S/35/PV.77 Security Council

The deadline set by the United Nations for the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories passed uneventfully a few days ago. The demand of the overwhelming majority ofthe Member States ofthe United Nations, expressed forcefuJ1y through resolution ES-7/2 of the historic seventh emergency special session of the General As- sembly, went unheeded. The promise of a homeland given to the Palestinian people by the United Nations 33 years ago remains unfulfilled to this day, and the Palestinians, uprooted from their hearts and homes, continue to be subjected to atrocities and indignities. The situation in West Asia remains tense, and the threat ofa conflagration faces the region and the entire world. Once again the United Nations has been rendered powerless in the face ofIsrael's intransigence and expansionism. 18. Behind the present explosive situation in West Asia lies the history of the denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, their systematic per-' secution and the desecration of their holy land. Even before the attainment of independence by India, our national leaders, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal NehriJ, expressed their indignation at the atrocities committedagainst the Palestinians. India has consis- tently advocated a just and comprehensive solution of the problems of West Asia, which should consist in the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable national and human rights, including the 24. The Arab people, particularly the Palestinians, have suffered long enough at the hands of Israel. The aggressive and expansionist policies of Israel pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the region and jhe entire world. Blinded by its military strength and the support of a super-Power, Israel does not see that it cannot guarantee its own security and national rights by constantly threatening the security of neigh- bouring States and seeking to reverse the tide of history. Only concerted action by the United Nations can bring Israel to its senses, and we should therefore once again reaffirm the inalienable rights in Palestine of the Palestinian people, including the right to estab- lish their own independent State; demand the com- plete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967; and call upon the Security Council to consider the adoption of effective measures under Chapter VII of the Charter in the event of non-com- pliance bv Israel.

We had great hopes for-s-and attached great importance to--the seventh emergency special session of the General Assembly when it met to examine the Palestinian question in all its aspects, in response to the urgent need to find a peaceful and com- prehensive solution to the tragic problem of the Pales- tinian people, who have been living in exile for more than 30 years. Unfortunately, that hope was not ful- filled; the Palestinian people are still in exile and the Palestinian territories are still under occupation. Although there is still tension in the area-indeed, it is increasing-the international community con- tinues to be unable to impose its will in matters con- cerning the maintenance of international peace and security because of Zionist intransigence and the American military and, other material support for the Zionists, which feeds their intransigence. " As always, India considers the Palestinian question as central to the West Asian situation. Along with other Members of the United Nations, we reiterate our support for the Palestinian cause. We are confident that the continued efforts of the United Nations will further strengthen the indo- mitable spirit of the Palestinian people to continue their struggle. The fulfilment of their aspirations is only a matter of time. " 22. The annexation of Jerusalem by Israel in total disregard of its historic personality and sacred heri- tage stands universally condemned. Security Council resolution 478 (1980), adopted unanimously on 20 August, reflects the indignation of the world. India has consistently held the view that Jerusalem is a part of those territories which must be vacated by Isra~l in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. India has always been, and continues to be, totally opposed to Israel's attempts to make the Holy City of Jerusalem its capital. 23. The report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the year 1980 is eloquent testimony to the excellent work being done by that Committee in furtherance of the rights of the Palestinian people. Even though its recommendations, repeatedly endorsed by the General Assembly, have remained unimplemented, the Committee has rendered yeoman service to the 26. The call by States for the convening last summer of an emergency special session of the General As- sembly to examine the Palestinian question was a clear indication of the interest of those States in the search for a peaceful solution to the problem of the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupation of Pa- lestinian territory. That great interest and concern still prevails in the international community because of the deterior- lug situation in the Middle East, which is the dirt result of Israel's continuing refusal to implement the numerous and repeated resolutions adopted by the United Nations calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and other Arab territories as well as for recognition of the . inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, includ~".~ their right to self-determination. 27. That refusal and defiance of the Zionist authori- ties and American encouragement of that attitude are matters of extreme gravity and seriousness, for they force the Arab world constantly to resort to the lan- Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories. More than ever before the international community is called upon today to face its responsi- bilities emanating from the principles of the Charter and put an end to this continued defiance by a State Member of the United Nations. 