S/36/PV.79 Security Council

Consideration at plenary meetings of the question of Palestine as a.separate item on the agenda is important, useful and, I would say, necessary. The present discussion, as well as the debate on this question in other bodies of the Organization, in- cluding the Security Council, clearly demonstrates the constantly growing support for the just cause of the Arab people of Palestine on the part of the overwhelming ma- jority of the members of the international community and is eloquent confinnation of the unquestionable fact that the solution of the Palestine problem is pivotal in the mat- 1431 Al36/PY.83 NEW YORK ter of the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 4. Today it is quite clear to all that if justice is not re- stored to the 4 million Arab people of Palestine, in other words if their inalienable national rights are not fully as- sured, the Arab-Israeli conflict will assume even more acute fonns, with consequences that are difficult to fore- cast. All this confirms the need for a speedy solution of the Palestine problem, which would be of extreme signifi- cance both for the fate of the Palestinian people itself and for the efforts to establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 5. The Palestinian people has been the first victim of the aggressive expansionist policy of the ruling circles of Is- rael and of the imperialist forces supporting them. A large proportion of the Palestinian population has been ex- pelIed from its ancestral lands and has found asylum in various Arab countries. The rest are compelled to lan- guish under the heel of Israeli occupation. 6. However, the Palestinians have not reconciled them- selves to being a people deprived of its State. Together with the I-\rab countries that support them and the pa- triotic and nationalist forces of the Arab world, the Pal- estinians have risen up for a decisive struggle for the ex- ercise of their inalienable rights and for the attainment of their authentic right to self-determination, including the establishment of their own independent State. As is em- phasized in the telegram from the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the So- viet Union and President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, which was dis- patched a few days ago in connection with the Interna- tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: "The Palestinian people is fighting steadfastly and courageously against Israeli aggression and the attempts of imperialism and firmly rebuffing the policy of sepa- rate deals and the dangerous military plans of the United States and Israel and is consistently pressing for the achievement of a comprehensive and just settlement in the Middle East." 7. Experience has shown that any attempt to avoid a de- finitive solution of the Palestine problem and confine the process to half-measures or to resolve this question be- hind the back of the Palestinian people will only lead to a further exacerbation of the situation in the Middle East and will further intensify the Arab-Israeli conflict. Clear evidence of this is provided by the Camp David accords and the deadlocked negotiations concerning so-called ad- ministrative autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is also significant that the plan for such ":mtonomy" was correctly appraised both by the Palestimans themselves and by the overwhelming majority of States Members of the United Nations as an attempt to avoid a just solution of the Palestine question and prevent 9. If one carefully reads what is said·today by the offi- cial personalities in Tel Aviv and the response that is made to those statements in Washington, it becomes per- fectly clear that the purpose of these participants in the Camp David deal is to dispose completely of the Palestin- ian problem as such. It is no accident, after all. that the Government of Begin, whose hands were untied by the Camp David accords, has started speeding up the building of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the expulsion of the indigenous inhabitants from their ancestral lands. It was precisely after Camp David that the terror carried out against the Palestinians and their leaders acquired an unprecedented scale and magnitude and that the aggressive assaults by Israel against Lebanon, its violation of the national rights of the Palestinian peo- ple. confirmed by the United Nations, and its attempts to repress the Palestine resistance movement by force be- came a daily, cruel practice. 10. This policy of terror on the part of the ruling circles of Israel is possible only because of unlimited and all- round support and assistance from the United States. That assistance and support are demonstrated not only in bil- lion-dollar investments in the Israeli economy and supply- ing the Israeli army with the most· sophisticated and de- structive types of weapons, which subsequently bring death to thousands of totally innocent and peaceful inhab- itants of Lebanon and the Palestinian camps, but also in the· stubborn blocking here, within the walls of the United Nations, of Security Council resolutions which would confirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including its right to .self-determination and the creation of its own independent state. 11. All those circumstances inevitably lead one to ask: does the United States, as its leaders like to state, really wish to have a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, or is it striving, under various pretexts, to maintain ten- sion and an explosive situation in that region in order to assure itself of opportunities for further military and polit- ical penetratio~ in the countries situated there, for estab- lishing control over their natural resources and for drag- ging those countries into the orbit of its policies? 12. It is characteristic that this country, which is trying so hard to cloak itself in the toga of "peacemaker", in- v'lriably places the interests of the aggressor above tJ:le national aspirations of a whole people. And here Wash- ington is not at all disturbed by the fact that 4 million Palestinians are not only still being deprived of the right to have their own state, but that many of them have been expelled from their country and have been derrived of theii lands and homes. Nor is Washington disturbed by the fact that as a result of the unlimited use by Israel of American weapons in the Middle East, blood continues to flow and thousands die. . 14. In spite of the fact that since 1974 the General As- sembly has adopted a number of important resolutions in support of the just cause of the Palestinian people and has expressed itself in favour of the equal participation of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people in all efforts, discussion and conferences on the Middle East, neither the Palestinian problem nor the problem of a set- tlement in the Middle East as a whole has been success- fully solved. The cause of this is the aggressive expan- sionist policy of Israel and the open pandering to it by the United States. 15. As for the Soviet Union, it has always supported and will continue to support the heroic struggle of the Palestinian people for its inalienable, lawful rights. Our support and sympathies are unswervingly for the just cause of the Palestinians. It is within the framework of that all-round support that the Soviet Government de- cided, in October of this year, to accord official diplo- matic status to the PLO mission in Moscow. 16. The Soviet Union proceeds from the premise that a genuine solution of the Palestine question can be achieved within the framework of a comprehensive Middle East settlement and· must be based on the well-known deci- sions of the United Nations. As was pointed out in the course of the October visit to the USSR by the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, a real and constructive way towards such a settlement is opened up by the proposal put forward by the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ·to convene an international con- ference on the Middle East with the participation of all interested parties, including, of course, the PLO, 17. In that respect, the delegation of the USSR is ready, in a constructive spirit and from a position of good will, to co-operate with all those who advocate a speedy and just solution of the Palestinian problem and the establish- ment of a lasting peace in the Middle East. 18. In conclusion, the Soviet delegation would also like to mention the useful and important work that is being done by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, under the guidance of Mr. Massamba Sarre, in implem~nting the responsibilities placed upon it by the General Assembly.

At the outset, I should like to express our thanks and appreciatIl;. J the ChailJl1an of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian Peo- ple, Mr. Massamba Sarn~, as well as to the members of the Committee for the efforts they have exerted tQ. prepare the report submitted to us for discussion [A/36/35]. In our 20. It is a matter of grave concern and distress that day after day we see for ourselves the transformation of one of the simplest and most clear-cut cases of flagrant inter- national injustice into one of the most complicated issues of our time: namely, the question of Palestine, which is the subject of our discussion today. 21. The basic issue as we originally confronted it was one of a people evicted from its homeland, only to be replaced by an alien people through unprecedented and extraordinary international machinations in a way which violates all the norms of international law and conduct. 22. Apparently, the clarity of the fundamental issue was one of the main reasons why the Jewish State, which was created at the expense of the Palestinian people in the land of its forefathers, has been doing its utmost to cover up the issue, aided and abetted by those Powers which contributed to the creation of Israel in the beginning and those which l&ter espoused its cause. 23. It seems that the motive behind this cover-up is two- fold: to ease the sense of guilt and to seek to confer legal- ity upon the greatest act of international theft in history, that of an entire homeland. As we all know, the method followed here is to create as many side issues and off- shoots as possible and concentrate on them so relentlessly that the international community is left no opportunity to consider the fundamental issue. 24. I do not feel it necessary to recapitulate the history of the conspiracy against the peaceful people of Palestine since the inception of the Zionist movement, which ma- nipulated the persecution of the Jews in Europe in such a way as to establish a Jewish homeland in the Arab land of Palestine. Nor do I feel it necessary to elaborate on the Balfour Ceclaration, by which Great Britain arrogated to itself the right to hand out land belonging to others. I need not review the conspiracy to divide the loot between Great Britain and France in the period following the First World War through the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which provided that Palestine was to be placed under British Mandate in order to fulfil the sinister promise of estab- lishing a Jewish homeland there. Everyone knows all this, either through personally keeping up to date on the devel- opment of this question or because this item has been on the agenda of the United Nations since its creation. How- ever, I should like to reiterate that one of the important points which should be stressed here is that Israel's ad- mission to the United Nations, unlike that of other na- tions, was made conditional on its acceptance of United Nations resolutions on Palestinian rights. This might have been an act of atonement for a conspiracy whose" purpose was to confer legal status upon that entity through the dismemberment of Palestine without the legitimate con- sent of its people and without the application of the right of self-determination, a right which constitutes one of the basic foundations of the world political order established, in our time, by the Charter of the United Nations. 25. A few days ago the world celebrated the Interna- tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. 30. The speculation in the aftermath of this dangerous Kuwait took part in that celebration. His Highness Sheikh development. even in some American circles, is whether Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, expressed the United States, by increasing its organic ties with one "One can only wonder how much longer these legiti- mate rights will be trampled upon with impunity, how much longer the United Nations resolutions will be'ig,;. nored and unimplemented, how much longer this ill- fated people will remain deprived of its homeland, its freedom and its right to self-determination and to real- ize its national aspirations. . ..Indeed, the time has c<)me to let right prevail over might, to put an end to arbitrary extortion and various forms of coercion, misery and misfortune." 26. The tragedy of the people of Palestine is reflected in the documents of the United Nations and other interna- tional organizations and in the reports of numerous inter- national commissions which list in detail all kinds of in- human practices by the Israeli authorities in Palestine and other occupied territories. These practices are planned not only to consolidate the Israeli occupation but also to mod- ify the traditional cultural structures of the occupied ter- ritories. Israel's unilateral decision to annex the Holy City of Jerusalem and declare it to be its unified and eternal capital is only one more indication that the acts and pol- icies of the Israeli authorities are based on the logic of expansionism, domination and usurpation. Those policies also reflect an outmoded racist philosophy which is an insult to man and his spiritual values and is detrimental to the spirit of brotherhood and religious tolerance~ 27. If the Western countries in general helped to create Israel at the outset, the United States has encouraged and is still encouraging Israel to continue its expansionist pol- icies by constantly providing it with every kind of as- sistance. While my delegation believes that the United States has the right to establish any kind of relations with any country whatsoever, including Israel, it cannot remain silent with regard to the kind of assistance which has turned Israel into an instrument of coercion and disper- sion, endangedng the safety of all countries of the Middle East. 28. By continuing to be the source of Israel's political, military and economic power-to the extent that the total military and economic assistance given to Israel in one year equals the total of such assistance given to all coun- tries of the world in the same period-the United States allows Israel to believe that it can do whatever it wants with impunity, in the knowledge that it will in any case continue to receive American support. This undoubtedly gives Israel a frightening immunity, which will only in- crease its arrogance and defiance of the international com- munity year after year. 29. Only two days ago the United States crowned its special relationship with Israel by signing the agreement on strategic co-operation. Only God knows' what secret clauses it contains, although it will not be difficult for us to understand its sinister aims in the Middle East. Those mutual strategic arrangements, though their present and future scope is not yet clear, give the special relationship between the United States and Israel a bigger dimension and a wider conception which may develop later into an . open alliance against the Arab nation. 32. By antagonizing the Palestinian people, the main victim in the Middle East crisis, and by refusing to co- operate with its legitimate representatives, in spite of hav- ing admitted that the Palestine question is the core of the problem, the United States raises suspicion about its ulti- mate intentions. It seems strange that the United States, which is no party to the Middle East dispute, should de- mand that the Pill, in its capacity as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, recognize the right of Israel to exist before even beginning a dialogue with it-all this when the United States did not lay down any conditions for negotiating with the Vietnamese libera- tion front, although it was a major party to the. dispute. 33. Last but not least, the United States, by insisting on characterizing as international terrorism the struggle of the Palestinians to recover their legitimate rights and their usurped land, to the extent that such an accusation is be- ginning to sound like an awkward refrain at a time when it is fully aware that the two principal members of the Israeli Government-Prime Minister Begin and Foreign Minister Shamir-were among the first international ter- rorists who introduced the concept and methods of terror to the Middle East through their involvement with the two terrorist gangs, Irgun and Stem, in the 1940s, only con- firms its lack of fair play and its policy of double stan- dards. 34. The United States could serve the cause of peace if it separated its support of Israel from its support of the Israeli expansionist policies; if it made its aid to Israel dependent on the latter's showing a sense of international responsibility, whether in respect of its brutal actions in- side the occupied territories or its continued defiance of the United Nations resolutions; if it abandoned the nar- row-mindedness it displays in looking at the issue in gen- eral from the narrow angle of ••Israeli security considera- tions" or the East-West conflict. 35. Everybody knows that it is the Arab, and not the Israeli, security which is jeopardized. Everybody knows that Israel. whose vanity and arrogance are reinforced by American support, is the undisputed enemy of peace in the Middle East. Any assessment of Middle East prob- lems. particularly the Palestine question. based on a nar- row concept of Israeli security considerations will only serve interests of the Israeli expansionist policies. This re- curring reference to security considerations is a pretext to adopt those policies and brings to mind the expression lebensraum, used by the Nazis to justify their expansion- ist policies. 36. The pivotal issue is the Palestine question. The peo- ple of Palestine should be the principal party in any effort to determine its future. The PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Any negotiations which are not based on those considerations are doomed to failure. 38. At this time, when the international community is celebrating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, my country's delegation hopes that every member of the international community will use this opportunity to recall the series of painful events and conspiracies which led to the eviction of the Palestinian people-events of which I had time to :nention but a few-for there is no way one can fully understand the Palestinian question unless all the side issues. which are deliberately tied to this cause. are laid aside and unless it is returned to its true perspective. since this is the first step towards a just and permanent solution. .

