolutions. we say to those who seek to hide the facts: You cannot cover up your cc’ilues, your terrorism and your aggression by accusing others and creating thick smokescreens to hide those crimes. We referred to Kahane’s positions only because he represents an extremist trend which is gaining ground in Israel, so much so that the advocate of those terrorist and racist ideas VW elected to the Knesset. St istime for the extremist leaders in Xsrael to realize that terrorism does not lead to peace and that bullets do not kill ideas and convictions but, instead, increase the determination of people to fight even harder in defence of their heritage and ideals. Thus, the repressive measures and terrorist operations carried out against the Arab inhabitants and against the unrelenting, heroic struggle of the Palestinian people inside the occupied Arab territories will not weaken them or their leadership - no matter how hard the Israelis try. This new factor in the rqion reflects a new Israeli attitude, one full of anxiety and impulsiveness, which ia gaining the upper har>J in Israel and ifi exhibited in the spread of Zionist oxtcem%r,m and tension in the occupied Arab tocritsciea. The reasons for that dangerous trend are many and variedp bcrt it in impartant to onderGtand its reper~ussi~nfi, some of which are already evident in a-. WC. El-Ear ra, League of Arab Stakes) The raid arr Tunisia wae the latest manifestiCon of Israel’s desire to convince public opinion at home and abroad that, despite its defeat by Arab resP8tanee in the south of Lebanon and in the occupied territories, and although it iS r@tXeatinq on the eaonomic and social fronts, it L&mains the region’s primary Military Power on which the West , and especially the United States, can still P cl- J. It is feared tiat Such thinKing could encourage Israeli leaders to repeat their military attackis against the Arab States under flimsy excuses. This explaiIls the desperate Israeli insistence on the use of force and on the rejection of pea=. We had believed that the resistance of south Lebanan had proved ~to Israel the futility of trying to impose permanent solutions by force and that occupation would never be a solution, no matter how fierce repressioil and kerrorism became. Mr. Shim?n Peres recently srid the following from this rostrum: *P call upon the Palestinian people to put an end to rejectimism, to belligerency. Let us talk. Come forth and recsgniae the reality of the State of Israel, our wish to 1 ive in peace and our need for security. et us face each other as EC ee men and women across the negotiating table.” (&/40/W. 42, p* 58) X say from this same rostrum that the evasive peace initiated by Peres during this international Organization@s celsbratlon of its fortieth anniversary was meant for internal consurrption in Israel to prop up the, labour Party, but it was also aim-d at the rest of the world, tailored aa it w;1s for radio and television sLations. of Arab Statea) practice of huraan massacxes, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian victims. Peme is a two-way street. It calls for a chanqe in the policies of hatred, death and terrorism. He who calls for cof3xistence must . reuugnize the immediate pa~‘ty with which he wants ta coexist. If Israel’s intentions are truly thhose announced by Peres, then why did the Israeli occupation authorities recently impose inhumane and brutal measures, -. beefing up their military presence8 increasing mtrols, blocking al.1 the roads with chackpoints, searching people indfscr iminately, aiding and abetting Yewish settler terrorist groups, intensigying the covert terrorism of the intelligence services andblindly applying -C& policy -of exwls~ion, -exile and administrative de-ten tj.Qn? What purpose underlies those acts of harassment SO reminiscent of the SecUritY meaf3ures impased by the Nazi occupation authorities during the Second Horld War? Although the Israeli Government does not always reveal its true intentions, the right-wing par ties in that country r whether partners in the Gavernment or not, and especially the Likud bloc, clearly answer our question with their slogan, which they proclaim today more than ever before: *one Ibrah and one land for one people only. * Yes, their ultimate aim is the liquidation of the Palestinian people. How similar that slogan is to the Nazi slogan , no matter how they try to conceal it. Is such a slogan in keeping with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? In this sunnection, I wou1.d Like to say the following to those who demonstrated on 10 November 1985 demanding that our Drganization reconsider its resolution describing Zionism a6 a form of racism and TV those who supported that and denounce the zionfst movement that gave them birth. fndeed , how is our Organizstion expected to respond otherwise when the slogan of the Israeli right is *CL&e %wb an&cm~l.aad for or\e mmew&uwXYJ!? -~~ - ~. i - We dare-certain that IXK Rates -ar&this @teEnational Ckganization and its Charter, which begins with the wor3s *We the peoples of the United Nations”, will not spare any effort to halt the attempt to annihillate one of its peoplea. It IS necessary, however, to emphasiz~ mthe~historic responsibility of the United States for the current situation in the Middle East, which is largely due to the unquestioning support the United States gives Israel, even after the recent Israeli acts of international terrorism, which violate America’s own principles and values. While the Arab States condemned the take-over of the Italian ship, the Ach ille Lauco, the United States, in its total backing far Israel, did not hesitate to indulge