30, We consider that United States support for and encouragement' of Israel are, two main factors in this continued defiance and intransigence with regard to the rules of law and the refusal of Israel to recognize the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. The flow of all types of United States weapons to Israel and the moral and material'support received by Israel from 'Ule international Zionist movement are certainly the primary causes of .Israel's intransigence and refusal to 'withdraw from Palestinian, territory and occupied Arab territories, including Arab Jerusalem. Here we see the true harmony' between Zionist objectives and,imperialist objectives in their defiance of the international will, which has rejected hegemony and imperialism. However.,whatever the importance of that support and the flow of weapons, the will of the Palestinian people cannot be suppressed and their national character will never be destroyed. 3~. Zionist intransigence has reached such a degree J~at Israel believes that it is safe from any penalties and that it enjoys immunity'from punishment by the international community,or any other authority for its brutal action against the Palestinian people and its repeated acts of agression against Arab territories, particularly southern Lebanon. 33. The establishment of armed settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is not only a contra- vention of principles of international law and of 'the Charter but also constitutes the preliminary stages of the zionization of the area by eliminating the national institutions of the Palestinian people from these ter- ritories in order to achieve Israel's aim of annexation and the Zionist goal of Greater Israel. 34. The annexation of the Holy City of Jerusalem and the radical measures adopted by Israel in order to change the historic, religious and cultural aspects and the character of the Holy City have shown for all the world to see Israel's intentions with regard to Jerusalem and all the occupied Arab territories. 35. International tolerance of a racist State which deliberately contravenes international principles in every way and continues the implementation of its plans to obliterate the human and political person- ality of an entire people, the Palestinian people, is something that cannot be ignored. Israel's contempt for and defiance of recommendations and resolutions with regard to its policies in the occupied territories has led us to an impasse and' prevented the achieve- ment of peaceful solutions. The United Nations should find the means to ensure respect for and implementa- tion of its resolutions relating to the Arab territories occupied by Israel. 36. Israel's lack of respect for the will of the inter- national community as reflected in the resolutions calling for the recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and respect for the principles of the Charter should impel the Organization to carry out its responsibilities and take effective measures to guarantee the implementation of those resolutions, in particular the measures provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter. 37. The situation in the Middle East is explosive, and its continuance, closely linked as it is to the international situation. is very dangerous and could have a direct effect on the political and economic sta- bility of the world. The countries of the w.orld should stand together in dealing with the deteriorating situa- tion in the Middle East resulting from the Israeli occupation of Arab territories. 38. In 1947 the United Nations assumed the res- ponsibility of partitioning Palestine. Today it should assume the responsibility of finding a comprehensive and just solution (0 the problem it has created, na- mely, the problem of the Palestinian people, by res- 49. The people of Palestine is ready and able, under the leadership of its vanguard, the PLO, to accom- plish its national tasks, but it is being denied its fun- damental right to its own homelandand its owra. S~te.· In view of the success of the national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America, that ES~1/2 pointing to the need for the Security Council Palestinian people was ousted by Israel, the imperia- to take measures under Chapter VII of the Charter lists' plans are even more certainly doomed to failure unless Israel put an end to its policy of occupation. this time. 56. We have seen that the ruling circles in Israel 66. History teaches us that there will be no solution have ignored that resolution too. They have been of the Middle East problem as long as thePalesti- encouraged in this since the decisive political forces nians are subjected to oppression and cannot live in in the United States, in the interests of their hegemo- peace in their own State. The German Democratic nistic policies, have made possible Israel's economic Republic welcomes and supports the constructive and military activities, which are contrary to inter- policy of the PLO and the policy of the Arab countries national law. ' . which is geared to the attainment of that goal. It is 57. Today, two years after Camp David, the whole high time to' restore the fundamental rights of the region ofthe Middle East has been turned into a hot- Palestinian people, as enumerated' by Farouk Kad- bed of smouldering conflict and dangerous intema- doumi, member of the Executive Committee and tionaltension. head of the. Political Department of the PLO, when 58. Not one of the basic demands for a genuinely he spoke before the Assembly. Hesaid: . peaceful settlement hasbeen met. "The first is the right to return to our land and 59. The irrefutable facts show that the present re- recover out property; the second is the right to self- gime in Israel is not even thinking of putting an end determination without any foreign interference; to its policies of occupation, colonization and set- and