I should like to begin by expressing, on behalf of my dele- gation, our appreciation to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and, in particular, to its Chairman, Mr. Massamba Sarre, for the great efforts they have made in carrying out the Commit- tee's mandate. We also appreciate all the measures taken since the previous session, which are de~':ribed in the Committee's comprehensive report. Needless to say, this deep appreciation we feel for the work done by that Com- mittee is only natural, for it springs from the interest which Qatar and its Government have in this very delicate question, one of justice, which is of great importance to our region and to the whole world. 40. At this stage of the present session, seven years have elapsed since the adoption by the General Assembly of its historic and decisive resolutions on the question of Palestine. The Assembly recognized the right of the mili- tant and resisting Palestinian people to independence and sovereignty and that the PLO is its sole legitimate repre- sentative. In its resolution 3236 (XXIX), the Assembly affirmed that the Palestinian people was a principal party in. the question of Palestine. The implementation of the consensus which has emerged on the question of the fun- damental rights of the Palestinian people is now only a question of time, for this historic process has indeed al- ready begun. and we are confident that the current session will contribute to the promotion ofothat process. 41. Ever since the General Assembly supported the rec- . ommendations of the Committee and the basic principles for a set:~ement of this question on an equitable and a 42. In reaffirming these principles, my delegation wishes to recall, for the benefit of those who are not yet con"inC'~d-and they are in the minority-that any steps taken towards a settlement of the question without using these principles as a basis are doomed to failure, those yet to come as much as those in the past. 43. The attempts by Israel am' those who support it to alter the course of history and to prevent the Palestinian people from achieving its freedom and independence and establishing its own sovereign State on Palestinian soil run the risk of causing more bloodshed and increasing threats to j,nternational peCice and security. 44. However, in the last analysis. these attempts will fail, for the accessivn to independence of peoples strug- gling against injustice and for the attainment of their le- gitimate rights is historically inevitable. That is a reality of which all peace-loving peoples are fully aware but which the Israeli and South African racists alone choose to ignore. 45. Although the balance of forces from a moral and diplomatic standpoint is now tipped in favour of the Pal- estinian people, the efforts being made in the search for a just solution to this problem are meeting with obstacles arising from Israel's racist, arrogant. and presumptuous position based on occupation and expansion, thanks to the political and military support Israel is receiving, es- pecially from the United States of America. While this support has given Israel the encouragement it needs to further its expansionist aims and to defy the international community, it has recently, as we all know, taken another form in the specific strategic relationship called ':.\meri- can-Israeli strategic co-operation". If such agreements are generally interpreted directly on the basis of limited ob- jectives and on the basis of secret objectives which can be implicitly deduced in the light of the realities as seen by each of the two signatories, I do not believe that a politi- cal analysis of this co-operation would require much effort to discover what it really consists of and to uncover the truth. In that area we merely need to reply to this logical question: if the United States is really serious about removing all sources of tension and turmoil from the Middle East and preventing all danger of foreign ag- gression, would it not be more plausible, before preparing a joint emergency plan with Israel for meeting any possi- ble threat, to begin by dealing with the human tragedy 46. Nevertheless, when this agreement was made pub- lic, a study was published in Washington, prepared by a group of American experts specializing in Middle Eastern affairs and which had studied the development of the sit- uation in the region. While that study by the Seven Springs Center warns against abandoning the hope of peace between Israel and the Arabs, it has encouraged the Reagan Administration to start talks with the Pill because the situation requires it. It is truly regrettable that Israel receives unlimited political, military and financial as- sistance, while it continues to trample under foot the in- alienable national rights of the Palestinian people in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, in' defiance of United Nations resolutions and in flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That support enables us to see the Zionist doctrine in its true light. It is a racist doctrine in practice and in theory. 47. What takes place in the occupied territories is of grave concern to us, and while the General Assembly is considering the question of Palestine the Israeli authorities continue to demolish the homes of Palestinians so as to keep the children from expressing their national feelings against occupation. The occupation authorities have just closed down a university and have imposed a curfew. They arrested students and imposed a curfew throughout the West Bank. At the same time they are continuing to establish settlements. 48. My country strongly condemns these criminal and arbitrary acts which continue to be perpetrated in the oc- cupied territories by the most disgraceful and barbarous methods with a view to carrying out zionism's racist aims. We strongly denounce the continuous excavations carried out by the occupationist authorities in Jerusalem, which threaten the AI-Haram AI-Sharif building and de- file one of Islam's holy places, in complete disregard of the feelings of hundreds of thousands of Arabs and Moslems. 49. The Holy City, which has always been a symbol of co-existence and religious tolerance and has a very special place in the hearts of Moslems all over the world, is now exposed to rancorous Zionist racist arrogance which shows no respect for human values and pays ne heed to the destructive consequences of such a racist policy. 50. The Zionist authorities have once again given proof of their criminal intentions, through their aggression against nuclear installations in Iraq,. near Baghdad, last June, throu~h the4: b~baro1.!s__a.!!d cE!el__attacks against Lebanon last July, through the barbanc practices at pres- ent carried out in Jerusalem and in other parts of the occupied territories and throughthe continual threats by the Israeli authorities against countries in the region. Thus the Zionist authorities have again shown that the Israeli leaders are hostile not only to the Palestinians but to all the peoples of the region and that their policy constitutes a danger not only for the Middle East region but also for international peace and security. 51. The Zionist authorities have also shown that they "re the enemies of peace, that they are not prepared to giVe peace a chance and that Israel's interest is in placing obstacles in the way of all serious attempts to establish a just and lasting peace in the region. This attitude is rooted 52. While zionism finds in anti-semitism a fundamental motivation to mobilize the feelings of hcstility which con- stitute the driving force behind such aggressive tenden- cies, it is only natural for those authorities to see peace as their chief enemy. However, the Palestinian people and the Arab nation are capable of continuing their struggle and of accepting every sacrifice to fight zionism, but the inter- national community cannot remain satisfied with verbal and purely rhetorical support for the Palestinian people or for any other people which claims its rights, or with ver- bal condemnations of the inhuman practice~ of Israeli zionism. The international community is capable of estab- lishing a just and lasting peace in that delicate and sen- sitive area of the world. That is why the delegation of Qatar asks the General Assembly on the basis of its au- thority under the Charter, to invite the Security Council to shoulder its full responsibility with regard to the Palestin- ian problem and to oblige Israel to abide by United Na- tions resolutions.

The question of Palestine and the closely related problem of"the Middle East have been on the agenda of the General Assembly for a long time. The Middle East- ern region again and again attracts the attention of the world community because the events taking place there are causing justified alarm and great concern in the inter- national community. 54. The year 1981 has been marked by Israel's further escalation of its aggressive policy. Evidence of that is the pira~ical attack by the Israeli air force upon the Baghdad nuclear researt.J :entre, the barbarous bombing of Beirut and of southern Lebanon and the continuing aggressive incursions by Israel into neighbouring Arab States. As a result, an already explosive situation in the Middle East is intensified and now constitutes a serious threat over inter- national peace and security. 55. The further exacerbation of the situation in the Mid- dle East as a result of the expansionist policy of Israel's ruling circles once again confirms that a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved without a comprehensive settle- ment of the Middle East conflict. 56. As has been proclaimed on a number of occasions by the United Nations, the principal aspect of the problem in the Middle East is the question of Palestine, specifi- cally the safeguarding of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine to self-determination, freedoIV and independence, including the right to establish its own State. 57. However, unfortunately we must observe that Israel is continuing flagrantly to violate the lawful rights of the Palestinians. The situation of the Arab people of Palestine remains difficult. The Palestinians, who have been ex- pelled from the land of their birth by the Israeli ag- gressors, are lan~uishing on foreign soil, and those .who remain in the Arab territories occupied by Israel have to 58. Israel is paying lip-service to the provision of so- called administrative autonomy for the Palestinians, and for the sake of appearances is even conducting negotia- tions on that question. But the negotiations, which are being conducted in accordance with the notorious Camp David deal, do not include the representatives of the Pal- estinian people, because Israel's purpose is to achieve a solution behind the !Jacks of the Palestinian people, which will be to the detriment of their national interests. In the light of the escalation of Israel's expansionist policy against the occupied Arab lands it becomes increasingly evident that negotiations concerning so-called admin- istrative autonomy for the Palestinians who live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are nothing more than an attempt to maintain the occupation of th~ Arab territories in a new form. 59. There is no doubt that Israeli ruling circles continue with impunity to conduct a policy of expansion and 2g- gression only because of the assistance and protection of the United States. Only a few days ago the United States and Israel gave official status to their arrangements con- cerning the strengthening of military and strategic co-op- eration between the two countries. The conclusion of the American-Israeli agreement on strategic co-operation is a deJacto establishment between them of a military alliance for the purpose of oppressing the national liberation movement of the peoples and constitutes interference in the domestic affairs of the sovereign States of the region. It is also dangerous because it will lead to an intensifica- tion of the arms race in the Middle East and to a further heightening of tensions in that part of the world. 60. Recently the United States has been increasing its military presence in the Middle East, establishing military bases there, increasing ..the supply of weapons and mili- tary equipment to the countries of the region, and it is preparing to transfer the notorious rapid-deployment force there for the purpose. as it says, of protecting its vital interests-in other words. for the purpose of strengthen- ing its political, military, strategic and economic position. 61 . This is evidence of the fact that the so-called peace process started by the Camp David plot is in fact dead- locked. But the United States has not abandoned its inten- tion to split the Ar.lb ranks and is making new attempts to draw other Arab countries into the orbit of its military policies. 62. The recent efforts by the United States to establish a "multinational peace-keeping force" in the Sinai penin- sula is in fact nothing more than an attempt to replace one type of occupation with another. 63. A just and lasting peace in the Middle East can be established only on the bash c of a compr~hensive settle- ment of the conflict there with the participation of all par- ties concerned, including the PLO, This means. as has been frequently pointed out in General Assembly and Se- curity Council resolutions, the total withdrawal of Israeli 64. Those are precisely the prerequisites advocated by the Mongolian People's Republic for the solution of the Middle East problem. It has supported from the very out- set the proposals put forward by the Soviet Union regard- ing the convening of a special international conference on the Middle East. with the participation of the PLO on an equal footing. as a realistic basis for a just and peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict. 65. Our delegation considers that the solution of the Pal- estinian question would be aided by the convening of an international conference on the question of Palestine under the auspices of the United Nations. That is why we fully support draft resolution A/36/L.33, and we shall vote in favour of it. 66. In the view of our delegation, the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights to return to their homes, to self-detern1ination, to independence and national sovereignty at the earliest date would contribute to a solution of the whole range of Middle East problems. We also consider that the PLO, the sole lawful represen- tative of the Arab people of Palestine, must be allowed to participate on an equal footing in all intern::-.cional efforts to achieve a just an-j comprehensive settlement of the Middle East crisis. 67. The Mongolian People's Republic has always been and continues to be on the side of the just cause of the ,1 Arab people of Palestine, in support of their just struggle under the leadership of the PLO. The total support of the Mongolian people for the courageous struggle of the Pal- estinian people for their inalienable rights has once again heen reaffirmed in the message of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Rev- olutionary Party and President of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural, Y. Tsedenbal, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity wIth the Palestinian People. 68. The observance only a few days ago of the Interna- tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was an important political measure in support of the PLO and of the just struggle of the Arab people of Palestine. In this connection, 1 should like to refer. with great satisfaction. to the steady growth in the international prestige of the PLO, the tried and true vanguard of the Arab people of Palestine, and to the growing support for its just cause among the broad masses of the world community at large. AI! this is evidence of the fact that. in spite of the in- trigues of imperialism. zionism and reaction. the forces of peace. national liberation and social progress are steadily growing in strength and are winning new victories. 69. The exacerbation of the situation in the Middle East calls as never before for a strengthening of unity among the Arab countries and the merging of all peace-loving forces so as to make a firm rebuttal to the policy of sepa- rate deals and militarist plots of the United States and Israel. and so as to direct the international community towards a comprehensive and just settlement of the Mid- dle East problem. This is all the more necessary now when the hotbed of tension in the !\:liddle East is flaring up to dangerous levels. thus constituting a serious threat 71. For its part, the Mongolian People's Republic is ready to make its contribution to international efforts aimed at the realization of the lawful rights of the Palestin- ian people and at a just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem as a whole.