in inter-national terrorism for the sake of the Zionist author ities. What else can we call the air piracy carried out by American military aircraft in forcing down an Egyptian civilian airliner? Where is international law and what happened to ethical values? Mat, inaeed, is left of United States credibil.ity and its intention to achieve peace in the Middle East? The hijacking of an JZgyptian airliner - its fl.irrEy pretexts and yrimitide, vengeful motives acid2 - cy&ol.lzed whose anger and disappointment have under. ..ined their faith in the principles of peace at a time dominated by the Ircqfc of force, a time when terror Frrn h&c huen X aust now reply kiefly to a nuPrber of points raised by the representative of S BE: ael th is af cer nooil. (spoke in English) Fs”hat we heard this afternoon carried nothing new. St has become an old re<ord , We heard the and again the I: sraeli representative cite the Nazi slogan, ‘Oiae country, one people, one leader”. That today is a Zionist slogan, as 1 pointed out earlier. The Ssraeli representative spoke at length about naziem and then emasked in his statement that AT,, wWl_enaz-ism-may hsvePheenPdefeated in-Europe,- it was very-much -alivein the Middle East . . .II (supra, p. 16) With that, I am in full agreement. Nazism may have been defeated in Europe, but it is indeed very much alive in the Middle East. We have Zionism practised in Part of the Middle East, and Zionism has everything in IXXXIO~ with naeism. (Mr. El-Farra, Lrrtgue oE Arab States) ‘80th nazism and ~ienfsm hold to the cmcepk uf race; both Zionism and nazfsm hold to the concept of Nazi supremacy and the Zionist “chosen people”; both nazdsm and Zionism hold to the concept of Lebensraum~ the Zionists want a space to be made for the ingathering of the exiles from all over the world into Palestine; both nazism and Zionism hold to the concept of the fifth column. The Zionists in the United States have pressure groups; they have a city within every city, a town within every town; they have a pres:*nre group within every 5fngI.e branch of the United States Government. The Pollard spy case is a case in point. St can k argued that this case is an internal matter, that it reflects differences between two strategic partners, that it is nothing but family differences. However, when we have officials say’ing openly that Rafael Eitan’s spies wanted also to collect classified information about the military capability of neighbouring Arab States, this great family of nations is entitled to know what the Israeli-American family is planning towards our region and its security. The Israeli representa(ive spoke about: our rejection of the notion of 'compromise and coexistenceW - these are his words. 1 think the former Prime Minister of Israel has the answer to this allegatian. He said, when visiting Ariel settlement - one 06 tne biggest in the cxeupied territories - the following oath: "I, Menachem, the son of Zev and Achiza Begin, do solemnly swear tha1:, as (#r. El-Farra, Lengua of Arab States) Be then referred to the Saudi daily Magella. This is a big lie. ‘I: don’t know af any daily Hagella in Saudi Arabia. This so-called Saudi dally Maqella simply does not exist. S r?ed not cite the many Israeli distortions and fabrications; the President and the members of the Assembly are familiar with Xsraeli campaigns of falsehoods and distortions. f think it is about time that Zionism should change its ugly behaviour. The Zionists should accept the advice of Chaim Weizmann, the champion of Zionism, who, on his deathbed, had the following advice to gfve to alI. Zionists in the mrla: *We are a small people, but a great people; an ugly, and yet a beautiful people i a creative, and yet a destructive, people; a people in whom genius and folly are equally commingled. We are an ambitious people who have time and again repudiated and wrecked what our ancestors built. For God’s sake, let us not allow the breach in the wall to swallow us.’ This was his last advice before his death. TO conclude, I have one remaining quotation, from James Reston, an able journalist OP The New York Times. He said, after interviewing Mrs. Golda Weir: *Israel appeals to justice, but is not just to the Arab refugees. It asks for mercy and is merciless in attack. Et cc ies for peace and order in the world and for principles among nations; but it scocm and even villifies the United Nations which, despite obvious weaknesses, is the only instrument of intzrnational order and justice we have.” Me ccrncluded: “In this sense, not only gecqraphy and history but fqic are against Z‘s~ael over the long run, and the Israelis know it.” The PRE:SIUEZ@ Q -~-----L-,.-.--u cm2 ohkx2rvcr has seque-?sted to bc allowed tu m!ke a stabment dn reply. May 1’ remind members thf;, j,r\ accorc&.~ricc with Genera:!. ISEHd3~~r 10 ainutes for the first intervention and to ffve ninutes for the second intervention, and should be made by the delegations from their seats. The Observes of the Palestine Liberation Organisation has requested to make ZI stati?Reitt OP reply. 