the third is our right to sovereignty and natio- tlentent. It is not merely ignoring thewil)' of the Arab nal independence and to establish and independent people of Palestine but the position' taken by the Palestinian State in Palestine:' [75th meeting, United Nations, and therefore the attitude of the para. /27.] peoples of the world. In view of these facts, listening 67. As a socialist State, the German Democratic to the official statement of Israel that it will never Republic stands in solidarity with the Palestinian allow the creation ofaPalestinian Statevcan anyone people. We have been following with profound res- 72. The circumstance that led to the convening of that seventh emergency special session was Israel's continued defiance of public opinion and its violation of the resolutions of the Security Council and the I League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. CLXXIX, p. 115. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, No. 973, p. 287. 78. Israel's continued occupation of the Arab terri- tories by force and its consolidation of this occupa- tion in an attempt to change the cultural aspects of the area, as well as its additional annexation of land, as has happened in the south of Lebanon and in the Syrian Arab Golan Heights, are further signs of its aggressive and expansionist policy, which is a serious threat for the entire Middle East area. Israel is the only country among the States Members of the United Nations that has no known borders, and references to this are found in a statement of Chaim Weizmann, Director of the Weizmann Institute of Science and the leader of the Zionist movement, when he said: "I know that God has promised the sons of Israel the land of Palestine, but I do not know the borders that He has set for that land. I believe that they are larger than those proposed now, and perhaps they may include east Jordan. If God at the chosen time keeps his promises to his people then our duty will be to save whatever we can of what remains of Israel." 79. . This logic has been very clear in the Zionist expansionist ambitions and concerns more than a single event. All the students and researchers on the Palestinian cause and Zionist policy have known since the establishment of Israel that its leaders have affirmed that Israel as it is now represents only one step on the way to the achievement of the objective of Zionism-that of establishing a State encompassing what is called the "historic land ofIsrael". It is simply one landmark on that road and not the end in itself. The expansionist trend is clearly linked to the ideolo.. gical factor, and this was shown immediately fol.. lowing the establishment of Israel. 80. In a statement on 7 April 1950, the Zionist ter.. rorist Menachem Begin said: "There shall be no peace for the peoples of Israel or for the land of Israel, or even for the Arabs, until we have liberated all our territory, even if we sign a peace treaty." 81. . Israel's expansionist and aggressive record leaves no doubt the fact that its expansionist ambi.. tionsare more than just simple dreams and aspirations. They" are plans which are ready for implementa.. tion, and they are translated into actions and aggres.. sion that are afterwards defended by the Zionists. It is impossible for us to ignore them. The unconditional and unlilnited political, military and material support given to Israel by some Western States has led to its continued expansionist policy, its aggressive. prac.. tlces and its attempts to impose its hegemony over the .Middle East area. The situation that prevails in the area, the sacrifices that the Palestinian Arab peo.. pJe has been caned upon to make and its resistance to all kinds of injustice and oppression have led the international community to consider the Palestine 86. The time has come for the General Assembly to show that it can fulfil its responsibilities by dealing with this area of tension in the world and not allowing Israel to persist with impunity in its aggressive, in.. transigent and unlawful actions. Can Israel continue its defiance of the international community and the General Assembly? Can Israel be permitted to con- tinue to practise injustice and oppression and to wage 96. In line with this, they have been prepared to let the time, energy and resources of the United Nations be monopolized and manipulated by those Arab States that have been and remain implacably opposed to a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Arab- Israel conflict. The net result has been a profusion of special committees, special units, special missions, . special sessions, special reports, special groups of experts, as well as a special vocabulary-all created and exploited to further their hostile ends. 94. Others, perhaps somewhat less religious, led by the Soviet Union, have been only too eager to take advantage in an even more cynical way of Arab animosity towards Israel in order to penetrate and destabilize the Middle East. Their aim has been and remains to promote age-old imperialistic ambitions, at the price of much, suffering and misery to the peoples of the region, and in some cases at the cost of their freedom. 95. Regrettably, many Members of the United Nations have been all too willing to accept without demur the distorted view of the Arab-Israel conflict, as presented here year-in year-out by the Arab League States and by their supporters. The majority in the General Assembly has been prepared to go along with those Arab States because such acquiescence was found to be rewarding, or simply because it was the line of least resistance. After all, why invoke Arab wrath if appeasement, at the expense of Israel, will do? 97. This is not a debating point. Nor is it an abstruse one. It stands to reason that if the United Nations, an organization of limited resources, devotes a totally disproportionate amount of its time, documentation 101. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan is a clear example of imperialist intervention from outside against a country in our region. This is an instance of both naked and direct aggression, with all its conse- quences for the stability of the Middle East. How- ever, ou region has more frequently been subjected to less overt penetration, when the same subversive objectives were pursued by the Soviet Union through local proxies, including terrorist organizations. 102. Those three examples are no doubt freshest in our memories, but they are typical of many other conflicts that either have erupted in' recent decades or are simmering at present. One only needs to look at.the fraternal and friendly rendezvous of Syrian and Jordanian tanks on their common border to see yet another illustration of these conflicts. All ofthem keep the Arab countries and some of their neighbours in a Si:)''''' of constant tension and turbulence. What these COL .iave in common is that they exist indepen- den.' f the Arab-Israel conflict. They all have a genesis OL' their own and a dynamic of their own. 103. Thus the assertion, parroted uncritically here and elsewhere, that the Arab-Israel dispute is at the core of instability in the region is demonstrably false. At the Same time, there can be little doubt that these other conflicts have affected and aggravated the Arab- Israel conflict. Furthermore, it is clear that the Arabs have grossly exaggerated their quarrel with Israel because of the other disputes in the area. Does any- one seriously believe that if the Arab-Israel conflict did not exist peace and harmony would reign through- out the Middle East? Would the manifold tensions in the Middle East go away, and would the price of oil be one cent cheaper? 104. The events over the last two years in the Middle East should have also helped to put the Arab- Israel conflict into a more realistic perspective. Its dimensions have shrunk to their real proportions. In 111. Having failed to destroy Israel in their war of aggression of 1948 and 1949, the Arab League States persisted in their unrelenting attempts to achieve that objective. To that end, they established in 1964 the terror organization known as the PLO. Since that time the PLO has put itself at the service of different Arab regimes scheming against one another. It also serves the interests of international terrorism as well as the subversive aims of the Soviet Union in the region. The PLO's role as the linchpin of the "ter- rorist international" and the Soviet Union's use of it as an instrument to advance Soviet objectives not only in the Middle East but as far afield as Western Europe and Australia were described in detail in an authoritative article appearing in The New York Times Magazine of 2 November 1980, by Robert Moss, a lecturer at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. Excerpts from that article were submitted with my letter of 21 November 1980 to the Secretary- General [A/35/654-S/ /4267]. 112. Much has been made in recent years of the need for a so-called Palestinian State in Judea, Sa- maria and the Gaza District. It will be recalled that before 1967 Israel did not control those territories. Yet there was no demand then for the establishment of a "Palestinian State" in those areas. The Arab States which now so sanctimoniously preach about the necessary for such a State in those areas did scarcely anything at the time-and that despite the fact that Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District were under Arab control between 1949 and 1967. The explanation for this is very simple: the entire world knew that the Kingdom of Jordan is the Arab State in Palestine just as the State of Israel is the Jewish State in Palestine. 113. After their defeat in the six-day war of 1967 the Arabs changed their strategy. Recognizing their 3 Officials Records of the Security Council, Thirty-third day, Supplement/or October, November and December 1978, document 8/12966, 4 lbid., Thirty-fifth Year, Supplement for October, November and December /980, documents 8/14264 and 8/14273. 130. The Camp David Framework invites the Pales- tinian Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District to play an active role in shaping their future by calling on them to participate not only in the cur- rent negotiations but also in the negotiations which will determine the final status of the areas they live in as well as in the eventual negotiations on a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, in which the deli- mitation of boundaries between the two countries will be agreed. 131. The programme of autonomy which we have proposed for the Palestinian Arab inhabitants of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza District, as accepted in principle in the Camp David Frameworks, is the first 132. If members of the Assembly were prepared to step back and take a cool look at the Middle East, most would recognize that the pattern adopted by the Organization in its deliberations on the Arab- Israel conflict has proved sterile and has indeed become an obstacle to a peaceful settlement. Yet, that conflict is clearly amenable to solution, given a political will to effect a solution. Moreover, it is a conflict for which a framework for a solution exists and, indeed, one which has over the last few years been moving towards a solution within that frame- work. 133. Members have a simple choice to make. Do they want to accept at face value the Arab League version of the Arab-Israel conflict, or do they prefer their own common sense? As a measure of the credi- bility of the Arab League's version, I would remind members of the Assembly that only two weeks ago, on 17 November 1980, our scholar-in-residence, the new Observer of the new Arab League, held a press conference in which he astounded his listeners by contending that the war in the Persian Gulf was not a war at all but merely an instance of.-and I quote him-"very severe armed conflict". This shows just how out of focus are the lenses worn by the repre- sentatives of the Arab League. 