The question of Pal- estine has continued to engage the attention of the United Nations since the Organization's very inception. But de- spite its efforts, and despite the great desire of many democratic countries and peoples honestly to contribute to a solution, very little has been accomplished thus far by the United Nations, and the tragedy of the Palestinian people continues unchanged, or even worse than before, and remains the core of the Middle East .problem. 73. The Albanian people and Government have always followed with the greatest attention and concern the trag- edy through which the fraternal Palestinian people have been forced to live for many years now. They have firmly condemned the aggressive and annexationist policies of Israel in the Middle East and have voiced their strong protest against the acts of genocide committed by the Is- raeli Zionists against the Palestinian people. 74. The Israeli Zionists-those sworn enemies of the Arab peoples and butchers of the martyred Palestinian people-have not abandoned and do not intend to aban- don their policy of aggression and annexation in the Mid- dle East. With the full support of their masters in Wash- ington, they have prolonged the suffering of the Palestinian people, breaching or threatening in this man- ner peace and security not only in the Middle East, but also in the world at large. 75. Nothing can make the peoples of the world forget the barbarous acts of the Israeli Zionists against the Pal- estinian and Arab population in southern Lebanon, nor can the Israelis wipe from their memories the sanguinary massacres committed against the civilian population of Beirut in July of this year. 76. In total defiance of the right of the Palestinian peo- ple to live in their homeland, Israel continues obstinately to pursue its illegal occupation of the Palestinian and other Arab territories and is proceeding with its measures of changing the physical character and demographic com- position of the Palestinian and other occupied territories, including the ancient city of Jerusalem. 77. In the face of the intensified struggle of the Palestin- ian people to regain their plundered homeland. the Israeli Zionists have escalated their terror and repression against the Palestinian people. In spite of growing pressure from world public opinion. which strongly condemns and de- nounces daily its ruthless reprisals against the Palestin- ians, the Zionist State of Israel, in contemptuous defiance of this sound opinion, has intensified its policies of ag- gression, expansion, annexation and terrorism. 79. They are fighting against the tricky but essentially anti-Arab position of the Soviet social-imperialists, who are engaged in a fierce competition with the other super- Power, the United States, each trying to elbow the other out and implant itself in the region, all to the detriment of the Arab peoples. 80. For a long time they have been facing numerous plots, including those hatched by Arab reactionary forces who have on more than one occasion stabbed them in the back and have speculated with the sentiments of the Arab world on the Palestinian question with a view to attaining their hostile aims and ambitions. 81. It is this grave and explosive situation brought about in the Middle East by the hegemonistic policies and fierce rivalry of the two super-Powers-namely, the United States and the Soviet Union-which has created favoura- ble ground for the growth of Israeli expansionist ambi- tions and has given Israel a free hand in the unabated pursuit of its anti-Arab policies of aggression and annexa- tion. 82. The Middle East has been stuffed with huge quan- tities of arms and weaponry, as well as with many mili- tary bases. The region is encircled by the aggressive fleets and warships of the super-Powers, which threaten it either with open aggression or with local conflicts. 83.. Thus, while the Soviet Union attacked and occupied Afghanistan, the struggle of whose people it is now striving to stamp out by fire and sword, and while United States imperialism was doing all it could through plots and intrigues to undermine the Iranian revolution, both super-Powers mapped out and incited the fratricidal war in the Gulf area between Iraq and Iran, a war which unfortu- nately has gone on for more than a year now, bringing death and destruction to those two peoples and creating a grave and dangerous situation for the peoples of the Mid- dle East in general and to the just cause of the Palestinian people in particular- 84. But we are confident that, in spite of the many var- ied plots hJtched against them, the Palestinian people will continue to sharpen their vigilance and reinforce their de- termination in their heroic struggle, for they know that the road of struggle is the correct and secure road that will, lead to final victory. From their long and bitter experi-. ence, they have been able to see that no "peaceful solu- tion" manufactured in either the United States or the So- viet workshops will contribute in any way to the realization of their lawful rights and national aspirations.

.For many years, the core of the Middle East question- the question of Palestine-has been a prominent issue of great international importance. The United Nations has been working actively all these years for a just and rea- 85. Any attempt to drag the settlement of the Palestinian sonable solution to this problem. Since the convening of question into an impasse-as do the Camp David ac- the seventh emergency special session in July 1980, the cords, which totally disregard and ignore the inalienable Arab countries and the Palestinian people, as well as national rights of the Palestinian people-or to impose on world opinion in general, have been earnestly calling . 87. With their heroic and unprecedented struggle, the Palestinian people are making an invaluable contribution to the great cause of the people's struggle against imperi- alism, social-imperialism and reaction. With this struggle they are demonstrating once again the incontestable his- torical truth that a people, even though small in number, when fighting for a just and righteous cause such as that of national liberation and independence, is invincible. 88. It is for this reason that the liquidation of the Pal- estinian people's just struggle and of the whole Palestinian. question has been and remains one of the main objectives of Israel, of United States imperialism and other enemies of the Palestinian people. It was with this view in mind that the imperialist and Zionist enemies of the Palestinian people are striving to make use of the Camp David agree- ments and to speculate on a peaceful settlement and other machinations, like that of a Palestinian autonomy, for the purpose of reaching their objectives and liquidating the Palestinian question. 89. But it has been our belief, and now it is our convic- tion, that the Palestinian people shall win over all enemies and their plots, for they have pinned their hopes on the struggle of their own people, on the whole-hearted and sincere support of the brotherly Arab peoples and of the other freedom-loving peoples throughout the world. Theirs is a just, heroic and gloijous struggle, which en- joys the full support and backing of all freedom-loving forces the world over. 90. Addressing the 8th Congress of the Party of Labour of Albania, which was held only a month ago, the leader of the Albanian party and people, Enver Hoxha, said: .~ sincere and ancient friendship links the Albanian people with the fraternal Arab peoples. We have ener- getically supported and will continue to support to the end the just struggle of the Arab peoples for the libera- tion of the Arab territories occupied by the Israeli Zionist aggressors and for the re-estabHshment of all the legitimate rights of the martyred Palestinian people. In the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and in the Albanian people, the heroic Palestinian people and their lawful representative, the Palestine Liberation Organiza- tion, have had and will always have sincere friends and resolute defenders of their just national cause." 92. In their statements over the past two days, the repre- sentatives of the PLO and many Arab countries recalled the genesis and the evolution of the Palestinian question over the past three decades, during which time four major wars broke out in the Middle East region. Israel has oc- cupied vast tracts of Palestinian and Arab lands by force of armed aggression, compelling 4 million Palestinians to leave their homes and lead a destitute life in foreign lands or to languish "in humiliation under Israeli military oc- cupation. In order to be able to return to their homeland and to regiin their national rights, the Palestinians are waging an undaunted struggle, a struggle which has won the sympathy and support of more and more Governments and peoples of the world. 93. Over a long period of time, while leading the peo- ple's armed struggle, the PLO, the sole legitimate repre- sentative of the Palestinian people, has also actively en- gaged in political and diplomatic struggles in order to unify the various Arab countries and to win the sympathy of the third world and all justice-upholding countries of the world. They have scored considerable success in this regard. The PLO has become an important political force active in the Middle East and on the international scene. 94. In recent years, the United Nations has accorded the PLO its due status and has adopted a series of resolutions favourable to the just solution of the Middle East ques- tion. In the relevant resolution adopted at the seventh emergency special session [resolution ES-7/2], the Gen- eral Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Pal- estinian people in Palestine, including the right to estab- lish its own independent sovereign State and that the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, has the right to participate on an equal footing in all efforts, discus- sions and conferences related to the question of Palestine within the framework of the United Nations. The United Nations has, through the aforementioned efforts, contrib- uted usefully te' the solution of this issue and has won the support of the overwhelming majority of the countries of the world. 95. Regrettably, the other side to the conflict, the Israeli authorities, obstinately persist in their aggressive position. They disregard the relevant United Nations resolutions, refuse to withdraw from Arab lands occupied since 1967, continue to establish and expand Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, suppress the Palestinian and Arab people there, expropriate their properties and subject them to arbitrary expulsion, detention. torture and even slaugh- ter. The Israeli authorities restrict, imprison, expel and even murder municipal leaders of the Palestinian people. Up till recently, the Israeli authorities still claimed pub- licly that Israel "will never withdraw from the West Bank" and that they planned to double the number of Jews in the West Bank settlements. 96. Moreover, Israel declared unilaterally that Jerusalem will be the "eternal and indivisible capital" of Israel; it 97. It is no coincidence that Israel can be so self-willed and complacent. One super-Power insists on siding with Israel, refuses to face the realities in the Middle East sit- uation or to recognize the PLO and continues to render massive economic and military assistance to Israel. Such a short-sighted policy only increases the opportunities for the other super-Power to infiltrate further the Middle East. The other super-Power, under the guise of being the "nat- ural ally" of the Arab peoples, is fishing in the muddied waters of the Middle East, trying by hook and by crook to infiltrate the Middle East region, attempting to estab- lish strategic bases there to serve its strategic goal of con- trolling the Middle East and ultimately outflanking West- ern Europe. At present, the Palestinian and Arab peoples are closing their ranks and are seeking the solidarity of all justice-upholding and peace-loving countries and peoples of the world to eliminate super-Power interference and to work towards the fulfilment of their noble national goals. 98. In order to facilitate a just and comprehensive solu- tion to the Middle East question, the intemational com- munity and the countries concerned have put forward quite a number of proposals and initiatives in this regard. We have noted that the new initiative recently submitted by an Arab country has aroused the general attention of the international community. The Chinese Government will always give its positive assessment to all initiatives and actions aiming at facilitating a just and comprehen- sive solution to the Middle East que~tion and at the recov- ery of the rights of the Palestinian people. 99. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that in order to reach a just solution of the Middle East ques- tion, the Chinese Government subscribes to the following:. Israel must withdraw from all Arab lands occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem; the national rights of the Pal- estinian people, including the right to return to their homeland, the right to national self-determination and the right to build their own State must be restored; all coun- tries in the Middle East region enjoy the right to indepen- dence and existence. 100. In our opinion, the PLO, the sole legitimate repre- sentative of the Palestinian people, should participate in all efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive solution to the Middle East question. The Chinese Government and people will as always support the just struggle of the P'd1- estinian and Arab peoples for the restoration of their na- tional rights and the recovery of their lost lands. Finally, we hope that with the common efforts of all the peace- loving countries and peoples of the world, the present session of the General Assembly will make further contri- 102. Earlier this week, we commemorated the Interna- tional Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. That provided an occasion to recognize once again the inalien- able rights of the Palestinian people, to strengthen the ever-increasing support given to the PLO, the sole legiti- mate representative of the Palestinian people, and to stress the unanimity of international public opinion on the fact that the question of Palestine is at the very core of the Middle East problem. 103. One could not envisage a settlement of the Middle East question which did not take due account of the legit- imate aspirations of the Palestinian people. During com- memoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it became evident that the just solution to the Palestinian problem must always be among the foremost concerns of the international community. 