5 give him the flaor’in adcordance with General Asaenb:y resolution 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974. Mr. RAMUWI (Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)) (interpretation from Arabic) : This evening, the representative of Israel stCMd here to debate on the question of Palestine. He insisted on speaking on the roots of this cause. But he did not change his normal behaviour. Whenever the representative of Israel takes the floor before the General Assembly or any other organ of the United Nations he persists in the fabrications am? the lies which are far removed from reality and objectivity. In reality, the truth is that there has been a genuine condemnation of ISra@l and its racist , aggressive and expansionist policies. He tried to divert the attention of the General Assembly from the true and K@al objective in discussing the question of Palestine. He wanted to divert it to discuss other issues of minor importance , which have no relation to the topics and realities addressed by the General. Assembly. If the representative of Israel * wanted to address root causes, in order to be objective, he really should have annaunced before the General Assembly here the true objective of the creation Of Israel in the Middle East area and the methods that have been adopted by the European colonialist Powers and the ZionistF racist movement since the beginning of this century to achieve their cox~on objective. He really should have reminded the Gznsral FissnmbLy of the report of the British Primn MEnistcr, in L907, who Then the repmsentet$ve of Xsrael did not aaamm the methods, including murdem; and terrorfeml lehat have been adopted by the Zionist ~llove?senB; rant3 slupporlsij by those colsnial Fmers against the Palestinian people. He did not cite the ex~ples &fare X948 and b+zfore &he establishment of Xsraol as a desp!.cable pprojt~t. of imper ialiesl. One of the charask examples is the well-ktmwn massacre which took place in April 1948 at the town of De&r Yassin and which was led by Kenachem Begiin and Lt&ak Shamir, the eurrent deputy Prime Minister of Israel.. the victims of this imxiacm were hundreds of civilians, chil.dren, women and elderly people. He also did not refer to the statements of Kengchem Begin at: the time that, had it notbeen for the Deir~ Yassin massacre, Israel would not: have been able to exist. : (Mr. Ramlawi, ET.01 The representative of Iaxael spdse about the rcxks of the problem and the events that preceded the establishment of Israel and he referred to the terrorism that he said had taken place then. If he is really so concerned, why did he not make any rafe&!enca to the terrorism-praotieed by the.~zionist gangs against the United Nations itsePf, when they commit;ted. theycrime of-assassinating Count. Bernadotte, the Special Envoy of the United Nations to Palestine? Instead of giving the Assembly fahr.icat.ions, the representative..of. Israel ., should have objectively replied to the contents of the reports of the §pecial Corarnittee to Xnvestigate Israeli Practices affeqting the Humqn Rights of the Population of the Occupied Ter ritor ieo. He should have made clear the Zionist Israeli pcrsitisn canccrning the will-of the international community.gas reflected in the provisions of the United Nations Charter and of the General Assembly resolutions adopted repeatedly, year after year. In all those resolutions the international oomalunity has recognized the inalienable national right of the Palestinian people to return to its homeland, its right to self-determination WithOUt foreign intervention and to the establishment of its independent State. The fact that tsrael flouts the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the fact that it is not complying with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 are nothing new to the General Assembly, the United Nations as a whole or the international community. Israel’s history since its creat.ion in 1940 is replete with actc of defiance of General Assembly resolutions and total disregard for the Assembly itself. I would remind the Aasem!!ly of thhe position taken in 5975 by Chaim Her209 , now Preoident of Israel, when he wae representative of Ifirtlel to the United Nations. tknoral &mmbly r:eacalution in question was the one mndeminq Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination. its principles. Therefare we find nathing strange in the fact: that: me representative of Israel today ccmes to the rosaurn and indulges in misleadi.ng tactics ad- ~dfs t.orti_qlls~oP facts. ~9 does that simply because he cannot face pi -.. reality; he cannot face the accusing finger pointed at him and his Government. With regard to the statement by the representative of Israel on the death of Mr. Xl inghoffer c the Palestine Liberation Ocganizstian states tmce again that .iJt had nothing whatsoever to do rith the events that took place aboard the Achille Laura. The Palestine Liberation Organizatidn has condemned that operation. Statements have been made here today in the context of the allegations aad4 by Mrs. Klinghaffer against the X%0. It is very wrong to attempt to blame #e Palestine Liberation Organizatiao for the operation that took place on that: vessel and the death of Mr. Kl inghoffer . Israel’s claim that it aspires to peace is unfounded. The statement made by the representative of Israel today that Israel wishes direct tregotiations is nothing but an attempt to sidestep the General Assembly resolutions dealing with the question of Palestine - resolutions that 1srae1 rejects and disregards. Rut: our Palestinian pople, through the leadership of the Palestine Li.b@raticln srganizatictn, has reaffPrrr&d its strong adherence to the principle6 of thy United Gitluns Charter aild the Orgsnization’s resolutions ori the question of Pel.eatine det;igrted to achieve a peace based ~1 justice an+ to ensure tie exerci5e by the Pdlaskirlian poplc of their inalienable national rz iyhtc D understand that: a fo~tzb draft tesolution will be submitked under this item. SnaarPrch as some of thase drafti resolutions have programM?.b!@ge. impi Scations, the &sembly will take decisions ofi them at: a subsequent meting,~ the will be announced in the Journal. date OE which