134. The same warped terminology and semantic acrobatics have been employed by Arab representa- tives over the years in the presentation of the Arab- Israel conflict. They have used linguistic and con- ceptual devices to mislead the Organization and the world at large. This technique, which has been so aptly described as "semantic infiltration", has been allowed to penetrate and pervert the approach in many forums to the question before us. 13S. For reasons which I have explained, the Arab League's perspective has been out of focus for three decades. Captivated by their own exclusivist and hegemonistic hallucinations, they have refused to. face up to reality. For reasons of political conve- nience, they have tried to blur others' vision as well. They have drawn encouragement from the facility by which their distorted and destructive views have been endorsed in the United Nations. The time is long overdue to cut through that fog and to approach the Arab-Israel conflict and the question of the Pales- tinian Arabs within it as they really are: problems of manageable proportions and amenable to solution, given the political will to negotiate them directly on the basis of compromise and mutual respect. 136. Mr. HA VAN LAU (Viet Nam) (interpretation from French): The General Assembly is holding this debate on the question of Palestine directly after the international community's solemn commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Pales- tinian People, at a time when the international pres- tige of the PLO, the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people, is growing ever greater and when the relentless struggle which that heroic people 138. The General Assembly, at its seventh emer- gency special session, held last July, reaffirmed once again that the question of Palestine is at the heart of the Middle East problem. A lasting peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved until the question of Palestine is solved in an equitable and appropriate manner, in keeping with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and the principles of the Char- ter and of international law. 139. In recent years the Committee on the Exer- cise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has been constantly carrying out, with praiseworthy dedication, many diplomatic and political activities, as well as activities related to the dissemination of information; in particular, it has been closely fol- lowing the status of the question of Palestine and has recommended to the international community mea- sures towards a settlement o~ that question. Those activities by the Committee have helped the peoples of the world to become more familiar with the tragic situation of the Palestinian people and with its ardent desire to regain its fundamental national rights; at the same time, they have helped the peoples of the world to become more aware of the obstinacy and insolence of the Israeli Zionist aggressors, supported by the United States. 140. The Assembly has repeatedly considered and condemned the policy and acts of aggression of the Israeli expansionists. The recent report of the Com- mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People provides a complete account of the situation. In this document the Committee demonstrates Israel's stubbornness, despite its ever- more-severe condemnation by the international community. The General Assembly, in resolution ES-7/2-0f which Viet Nam was a sponsor-sets forth a comprehensive solution to the question of Palestine and "Calls upon Israel to withdraw completely and unconditionally from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, in- cludi"g Jerusalem, with all property and services inta, . and urges that such withdrawal from all the occupied territories should start before IS Novem- ber 1980." 142. Alongside that hegemonistic policy, the Israeli Zionists have been constantly committing crimes against the Palestinian people; among them we must note the arbitrary arrests of the Mayors of Halhul and Al-Khalil, the attempt on the life of the Mayor of Nablus, the repression of political prisoners, the acts of aggression against the Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon, the seizure of the tools of production and the means of livelihood of the Palestinians, the cutting off of the water supply thereby making all cultivation impossible, and, most recently, the brutal repression of the students at the Bir Zeit University. It is high time that an end was put to all these criminal acts by the Israeli aggressors, which have aroused the indignation of the people of the world. 143. The Vietnamese delegation has frequently stressed that without the encouragement and the assistance of all kinds provided by the United States, and without United States protection, Israel would never have dared to act as obstinately and insolently as it has acted so far. The Camp David agreements and the separate Egyptian-Israeli treaty, condemned by the Arab world and progressive public opinion, are flagrant violations of the national interests of the Palestinian people. It is clear that since the signing of those separate agreements the situation in the Middle East has grown worse daily and that Israel has become even more stubborn and .aggressive. In the meantime, the U7 .~ States has proceeded to a military build-up in the iviiddle East, endangering the peace and security of that strategic area and of the entire world. 144. What is even more serious, disquieting news has just shown that Israel has served as an interme- diary in the sale of American weapons to a certain Power which has expansionist and hegemonist ambi- tions and is blindly· involving itself in the arms race. This was reported in the 24 November 1980 issue of Newsweek . 