104. With the General Assembly today considering the problem of Pale-=~ine, we should like to draw its attention to the fact that all attempts to delay the search for a just solution to this problem, based on the series of resolu- tions adopted by the General Assembly, particularly reso- lutions 3236 (XXIX) and ES-7/2, will no doubt lead the Middle East region to an explosion and will endanger in- ternat!onal peace and security. 105. On this occasion, we should like to recall the enor- mous sacrifices made by the Palestinian Arab people as well as its heroic resistance to the acts of repression, in- justice and tyranny which have been ceaselessly carried out by the Zionist entity since Israel established itself in that region and which have led the international commu- nity to consider the Palestinian problem from a political standpoint. Thus resolution 3236 (XXIX) constitutes a positive turning point in the development of the Palestin- ian question. As a natural result of that historic turning point, the General Assembly, in resolution 31120, en- dorsed the recommendations of the Committee on the Ex- ercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as a basis for a solution to the Palestinian problem. 106. The delegation of Sudan wishes to take this oppor- tunity to convey its deep appreciation and pay a tribute to the members of the Committee on the Exercise of the ~ Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and in partic- ular to its Chainnan, Mr. Massamba Sarre of Senegal, and to its Rapporteur, Mr. Victor Gauci of Malta, for their intensive efforts and activities, which can be clearly seen in the Report which the Committee submitted to this ses- sion. The principles which have guided the Committee in its mission have been in keeping with the mandate en- trusted to it by the General Assembly. The Committe.e's recommendations, which are the end result of its work, 107. Those recommendations had been adopted by the General Assembly at its thirty-first session. The matter of the rights of the Palestinians should not simply provoke feelings of pity on the part of the international community but rather impel it to undertake constructive efforts to find the means to implement those recommendations and to re-examine the obstacles to the exercise by the Palestin- ian people of its inalienable rights. 108. A quick glance at the events of the past year and at the terrorist practices of the Zionist entity reaffinns once again what has been stated many times at this rostrum and at other international forums: that Israel is a source of tension and explosion in the Middle East and a threat to international peace and security. In the course;' of this year we have seen Israeli terrorism strike enn beyond the oc- cupied Palestinian!Arab territories. Israel attacked the nu- clear· power station in Iraq and engat;ed in genocide against the Lebanese people and the fu:i:'inian people living in the refugee camps. Israel is pursuing its settle- ments policy. It continues to endanger the Holy Places and to carry out excavations under the holy AI-Haram AI- Sharif and to dig a canal between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, in violation of the nonns of international law. 109. Israel, with the help and protection of the Zionist movement, continues to defy international law and to flout the principles of the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations. Israel continues with impunity to usurp Palestine, to annex the occupied Arab territories including the .Holy City of Jerusalem, and to refuse to withdraw completely and unconditionally from that area of the Mid- dle East. It shamelessly ignores the legitimate natural rights of the Palestinian people. Israel's challenge to the Organization and its systematic VIolation of the Charter are sources of tension, disorders· and deterioration of the situation in the Middle East. 110. We hardly need recall that Israel would not have been able to play the outlaw, act in contravention of the principles of the Chartel;, appear to find it amusing to shed the blood of the innocent or to continue its policy of occupation, expansion and annexation by force if it did not think that it had a special right to do so and that it occupied a privileged position far above the law and the Organization and its Charter and resolutions. III . It is regrettable that the Security Council has not succeeded in implementing the measures which must fol- low from the recommendations of the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestin- ian People. The Security Council is directly responsible for the Israeli practices and the Israeli aggression against the Arab peoples of the region. The Council's inability to assume its responsibilities is what allows the Zionist lead- ers of Israel to pursue their policies of depriving the Pal- estinian people of its legitimate natural rights, guaranteed by the Charter and approved by the international commu- nity and by the General Assembly at its thirty-first ses- sion and reaffinned at subsequent sessions. 112. The roots and the dimensions of the question of Palestine will not be made to disappear through fraud, the distortion of historical facts or treachery, because the Pal- estinian problem is at the very heart of the Middle East 1l3. Mr. GURINOVICH (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) (interpretatio'l from Russian): For more than 30 years the tragedy of the Arab people of Palestine, un- precedented in its centuries-long history, has continued. 114. The United Nations and numerous other interna- tional organizations have for several decades now devoted great attention to the question of Palestine in all its as- pects. However, these just and nob1e international efforts to ensure a just solution to the urgent question of Pal- estine have constantly encountered the stubbornness of the ruling circles of Israel, which reject the decisions of the United Nations on ways to put an end to the tragedy of the Palestinian people. Israel openly challenges all the peoples of the world by flouting those solutions. 115. In the resolution entitled "Violations by Israel of the resolutions of the United Nations and the Inter-Parlia- mentary Union through its behaviour in the occupied Arab territories and its attacks against Lebanon", adopted by the 68th Inter-Parliamentary Conference, held at Havana from 15 to 23 September 1981 [A/36/584. an- nex], it is noted with great concern that the number of such resolutions-starting with General Assembly resolu- tion 194 (Ill) of II December 1948, which called upon Israel to facilitate the return of the Palestinian refugees- now tota1s 150 and that the Israeli Government constantly declares its refusal to fulfil them. 116. Moreover, Israel is intensifying its acts of aggres- sion and terror against the Palestinian and other Arab peo- ples, as may be seen from an examination of the events in the Middle East between the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth sessions of the General Assembly. 117. In occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories Israel is systematically and single-mindedly carrying out measures to perpetuate its occupation. On this score, the Security Council adopted resolutions 446 (1979) and 465 (1980), which state that all measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusa- lem, or any part thereof, have no legal validity and that Israel's policy and practices of settling parts of its popula- tion and new immigrants in those territories constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 Au- gust 1949. 1 118. Israel's stubborn efforts to carry out a policy of colonization of occupied Arab territories merely creates further obstacles to a just and lasting solution of the whole Middle East problem and threatens international peace and security. 120. After the bloody events of those 15 days southern Lebanon was visited by another authoritative international mission, a delegation of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. In its re- port the delegation in particular drew the following con- clusion: "All damage caused by the attack in July was, as far as could be seen, entirely confined to civilian targets and appeared to be aimed at terrorizing the civilian popu- lation and destroying its morale." [A/36/521. annex. para. 13.] 121. The delegation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic pays tribute to the courageous steadfastness and sense of organization of the Palestinian people and its rep- resentative, the PLO, which have enabled it to withstand these and other acts of aggression by Israel in its legiti- mate struggle to ensure its inalienable rights. 122. Israel undertook a gangster-like operation against Iraq when it bombed the research centre for the peaceful use of nuclear energy near Baghdad on 7 June 1981. 123. That and numerous other aggressive actions by Is- rael against the people of Palestine and of other Arab countries would not have been possible without th.,.; full support of Washington for its adventurist course. Tel Aviv is openly carrying out, at the State level, an aggressive terrorist policy against other countries and peoples. The United States is supplying it with weapons and is provid- ing it with political cover, even here at the United Na- tions. The American-Israeli agreement on strategic co-op- eration is a new plot against the Arab people of Palestine and all the peoples of the Middle East. All this is being done so that through Israel, as its trusted policeman, it may be possible to establish and perpetuate the domina- tion of American imperialism in the Middle East for its own selfish political and economic interests, which are primarily connected with oil. However, such a situation must not and cannot last. 124. The question of Palestine' is the pivotal issue in the whole Mid41e East problem. That problem is closely re- lated in. turn to the guaranteeing of peace and interna- tional security not only in that region but on a larger scale. That is why when the question of the future of the 125. In resolutions ot the General Assembl~ and the Se- curity Council, the Unied Nations has in essence fonnu- lated a plan for the sol'Jtion of the question of Palestine and the problem of the Middle East. Together with the overwhelming majodty of other delegations, our delega- tion has actively supported the adoption of those measures and speaks out in favour of their implementation. In this connection, we approve the fundamental principles in the report of the rommittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People relating to the solution of the question of Palestine within the framework of the sit- uation in the Middle East. 126. As in the past, we view the separate Camp David deal as being in conflict with the interests of the Palestin- ian people and as a tool used by the American and Israe- li politicians for the achievement of their own purposes, at the expense of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine. However, the Arab national liberation move- ment has largely succeeded in paralysing those designs. In the course of the struggle against the giveawLy deal, the Steadfastness and Confrontation National Front has been created. It consists of the Syrian Arab Republic, Al- geria, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Democratic Yemen and the PLO. 127. The world community has recently witnessed an intensification of attempts to put forward various new pro- posals to res0lve the problems of Palestine and the situa- tion in the Middle East as a whole. All these pro'-~de new evidence of the further breakdown of the Camp Davjd deal, which was condemned by the majority of States even before now. 128. The Palestinian people and the progressive forces in the Arab world have enough experience in their strug- gle and enough political maturity to thwart any plans to solve the problem of Palestine that are not in keeping with the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian and other peoples of the region. 129. The most recent facts indicate that no behind-the- scenes machinations involving separate negotiations on "autonomy" for the Palestinians or any other unilateral initiatives which do not take full account of the total range of interests in the Middle East can ensure a just and comprehensive solution of the closely interrelated prob- lems of Palestine and the Middle East. A collective, hon- est solution is urgently needed to resolve these problems upon a just and realistic basis. This course requires the co-operation of all who cherish the ideals of justice and who wish to bring about a lasting peace in the Middle East. This idea has found practical expression in the pro- posal to convene an international conference on the Mid- dle East which was put forward at the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, held from 23 , February to 3 March 1981. 130. Through the efforts of all parties concerned, it migh. be possilble at such a conference to achieve a peaceful settlement of the problem, arrived at not at the expense of some and for the benefit of others, but which would be useful to all and in everyone's interest. Such a conference could involve the participation of the Arab countries that have a common border with Israel, Israel itself, necessarily the PLO, and, together with the Soviet 131. Such a conference could at last set in motion the search for a just solution of the cause of the Palestinian people within the framework of a comprehensive settle- ment in the Middle East. The idea for convening such a conference is receiving increa'iing support. 132. In this connection I should like to quote trom the report of the Committe~ on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: "The Committee also noted with satisfaction the dec- laration by L. I. Brezhnev, Chainnan of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the So- viet Union, which contained a proposal to go back to an honest collective search for an all-embracing just and realistic settlement in the Middle East. This could be'done in the framework of a specially convened inter- national conference with the participation of all inter- ested parties, naturally including the Palestine Libera- tion Organization." [A/36/35, para. 32.] 133. J.n conclusion, I should like to wish the Palestinian people further successes in its struggle for a just peace in the Middle East, for the achievement of national indepen- dence and for the establishment of its own State. We shall always be on the side of the just cause of the Palestinians.

I should like first of all to convey warmest fraternal congratulations to Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, the head of the Political Department of the Palestine Libera- tion Organization- -an eminent personality in the hero> struggle of his people for independence and freedom, a struggle deserving of all our respect and admiration. of whose ultimate victory we remain confident-for his very important statement yesterday ~orning [80th meeting.] 135. My congratulations also go to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for its praiseworthy and persevering efforts in car- rying out its mandate, which are evident in the very thor- ough report submitted to this session. 136. The General Assembly is taking up today a ques- tion which for many long years has been one of primary importance on the United Nations agenda. The question of the achievement of the inalienable rights of tlte Palestin- ian people has for several decades now continued to be a problem of conscience for all progressive mankind. It is not only a question of the restoration of the fundamental rights of a people forced by Zionist expansionism to abandon its homeland but, moreover, the problem of elim- inating factors which have continuously made that region one of the most sensitive areas in the international situa- tion since the end of the Second World War. In a period of only three decades, four wars have broken out in the region, the consequences of which are to the present day far from being resolved. The solution to the Middle East problem, the core of which is the question of Palestine, is not only gennane to the fate of the people of the region, but it also has direct implications for international peace and security. 138. The developments of this problem in recent dec- ades have clearly shown the deep and increasingly ob- vious oPP'Jsition between two attitudes, two policies. On the other hand, there is the policy of the Arab countries, the non-aligned countries, the socialist countries and all countries that love peace and justice throughout the world, which advocates the immediate cessation of all manoeuvres, acts of aggression, intervention, encroach- ment and illegal occupation on the part of the Israeli ag- gressors, the realization and the pl'eservation of the in- alienable rights of the Palestinian people and the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab States. On the other hand, there are the militarist Governments of Israel and the United States, with the ac- quiescence of certain of their Western allies, which wish to wipe out the Arab nation of Palestine, to divide and weaken the Arab countries and to pursue to the utmost their expansionist and coloniaiist goals in the region. 139. As is known, in the course of these long years the United Nations has adopted many resolutions underscor- ing the need and the urgency for a just and equitable solution to the question of Palestine, supporting the just struggle of the Palestinian people, affirming and enshrin- ing the fundamental national rights of that people, and recognizing the authority of the 'PLO and its capacity as the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian peo- ple, whose participation on an equal footing with the other parties is essential in all efforts, deliberations and conferences on the Middle East that may be undertaken under United Nations auspices. 140. Many resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Security Council have vigorously condemned Israel's continued acts of aggression against the peoples of Pal- estine and of other Arab countries. What we wish to stress is that in recent years acts by Tel Aviv such as the annexation of Jerusalem-an integral part of the sacred territory of the Arab nation-the implantation of new set- tlements and the expansion of existinJ ones, the plan for a canal from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea and the archaeological excavations and work threatening Islamic buildings are clearly proceeding with a deliberate will to provoke and to encroach through .filils ((('( " '::-Iis. On the other hand, the acts of repression against Je Palestinian people, and the repeated attacks against peaceful targets in Iraq, Syria and especially Lebanon, for the professed 141. Defying all those United Nations resolutions and the unanimous condemnation of world public opinion, Is- r.aeli Government circles have not stopped, but have fur- ther stepped up their warlike and aggressive activities against the people of Palestine and other Arab countries. 142. It is dear to everyone that Israel could not be so obstinate in its arrogant behaviour were it not assured of the support and all sorts of encouragement from the lead- ers in Washington. Successive United States Govern- ments, DemocrCi.t and Republican, in their statements and in their acts inside and outside the United ~!ations, have continually shown themselves to be the only ones t~ sup- port at all costs the expansionist and aggressive policy of the Israeli Zionists. That policy is being pushed even fur- ther, with an arrogance never before known, under the new American Administration. 143. After having proclaimed a strategic alliance be- tween Washington and Tel Aviv, the United States is in- creasing all kinds of aid to Israel, with a view to using Israel as an essential instrument to establish its political, economic and military domination over all the peoples and countries of the Middle East. The latest developments since the recent event in Egypt show that Washington is determined not to renounce the Camp David approach, which is an obvious failure. Benefitting from the encour- agement of the United States, Israel continues to carry forward its plans for the definitive annexation er Palestine am. )f the occupied Arab lands; it tries to revive negotia- tions on so-called autonomy for the occupied territories, when in fact they are nothing of the sort because only the Arab population residing there is dealt with. At the same time it engages in strengthening repressive terrorism against the Palestinian people and in waging a war of at- trition against Lebanon with combined land, air and naval forces. 144. This recrudescence of Israeli aggressiveness is tak- ing place at the same time as the United States declares that it will place its Mediterranean fleet and its rapid de- ployment forces in a state of readiness for imminent ac- tion, sends its AWACS planes to the Middle East for so-called manoeuvres, engages in continual acts of provo- cation and cynical threats against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and in the use of intimidation ajld various kinds of pressure against other Arab States. 145. It is obvious that the United States and Israel are carrying out a new and most harmful plan to liquidate the Palestinian resistance movement and to divide and weaken the Arab countries' solidarity front, with a view to achieving their ambitions of expansion and hegemony in that region, thus seriously threatening international peace and security. 146. To open the way to a just and lasting solution to the Middle East problem, the focal point of which is the. question of Palestine, it is essential first of all for the United States to renounce its policy of intervention and aggression against the peoples and countries of the region and for it to stop its support and assistance fOf the expan- sionist regime of the Israeli Zionists. 147. As we have indicated many times, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam believes that a just, equitable solution of the question of Palestine in the con- 148. We support the idea of an international conference organized especiaily to that end, with the participation of the PLO, an idea which was initially put forward by Pres- ident Leonid Brezhnev and which was noted with satisfac- tion by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in its report. 149. With full awareness of its responsibility and its ability to judge, the United Nations must make a realistic and effective contribution to the achievement of the sacred rights of the Palestinian people. 150. The people of Viet Nam has always given its sup- port to the brother people of Palestinf" in its great and just cause of national liberation. The Vl~~; to Viet Nam last C ~ober by Chdirman Yasser Arafat is a new, living ex- pression of the ever-increasing friendship and solidarity between both peoples. The joint Viet Nam-Palestine communique which was issued on the occasion of that visit reaffirms: "The people and the Government of the Socialist Re- public of Viet Nam firmly and steadily support the people of Palestine, under the leadership of the Pal- estine Liberation Organization, the PLO, in its struggle against the Israeli Zionist aggressors, an instrument of American imperialism, with a view to regaining its fun- damental national rights, including the right to return to its homeland and the right to self-determination and to create on its land an,independent and sovereign Palestin- ian State with Jerusalem as its t::apital; and they sup- port the Arab peoples in their struggle to recover all of the occupied Arab and Palestinian lands. "The Vietnamese side vigorously condemns the Camp David accords and the separate treaty between Egypt and Israel wpich it considers to be a policy of capitulation and betrdyal with regard to the cause of the people of Palestine and of the whole Arab people. That policy will end in certain defeat. The Vietnamese side expresses its great appreciation for the positive role played by the Arab steadfastness front, of which the PLO is an important member, in strengthening the soli- darity of the Palestinian and Arab peoples and in bring- ing about the failure of all manoeuvres and sabotage by I the American imperialists and the Israeli Zionists." 151. The time has come for the General Assembly to adopt resolutions which express in strong terms the sup- port of practically all the States Mprnbers of the United Nations for the just cause of the people of Palestine and once again to ask the Security Council urgently to adopt effective measures under Chapter VII of the Charter in order to oblige Israel to implement the relevant resolu- tions of the United Nations on the question of Palestine. 153. Since the thirty-fifth session of the General As- sembly a new strategy of tension aimed at liquidating the Palestinians and intimidating the Lebanese people has been put into operation by Israel. Considerable military means, involving air, sea and land forces, have been used by the Israeli General Staff against the refugee camps and the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon. The savage bomb- ing of certain residential areas of Beirut, the deployment of Syrian defensive ground-tc-air missiles in order to guard against Israeli air raids, the destruction of the nu- clear'centre at Tamuz in Iraq by the Israeli air force came close to provoking a confrontation with incalculable con- sequences. 154. Those that believed that the Camp David accords would have a contagious effect on the dynamic for peace in the Middle East have had to reconcile themselves to the facts; That process, which raised some hope in certain countries, has been reduced by Israel to a separate peace, which was the declared purpose of Tel Aviv. Indeed, as soon as the accords with Egypt were signed the Israeli Government gave free reign to its expansionist policy in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan. All this has happened as if those territories, which have been Arab for more than a thousand years, were a kind of res nullius of modem times, given for the occasion religious names and doomed to settlement and colonization by the Israelis. 155. In defiance of the rules of international law and of the Geneva Convention relative to. the Protection of Civil- ian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1 ISlael persists in this policy, which Chancellor Kreisky recently qualified as arrogant expansionism because, according to a recent statement by the Israeli Minister of Defence, a plan for the establishment of new settlements is to be put into operation within the next five years. 156. As a matter of fact, Mr. Begin himself in one of his statements has made it clear that Israel has no inten- tion of evacuating even an inch of the Arab territories occupied since 1967. In the case of Al Quds, the sacred cradle of revealed religions, the Israeli authorities have made numerous changes in the historic and demographic structures of the Arab sectors of the city, which is a prel- ude to its annexation, pure and simple. 157. The decision of Israel to change the status of Al Quds in order to convert it into its "eternal capital" con- stitutes a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions, defiance of the opinion of millions of believers throughout the world and an inadmissible attack on the inalienable right of the inhabitants of that sector to self-determina- tion. 158. The obstinate refusal of Israel to recognize the ex- istence of the Palestinian people and their inalienable right to sdf-determination has led the Palestinian problem" and therefore that of the Middle East, into an impasse. Expan- sionism, aggressiveness. arrogance, these are the three 159. Every people has the right to a homeland. Should the Palestinian people be the only people on earth not to enjoy this universally recognized right? 160. In 1965, it will be recalled, President Bourguiba was the first Arab head of State to advocate a political solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of the partition resolution of 1947. Accordingly, Tunisia, which supports without reservation the just cause of the Palestin- ian people, reaffirms its conviction that there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East without a comprehensive settlement which takes into account in the first place the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determi- nation and to the establishment of an independent State under the aegis of their sole legitimate representative, the PLO, and withqut the complete withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied Arab territories, including Al Quds. 161. Peace is a requirement for all the peoples of the region, but it cannot be a sort of diktat imposed by Israel upon the whole of the region. Genuine peace must be based first upon consensus, which in turn would be based on respect for the legitimate rights of the parties con- cerned and would reject expansionism, exclusiveness and domination. 162. Under the pretext of security Israel is pursuing a policy the purpose of which is unmistakable. By increas- ing the numbers of settlements. by annexing from time to time large tracts of Arab territory, Israel wishes to create an irreversible situation which would be an insurmounta- ble obstacle to the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination. This is inadmissible. Se- curity is the constant concern of all the peoples of the region. Moreover, it is a requirement of their stability and development. Accordingly, it cannot be conceived of as the supremacy of one State over all the others, which would 'push the latter to intense rearmament and various alliances in order to oppose the hegemony of the former. 163. The policy of all-out repression conducted by the military authorities in the occupied territories since 1967, the action of all kinds against the inhabitants and their property, the expulsion of municipal officers and others -these will never bring an end to the struggle of the heroic Palestinian people to recover their international rights. 164. Today the international community is unreservedly supporting the cause of the Palestinian people. The cele- bration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Pal- estinian People by the General Assembly on 30 November 1981 was an indication of the support for this just cause. 165. I should like to quote a paragraph of President Bourguiba's message on that occasion: "Tunisia feels that it is time for the United Nations to put pressure upon Israel to end its intransigence and its defiance and comply with the provisions of the Charter and the principles of international law to which it has subscribed and without which it would not exist. Such action would open the way towards a genuine ini- tiative based on international legality for the purpose of achieving' a just and comprehensive solution which would put an end to the injustice of the twentieth cen- 166. Any strategy for peace in the Middle East which does not give highest priority to this objective is doomed to failure. Therefore it is urgent to undertake without de- lay the exploration of new ways to unblock the situation and to begin a genuine peace process able to meet the profound aspirations of the peoples of the region, and specifically those of the Palestinian people. If it is not to fail, this process must first of all involve the PLO in all stages of the negotiations. In that way only will peace in the Middle East be achieved.