145. This has revealed the hypocrisy of those who talk about peace but engage in frantic preparations for war, the hypocrisy of those who say they re- spect .the right of the Palestinian people to self- determination by .tty to help Israel deprive the Pales- tinian people of that right end deny tb~ existence of the PLO, and finally the hypocrisy of those who say they are fighting expansionism and hegemonism but in fact are helping Israel to continue to annex Arab territories which have been illegally occupied since 1967. 146. 'The question of Palestine can be resolved only on the basis of respect for the inalienable rights cf the Palestinian people, including the right to return to its homeland and the right to create a Palestinian State. 150. This year, a number of meetings have been convened by the Security Council on the Palestinian issue and the question of Jerusalem. The seventh emergency special session of the General Assembly was also held last July to consider the Palestinian question. These meetings and the session produced a series of constructive resolutions favourable to the just and reasonable settlement of the Palestinian question. It is most regrettable that the Israeli au- thorities, having refused to implement these resolu- tions adopted by the Security Council and those adopted by the General Assembly at the seventh emergency special session, have gone even further in pursuing their policy of aggression and expansion. Such acts cannot but arouse more serious concern in us. 15t. Over the last 30-odd years, the Palestinian people have experienced untold hardships. Their national rights have been recklessly trampled on, large tracts of their land occupied, their riches plun- dered and millions of Palestinians driven from their homelands where they had lived for generations. Those Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied areas have known no end to torture and humiliation, exam- ples of which are amply provided by the Special Com- mittee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories. 152. But, undeterred by violence, the heroic Pales- tinian people have in recent years, under the leader- ship of the PLO, actively carried out various forms of struggle resolutely to fight back at Israeli aggres- sion. The strength they have built up through the ordeal of these difficult years has earned them the admiration and respect of all the countries and people that uphold justice. 153. The failure to find a solution to the Palestinian question, which is long overdue, lies mainly in the aggressive stand which the Israeli authorities stub- bornly maintain, in disregard of internationally re- cognized principles and the common aspirations of more than 100 million Arab and Palestinian people, as well as the resolutions of the United Nations and other international bodies. 154. In recent months, the Israeli authorities have continued to invade the southern part of Lebanon, savagely bombing villages and Palestinian refugee camps, thus infringing upon the sovereignty and ter- ritorial integrity of Lebanon. They have also drawn up a huge plan to expand or build additional "settle- ments" in the territories they are occupying in an attempt to place these occupied Arab territories under their unlimited military occupation and colonial rule. The Israeli Knesset has, moreover, unilateraly changed the status of Jerusalem, proclaiming it to be the "eternal and indivisible capital" of Israel, in defiance of the strong objection of world public opin- ion. It has flagrantly refused to act in accordance with the decision of the General Assembly at the seventh emergency special session concerning a 156. The audacity of the Israeli authorities in their open challenge to the international community is not to be separated from super-Power expansion and rivalry in the Middle East. Refusing to adapt itself to new developments, one super-Power has consistently lent Israel political, diplomatic, military, economic and other support which has helped to reinforce Israel's arrogance. The other super-Power strives to take advantage of the situation. While openly pro- claiming its support for the struggle of the Arab and Palestinian peoples, it actually seeks to divide Arab unity and weaken Arab fighting strength by creating dissension, so that the state of "no war, no peace" can be maintained in the Middle East to facilitate its tactic of fishing in troubled waters by which it seizes important strategic positions and oil resources. The rivalry of the two super-Powers in the Middle East constitutes a serious obstacle to the solution of the Middle East question. Consequently, the struggle of the Palestinian and Arab peoples for the restoration of their national rights and the recovery of their lost territories is closely linked with the resistance to super-Power expansion and rivalry in the Middle East. Until Israel desists from aggression and the super-Powers discontinue their expansion and rivalry in the Middle East, it will be difficult for genuine peace and stability to prevail there. 157. China has always supported the just struggle of the Arab and Palestinian peoples and sympathized with the Palestinian people for the immense sufferings they have endured. We have consistently opposed and strongly condemned the policy of aggression and expansion pursued by the Israeli authorities and the aggression and rivalry carried out by the super-Powers in the Middle East. When the delegation of the Pales- tine national liberation movement visited China this year, our State leaders explicitly pointed out that the crux of the Middle East problem is the Palestinian question and that the PLO is the sole legitimate re- presentative of the Palestinian people. A just and comprehensive solution of the Middle East question must be found as quickly as possible. As a prerequi- site for this solution, Israel must withdraw from all the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, in- cluding Jerusalem; it must. recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, including the right to establish an independent Palestinian State;