The question of Palestine has been the subject of intense deliberation by the United Nations for over three decades, yet today we are no closer to the solution for which we all hope. In spite of the efforts by the United Nations to find a peace- ful, just and lasting solution to the problem, it remains one of the most sensitive and dangerous issues facing the Organization, threatening to plunge the West Asian region into a further round of hostilities. If the grave conse- quences of the impasse are alarming, they are hardly sur- prising, especially when Israel, the party directly respon- sible for bringing about the crisis, continues to act in contravention of the basic principles of international law and to defy the will of the international community. 168. At issue in the question before us is the fate of the entire Palestinian people, who have been deprived of their homeland, property, self-determination and national inde- pendence by Israeli aggression and oppression. The inter- national community has categorically declared such ac- tions to be illegal and impermissible. The General Assembly reaffirmed at its seventh emergency special ses- sion [resolution £5-7/2], and again at its thirty-fifth ses- sion [resolution 351169 A], the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to their homes and property, to self-determination and independence and to national sovereignty. It also called on Israel to withdraw from all occupied Arab territories and to desist from building new settlements in those territories. All these calls were ig- nored by the Israeli authorities. On the contrary, they have embarked even more vigorously on the annexation of occupied territories in blatant violation of the established principles of international law. The demographic makeup and Islamic character of the Holy City of Jerusalem have continued to be altered in their bid to strengthen their hold on the city and to transform it into an undivided capital of Israel. Isra~l does not care if those actions of- fend the feelings of billions of people who attach deep spiritual and culturai values to the city. Not a single sol- dier has been withdrawn from the Palestinian occupied territories. If anything, more repressive measures have been mounted by the Israeli authorities against students and civilians intent on expressing their opposition to Is- rael's illegal policy in those territories. 169. It is not the intention of my delegation to dwell at length on the various atrocities and illegal actions com- mitted by the Israeli authorities. These have already been adequately described in the report of the Special Commit- tee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecti}~g the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories [A/36/579] and recently considered in the Special Political Committee. Suffice it for me to say that Israel could not have acted the way it has done through all these years if every Member State, especially the major Powers, had shown greater will and sincerity in searching for a just 170. My delegation is encouraged at the growing inter- national recognition of the centrality of the Palestine ques- tion in the West Asian conflict, which in the lifetime of the United Nations has exploded into four major wars. We firmly believe that no just and lasting solution can be found without taking into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The representatives of the Palestin- ian people, the PLO, must therefore be involved on an equal footing in all deliberations and conferences held for the purpose of finding a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict. Any attempt to exclude the participation of the PLO will only jeopardize the prospects for a settle- ment. 171. It is appropriate that, on this occasion, my delega- tion should once again reaffirm its solidarity with the people of Palestine in their just struggle to redeem the rights that have been forcibly taken from them. It is most urgent that States Members of the United Nations renew their efforts and act together to remove the grave injustice that has been perpetrated against the people of Palestine, so that they may exercise their inalienable rights to return to their homeland and property, to self-determination, to independence and to national sovereignty. 172. My delegation is convinced that the recommenda- tions Qf the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People endorsed by the General Assembly at its thirty-first session [resolution 31120J still provide the most reasonable basis for a solution of the question of Palestine. The proposal for the phased return of the Palestinian people to their homes, land and prop- erty, the withdrawal under United Nations supervision of Israeli forces from territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian entity repre- sent the best hope for a return to the peace and stability that have long eluded the West Asian region. We urge every member of the international community to take ap- propriate steps to ensure the implementation of that pro- posal.

While the long and con- sistent struggle of the heroic people of Palestine for the attainment of their legitimate and inalienable rights and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State continues vigorously, the warmongers of Washington, in collusion with the Zionist entity and Arab reactionary cir- cles, try to ignore the national democratic revolution for the liberation of Palestine and to deny self-determination to the Palestinian people. I the exploitation of the natural. wealth of the occupied ter- ritories. in clear and gross violation of the Geneva Con- vention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949. I Israeli actions are not only major obstacles to a peaceful settlement but con- stitute a most serious threat to international peace and se- curity. . - 174. The question of Palestine is at the core of the Mid- dle East problem and therefore there can be no just and lasting peace in the Middle East unless the problem of Palestine is solved. 176. T1e legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestin- ian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty and the right to return to their homes are the sacrosanct rights of each Palestinian to acquire na- tional identity and character. 177. The General Assembly, by its resolution 3376 (XXX) of IQ November 1975, established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestin- ian people. By its resolution 31/20 of 24 November 1976 the Assembly endorsed the recommendations of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as a basis for the solution of the question of Palestine. The recommendations were de- signed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inaliepable rights as recognized and defined by the Gen- eral Assembly. Those recommendations of the Committee remained unchanged and were adopted by the General Assembly at its subsequent sessions. Regrettably, they have not yet been approved by the Security Council, owing to the intransigent policy of the United States, which, by supporting the Israeli aggressor, stands against the will of the international community. 178. The seventh emergency special session, held from 22 to 29 July 1980, dealt with the question of taking nec- essary measures for the implementation of the recommen- dations as a basis for the solution of the question of Pal- estine. 179.' Despite numerous resclutions of the United Na- tions. Israel continues its policy of occupation of Palestine and other Arab territories, including Jerusalem. 180. It may be asked how Israel can defy with such impunity the numerous resolutions of the Organization. The answer is quite simple. The support of some Mem- bers of the Organization, particularly the United States of America. encourages Israel not only to ignore the re- peated calls of the Member States for the observance of the principles of the Charter and those of international law. but to aggravate further the already tense situation in the region through further acts of aggression and con- tinued occupation. 181 . Fourteen years have elapsed since the illegal oc- cupation of the Arab territories by Israel. In that period Israel has been practising policies of absorption of the occupied territories, subjugation of the Palestinians and expulsion of their leaders. 182. The actions of the Israeli authorities in the ')C- cupied territories range from illegally changing the status of Jerusalem and the demographic character of the area to 183. Has not Israel's arrogant defiance of United .Na- tions resolutions, international law and world public opin- ion reached intolerable proportions? Rhetorical supp~rt of 184. The people of Palestine, under the leadership of the PLO, the heroic representative of the Palestinian peo- pie, have shown great perseverance and statesmanship. 185. The world-wide recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people is indic- ative of the great political victory of the Palestinian peo- ple in the international arena. 186.. No effort to bring about a just and lasting peace in the Middle East will bear fruit if it is made outside the framework of the United Nations or an international con- ference. if it is not based on General Assembly resolu- tions 3236 (XXIX) and 3375 (XXX), and if the PLO does not participate fully in those efforts on an equal footing with other parties. Thus. any partial agreements or col- lusive accords which do not take into account those re- quirements will be doomed to failure. 187. As a Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Ex- ercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Afghanistan has been actively following the work of the Committee. including its work on its report. 188. I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate my colleague, Mr. Gauci, Rapporteur of the Committee. for his lucid introduction of the report at the 80th meeting. 189. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has attained considerable success under the leadership of its Chairman, Mr. Sarre of Senegal. and his predecessors. 190.. My delegation would also like to commend the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights. headed by Mr. Yoga- sundram. aided by his staff, including the Secretary of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Mrs. Kracht, for their dedication to the advancement of the Palestinian cause. 191. We support the recommendation of the Committee in its entirety. 192. While taking note of the work of the Department of Public Information, my delegation is of the view that attention should be given to the wider dissemination of information, bearing in mind all the facts pertaining to the question of Palestine as a major consideration in re- vealing the true picture of the situation. 193. In conclusion, I should like to quote part of the message sent by Babrak Karmal, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the People's Democniti.c Party of Afghanistan and President of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. on the oCl..asion of the celebration on 30 November of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He said: "The Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan supports the continued efforts of the United Nations towards finding a just and comprehen- sive solution of the Middle East problem based on the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from

Ever since Israel oc- cupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Holy City of Jerusalem, in 1967. the international community has closely followed the pu,cies pursued by Israel. These policies include, among others: first, the denial of the Pal- estinian people's right to self-determination and sov- ereignty; secondly. the implementation of all kinds of eco- nomic, legislative and financial measures to bring about the forced departure of Arab inhabitants from their home- land; thirdly, the establishment and expansion of settle- ments; fourthly, the annexation and expropriation of Arab lands; and fifthly. the repression of and the imposition of severe hardships on, the Palestinian inhabitants in order to uproot them from their own land. It is clear that these policies and practices have only one aim: that is, to colo- nize and eventually annex the occupied territories, in de- fiance of the decisions of the United Nations. 195. For a number of years our attention was focused on the humanitarian aspects of the question, such as the refugee problem, while the political aspects of the Palestin- ian question were relegated to the background. It was only during the 1970s that the General Assembly became more and more keenly aware of the need to settle the political aspects. when in 1974 it adopted resolution 3236 (XXIX). in which it reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-deter- mination without external interference and their right to national independence and sovereignty. This was followed in 1975 by resolution 3375 (XXX), which invited the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, to par- ticipate in all peace efforts under the auspices of the United Nations on an equal footing with other parties. Those resolutions marked a turning-point in United Na- tions efforts to ensure the restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people within the framework of a comprehen- sive political settlement. 196. However, year after year, as we convene to grapple with this issue and to deal with it forthrightly and justly, Israel presents new situations. It has authorized the estab- lishment of new settlements, with the aim of perpetuating its occupation through demographic, cultural, social and religious changes. It has expropriated a substantial amount of land in the occupied territories despite Arab protests. and stringent controls over water and other ne- cessities render the remaining land vulnerable to Israel's will. Further, substantial parts of the West Bank's total area have already been incorporated in the annexed Jeru- salem district, in addition to the so-called State lands, ab- sentee properties and "security" zones. Israel unilaterally proclaims that an undivided and occupied Jerusalem is its eternal capital and it desecrates many Holy Places in the occupied territories. 197. It should be recognized that Israel's claim to sov- ereignty over the occupied territories and its settlements in them strike at the roots of Arab communal life. Israel has gone so far, has built so many settlements and has made the occupied territories so much a part of its gran- diose design. How long can Israel ignore the fact that the Palestinian issue is the key problem of the Middle East question as a whole? 199. The PLO has demonstrated to the world time and again that it sincerely yearns for an end to oppression. What the Palestinian people are struggling for-the recog- nition and restoration of their inalienable rights-is what many nations in the world, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, fought for and achieved. 200. My delegation would therefore like to reiterate its firm conviction that a just settlement of the Palestinian question is an absolutely essential pre-condition for solv- ing the problem of the Middle East as a whole. We also believe that the situation in the Middle East has a pro- found effect on peace and security not only in the region but in the entire world as well. It has, moreover, become clear that the United Nations must continue to seek a just, peaceful and honourable settlement of the problem facing the Palestinian people. 20 I. As Israel has long repudiated the overwhelming desire of the international community to ensure the attain- ment by the Palestinian people of their rights, it has be- come imperative to take appropriate measures. It is in this light that Indonesia for its part has participated actively in the efforts of the international community to solve the Palestinian issue in various forums especially in the Com- mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. My delegation commends the Com- mittee for its activities during the past year, under the outstanding chainranship of Mr. Massambe Sarre of Sen- egal. In this connection, it must be' recalled that the Se- curity Council has not responded positively to the General Assembly's request in resolution 35/169 A that it consider the adoption of effective measures under Chapter VII of the Charter. In these circumstances, and in view of the gravity of the situation in the region, we must renew our request to the Security Council that it take positive and urgent action, as recommended by the Committee in its report [A/36/35, para. 50]. 202. In the final analysis, Israel must be made to realize that its policies are dangerous, not only to itself but to the world as well. Its need for security requires today more than ever a political solution to the problem of the Palestin- ians. It must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, and recognize the right of the Palestinians to self-determination and sov- ereignty.

The wide-ranging consideration of the question of Palestine in this forum and in the meetings of other bodies of the United Nations, including the Security Council, shows that the Middle East is still one of the most dangerous hotbeds of international tension, constitut- ing a threat to international peace and security. We be- lieve that underlying the continuing Middle East problem is the unresolved issue of the exercise of the inalienable national rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including its right to self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State. Israel's systematic denial of these fundamental principles-which are of key SIgnificance to peace and security in this nerve-centre of the planet, 204. It is no accident that Israel has intensified its ag- gressive acts against Lebanon, which have now reached the level of undeclared warfare, following close on Wash- ington's proclamation of the so-called concept of struggle against international terrorism, which, counter to history, they identify with national liberation struggle. Israel is doing everything within its power to crush the opposition of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories and is exerting systematic political, economic, moral and phys- ical pressure on that population. The annexation of East Jerusalem and the attempt to change the legal status of that city have elicited condemnation from the overwhelm- ing majority of the international community. The estab- lishment and expansion of militarized settlements in Pal- estinian territory should also be condemned, since in essence this is nothing but the establishment of new bridgeheads for aggression. 205. The Government of my country supports the well- founded and legitimate demands of the Arab people of Palestine. Our position of principle on a solution to this problem and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in that region was once again confirmed during the offi- cial visit of friendship of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslo- vakia and President of Czechoslovakia, Mr. Gustav Husak, to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, which took place on the invitation of the General Secre- tary of the Central Committee of the Yemen Socialist Party, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council, Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Re- public of Yemen, Ali Nasser Mohammed in September this year. The joint communique stated: "Having considered the situation in the Middle East, the parties expressed their deep concern over develop- ments in that region, a source of a serious threat to the cause of security, peace and stability throughout the world, and they called for the immediate and complete withdrawal of Israel from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. They expressed their support for full participation by the Palestine Liberation Organization on an equal footing in all negotiations. The parties were united in the view that a just and comprehensive settlement cannot be attained without 206. A real basis for the settlement of the Palestinian question and the situation in the Middle East as a whole exists. It is to be found in the proposal made by the So- viet Union relating to convening an international con- ference on the Middle East, a proposal put forward at the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and one which we fully support. We are convinced that the proposal to convene such a conference with the participation of all interested parties offers a constructive approach to the attainment of a comprehensive and just settlement of the Middle East problem, including its piv- otal issue, the Palestinian question. 207. It is encouraging that the international and political prestige of the PLO is constantly growing. In this connec- tion we welcome as an important international political event the fact that the Soviet Union was the first to grant official diplomatic status to the PLO. 208. In conclusion, I should like once again to assure the representatives of the PLO that the Czechoslovak So- cialist Republic will continue in the future to strengthen and deepen in every way its friendly relations with the Palestinian people and its sole legitimate representative, the PLO. Together with other progressive forces of the world, we will continue in the future actively to support their just struggle for the exercise of their inalienable rights.

No one genuinely com- mitted to the search for a just and durable solution to the conflict in the Middle East can doubt the importance of the item which the General Assembly is at present con- . sidering. For many years, and particularly since the adop- tion of resolution 31120, the General Assembly has re- peatedly made it clear that the problem of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East conflict. In resolution 31120 and subsequent resolutions on Palestine, the Assembly has underscored the importance of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and urged the Security Council to take positive action on a set of well-considered and realistic recommendations of the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. 210. The recommendations of the Special Committee, if adopted by the Security Council, would constitute a ma- jor step on the part of the United Nations in the search for a just and durable solution to the conflict in the Mid- dle East. Such a solution has so far eluded the interna- tional community precisely because the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people have not been seriously ad- dressed and recognized. It is generally recQgnized that a major flaw of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) is in this regard. 211. A comprehensive, just and durable solution to the Middle East conflict is urgently required. The importance of the Middle East to international peace and security cannot be over-emphasized. The volatile nature of the re- gion is well known. Three major wars have been fought in the Middle East, resulting in incalculable loss of life and property. Tensions in the area remain acute, and the bitterness characterizing relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours so often gives rise to serious incidents, 213. The Palestinians, like any other people, are entitled to self-detemination. Like any other people, they are en- titled to a national homeland. Perpetually to deny them these rights is to say "never" to the solution of the Mid- dle East ,:onflict. It is to embrace perpetual conflict in the Middle East and to reject the prospect of peace and tran- quillity in the region. 214. Zambia therefore believes that Israel and its sup- porters should adopt a more realistic attitude. They should have the magnanimity and courage to change their present policies, which are responsible for the status quo in the Middle East. They must demonstrate willingness to recog- nize the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, in- cluding their right to a national homeland in Palestine. 215. In any effort to seek a just and durable solution to the Middle East conflict, nothing could be more un- realistic than the pretension that the PLO does not exist. Not only does the PLO exist; it enjoys the overwhelming support of the Palestinian people, wherever they may be. It is therefore not out of mere enthusiasm that the General Assembly, the non-aligned movement and the Organiza- tion of African Unity among others, recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the P-alestinian people. Only the PLO can represent the Palestinian people in any negotiations designed to bring about a settlement of the conflict in the Middle East and of the problem of Pal- estine. 216. Israeli belligerence, arrogance and intransigence cannot and will not lead to any solution of the conflict in the Middle East or guarantee its peace and security. Is- rael's repeated acts of aggression against Lebanon, its at- tack on the Iraqi nuclear installation and its establishment of Jewish settlements in occupied Arab territories clearly violate the norms of international law and civilized be- haviour. It is only fitting that the international community considers them senseless and has condemned them. Not even the recently concluded strategic alliance between the United States and Israel can buy the Tel Aviv regime peace and security as long as it is not prepared to respect the rule of law in regard to its attitude towards its Arab neighbours. 217. Israel simply must recognize the fundamental causes of the Middle East conflict, namely, its denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and its continued occupation of Arab territories. The more hon- ourable attitude of the friends of Israel would be to put pressure on it to recognize reality. It is about time that Israel and its supporters paid heed to the overwhelming verdict of· the international community in regard to the problem of Palestine in particular and the Middle East conflict in general. 218. I wish, in conclusion, to commend the Chairman and the members of the Special Committee on the Exer- 220. Once again the General Assembly is considering the problem of Palestine, one of the most complex prob- lems of this century, to the creation of which the United Nations contributed by the partition of Palestine on 29 November 1947 and the creation of the State of Israel, thus giving legitimacy to Zionist spoliation of part of Pal- estine and making a reality of one of the dreams of zionism and its ally, imperialism, by means of the great colonialist settlement scheme in the land of Palestine, at the expense of the Arab people of Palestine. 221. The Zionist project for the creation of ~ national home for the Jews of the world began under the Mandate. The collusion of the Mandate authorities with the Zionist movement opened the door to caravans of immigrant Jews from all Darts of the world. Those authorities armed the Zionist terrorist organizations and helped them to seize the lands, to establish settlements and to suppress the Pal- estinian nationalist movement. 222. The circumstances that existed during the Mandate and at the time of the partition of Palestine were favoura- ble to the forces of imperialism and zionism, which were able to pass resolutions which served··their interests even though at the expense of other peoples. They got what they wanted when the General Assembly adopted resolu- tion 181 (1I) on the partition of Palestine, and since then imperialism has aided Israel by all possible means-mili- tary, economic and political. 223. In the period following partition most of the peo- ples of the continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America rid themselves of the yoke of colonialism, thus changing the political map in favour of the peoples of the world and their right to self-determination. freedom and sov- ereignty. 224. The United Nations has recognized the monstrous mistake that it made at the expense of the Arab people of Palestine, and it has tried to correct matters by the adop- tion of a series of resolutions. Never in history has any international organization adopted so many resolutions on any subject as the United Nations has on the question of Palestine and the right of the Palestinian people to live in their homeland, with complete freedom and sovereignty. Year after year the General Assembly has condemned the I Zionist entity for its expropriation of Palestinian lands and the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and lands by force of arms. Israel's response has been continued defiance of international legality, the United Nations and its resolutions. 225. Israel's intransigence has reached its peak. It ar- rogantly defies the resolutions of the Assembly and the Security Council, confirming its contempt for the will'of the international community, and it obstinately continues 227. The signature of the agreement on strategic co-op- eration between the United States and Israel one day after the commemoration by the entire international community of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was no surprise to us. Israel is the object of a Western colonialist plan in which it would be an advance post for the protection of imperialist interests in the Arab region. Israel is more a role than a State. That is why the United States supplies Israel with everything it needs- the most modem and most deadly weapons, including weapons on which there is an international ban, so that Israel can continue its aggressive policy against the Arab peoples. This was clearly shown recently by the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor, the war in southern Lebanon against the Lebanese and Palestinian people last July, and the bombing of the Fakhani suburb of Beirut, in which there were hundreds of civilians killed and thousands wounded,. 228. At the political level, the United States has de- fended Israeli aggression by using its, right of veto, or threatening to use it, to prevent the passage of Security Council resolutions intended to protect the Charter. It is clear that without the unlimited aid given to the Zionist entity by the United States, Israel could not adopt such an aggressive, arrogant attitude. 229. The revolution of the heroic people of Palestine has become stronger and more deteniJ.ined and is now widely recognized internationally. United Nations resolutions have clearly shown the support enjoyed by the Palestinian people under the leadership of the PLO, their sole legitimate representative, which has become a full-fledged member of the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Is- lamic Conference and the non-aligned movement. In addi- tion, the PLO enjoys observer status at the United Na- tions. That support was won because all the Palestinian people, in the occupied territories and elsewhere, united around the PLO. In that way they gained unanimous sup- port, which is reflected in the resolutions that reaffirm principles of the Charter such as the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and that guarantee the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determi- nation, to return to their homes and to enjoy indepen- dence and national sovereignty. Those resolutions also call for the total, unconditional withdrawal by Israel from the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied in 1967, in- cluding Jerusalem. 230. The Israeli response has been a total rejection of the resolutions of the international community, including Security Council resolution 465 (1980), which was unan- imously adopted, in regards to Jcrusalem and the illegal decision of the Knesset to seize and annex Jerusalem to make it the permanent Israeli capital. Israel has without hindrance been changing the character of the Holy Ci.ty. It can do all that knowing that the United States right of veto will allow it to do so with impunity. 232. We should not forget the expulsion of the Mayors of Halhoul and Hebron and the Islamic judge of Hebron, or the attempts to assassinate the mayors of the towns of Nablus, Ramallah and Al Bireh. 233. These restrictive and repressive measures are aimed essentially at national representation, above all at the mu- nicipalities and their elected councils, under the pretext that they have taken nationalistic positions and refuse to participate in the application of the autonomy plan, that they seek to ensure that it is never applied. The fact is that they reg~rd themselves as committed to the national objectives of the Palestinian people, the unity of their rep- resentation of that people and total rejection of the "au- tonomy plan". 234. At the same time, the Israeli authorities continue their settlement policy and announce new plans for Juda- ization. They are extending financial and other economic assistance to ensure a doubling in the number of settlers inside the occupied areas. They have announced that new settlements will be established, that the number of settle- ments on the West Bank will be doubled and that all the laws passed by the Israeli Government and the military ordinances will be enforced. Those laws and ordinances forbid the Palestinian citizens of the occupied territories to make any statements that could be interpreted as show- ing sympathy or support for the PLO, or any statements regarding the rules for maintaining order in the univer- sities and other educational institutions or regarding inter- vention in the affairs of the labour movement. 235. At the external level, the Zionist entity continues its vile plots to liquidate completely the leaders of the Palestinian revolution. This year there have been many victims of those plots, including Maguid Abu Charara, head of the unified information service of the Pill, and Nairn Khedr, the head of the PLO office in Brussels. 236. Moreover, intense efforts are being made to pursue the mirage of the Camp David accords and the separate peace treaty, rejected by the Arab people of Palestine, the Arab peoples and the international community, as is clear from General Assembly resolution 34/65 B. The aim of the Camp David accords was basically to liquidate the cause of the Palestinian people and to torpedo their aspi- rations to return to their homeland, their aspirations to liberation and self-determination and to establish an inde- pendent State on their national territory. The Camp David accords were designed also to consolidate Israeli aggres- sion in Palestine and in the occupied Arab territories and to transform the problem into a problem of autonomy, while at the same time imposing American hegemony on the area in the political, economic and military spheres by sowing dissension among Arabs in order to strike at the Arab liberation movement in the region. 237. As the Camp David accords did not yield the re- sults expected by the Zionists and the imperialists and their agents, a fatal impasse ha~ now been reached, and any subsequent initiatives must take into account the fact that peace in the Middle East has but one route. The broadest and the shortest route, that leading to the solu- 238. It is natural to demand that the punishment fit the crime, in order to save the reputation of this international Organization, to preserve its credibility and to ensure the carrying out of the principles of justice, as well as the maintenance of international peace and security, as pro- vided in the Charter. Israel's total refusal to accept United Nations resolutions, its policy of aggression against the Arab peoples, its inhuman practices in the occupied ter- ritories, its violations of human rights and of the princi- ples and provisions of the Geneva Conventions, its inten- sification of aggression, its measures to annex and change the occupied territories and establish settlements there, and its other crimes demand a firm and responsible at- titude by the Organization. 239. Condemnation and disapproval are no longer suffi- cient; indeed they are useless. They cannot impose the respect due to the Organization and the Charter. The Zionist entity's flagrant, constant defiance of the interna- tional will is a serious threat to international peace and justice. That is why we have the duty to safeguard the purposes and principles of the Organization for the free- dom and well-being of the peoples of the world. 240. The least we can ask is the application against the Zionist entity of the sanctions provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter. 241. We express our deep concern about the recent de- velopments in the Middle East and firmly condemn the strategic co-operation agreement signed last week between the United States apd Israel. We denounce the American military manoeuvres now taking place in the Arab region, as well as the intention of the United States to carry out naval and air manoeuvres jointly with Israel. All those facts clearly represent a challenge to our future, to the interests of our Arab peoples and to the peace and se- curity of the entire world. 242. The problem of Palestine is the very heart of the Middle East crisis. The essential condition for establish- ing a just and lasting peace in the region is to put an end to Israeli occupation of all the occupied Arab and Palestin- ian territories and guarantee the inalienable legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return to their homeland and recover their property, t.lteir right to self-determination and to establish an independent national State, under the leadership of the PLO, their sole authentic representative.

I should like to thank Mr. Massamba Sane of Senegal and, through him, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the invaluable work they have done in the past year and for having presented the Com- mittee's report to the Assembly. I should also like to take this opportunity to thank me Committee for the organiza- . tion of the Third United Nations Seminar on the Question of Palestine, held at Colombo from 10 to 14 August 1981, details of which are found in the Committee's re- port [A/36/35, annex Il]. 245. Sri Lanka's long commitment to the cause of the Palestinian people was reiterated by President 1. R. Jay- ewardene on 30 November this year in a message com- memorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. He said: "No solution of the Middle East conflict will be just or lasting unless it ensures the exercise by the Palestin- ian people of their inalienable national rights, includ- ing the right of return, to self-determination and to es- tablish an independent State in Palestine, a prerequisite to which is the withdrawal by Israel from all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories." 246. Sri Lanka's firm belief in the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and the clear obligation of Israel to withdraw completely from all territories it has forcibly occupied found practical expression in 1970 when the Government of Sri Lanka suspended diplomatic relations with Israel. This we did as an act of principle to protest against Israeli policies and as an expression of support for the cause of the Palestinian people. The PLO, which we have accepted as the sole legitimate represen- tative of the Palestinian people, has maintained an office at Colombo since June 1976. 247. It is a matter of particular gratification to us that the PLO is being recognized by an increasing number of countries and that a near-universal CQnsensus has devel- oped accepting the PLO as the representative of the Pal- estinian people and that, without their participation on an equal footing, no negotiations affecting the destiny of the Palestinian people are possible. We pay a tribute to the PLO, which has succeeded against tremendous obstacles in unifying a geographically and demographically dis- persed people in a common commitment to their cher- ished goals-the right to return to their lands, to self- determination and to an independent State in Palestine. 248. While the entire Middle East area has been a cauldron of tension and instability, owing to the occupa- tion by Israel of Arab lands and the policies pursued by that regime in these lands, the brunt of the resultant dis- location and suffering has been inflicted primarily on the Palestinian people. The deliberate policy of Israel has been to reduce the 4 million Palestinians to a status of permanent refugees and to push through a total annexa- tion of all occupied territories. There can be no other in- tent in Israel's pursuit of carefully co-ordinated policies in violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Pro- tection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August f 1949, I than to alter radically the demographic composi- . tion of the occupied territories by means of the establish- ment of settler colonies, by confiscation of property, by expulsions and by what has been described as "agri- cultural strangulation" of the Palestinian people by the re- striction and denial of scarce water resources. The head of the Political Division of the Palestine Liberation Organiza- tion, Mr. Farouk Kaddoumi, told us at the 80th meeting that some 20 per cent of the total area of Palestine has been covered by illegal settler colonies established by Is- 249. Usurpation of land and water is one aspect of Israe- li policies in the occupied territories. As a member of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Af- fecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Oc- cupied Territories, I am personally aware of the continu- ing violations of human rights for which Israel must be held responsible. These harsh measures have been de- signed to break Palestinian morale and to repress ruthlessly all forms of political expression against the oc- cupation. Blueprints for the restorati.;fi of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people w,; not lacking. While there has been a failure to implemeut United Nations res- olutions for the just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine, we can take some comfort from the fact that, despite all this, Israel's efforts to subjugate the Palestinian people have been of no avail. 250. Like the great majority of the States represented in the Organization, we have supported the innumerable res- olutions adopted in this Assembly, and we have joined in the annual expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people. We have no illusion that the question of Palestine will be settled by resolutions of the Assembly. We regard these essentially as intended to reassure the people of Pal- estine of the justice of their cause. At the same time, they are addressed to an obdurate Government in Israel, whose response so far has alternated between defiance and non- chalance. Yet even this defiant Israel must know that time is not on its side, that an organization and a people once dismissed, like Israel itself, as- illegal and terrorist are no longer thought of in those terms and that the Palestinian people themselves cannot forever. be denied their destiny.

To- day, as we address ourselves to an issue whose history is virtually coterminous with that of the United Nations it- self, my Government wishes to reaffirm its continuing .concern for the fate of the 1.6 million Palestinian refugees registered by UNRWA in Jordan, the Syrian Arab Re- public, Lebanon and the Israeli occupied territories and particularly for the almost 650,000 Palestinian refugees living in UNRWA camps. 252. UNRWA is a generation old. Since 1948, my Gov- ernment has contributed nearly $1 billion to this relief effort-almost one-half of the Agency's total expendi- tures. The United States gave $62 million this year. In 1982, pending final action by the United States Congress, we hope to be able once more to increase our voluntary contributions to UNRWA. But we do not regard the UNRWA camps as anything more than an interim solution to the plight of the Palestinian refugees. As long as their future remains unres()lved, they are entitled at the very least to the sincere efforts and concrete assistance of the international community in meeting their basic needs for health care. education and adequate living standards. 253. Today we address, as I have said, an issue whose history is virtually coterminous with that of the United Nations itselt: The United Nations, it sometimes seems, is perpetually occupied with the question of Palestiiie. In one form or another this item has come before eve~y 254. Despite the attention it receives, however, the ques- tion of Palestine-shorthand, indeed, for the Arab-Israeli conflict-is far from resolved. It is true that the issues involved are complex and that the passions engaged are intense. But the United Nations cannot be held entirely blameless in this matter. Unfortunately, a great many United Nations activities related to the Arab-Israeli con- flict have resulted in the exacerbation rather than the al- leviation of Arab-Israeli tensions. 255. The United States wishes to avoid the sterile po- lemics and embittered exchanges that can only complicate the search for Arab-Israeli peace. We believe that the long-standing enmity between Arab and Israeli is any- thing but an immutable law of history: given courage, vi- sion and persistence. enormous progress can be made. That belief was dramatically vindicated on 26 March 1979, when Anwar AI-Sadaf and Menachem Begin, lead- ers of two nations whose relations had been marked for some 30 years by an extreme and seemingly intractable ho~tility, concluded a treaty of peace. My Government is convinced that that treaty is the first step in a process which can culminate in a just and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. 256. We arc proud of the efforts previous American Ad- ministrations have undertaken to resolve this tragic con- flict, and we intend to continue those efforts. Thus it is towards the goal of reconciling and not separating avowed .1 enemies. of tempering and not hardening negotiating posi- tions, that all of our efforts. including my remarks today, are directed. 257. It has been maintained by a number of speakers in this debate, and also by the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that the Palestinian problem forms the "heart" or "essential component" of the problems of the Middle East. And so, in the almost ritualistic way that the ques- tion of Palestine is invoked in these halls, it would ap- pear. 258. But without wishing to deprecate in any way the seriousness of the Palestinian tragedy, my delegation nev- ertheless wishes to point out that the Middle East is un- fortunately riven by a great many grave problems. most of which have little or nothing to do with the Palestinian problem. Has the Palestinian issue anything to do with the unresolved conflict between Iran and Iraq? Do Palestin- ian tights form the core of the dispute between the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Sudan, or between the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq? The answers to these questions, it seems to me, are simple and obvious. 259. Indeed, even in regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict itself-a series of conflicts, in truth-there is no consen- sus as to the "essence" of the dispute. Some Arab States maintain with considerable vehemence that the essence of the conflict is the failure to resolve the Palestinian prob- lem, to restore to the Palestinians their legitimate rights. On the other hand, Israel maintains with equal vehemence that the essence of the dispute is the failure of most Arab States to accept Israel's legitimacy. As between these competing "legitimacies", my Government finds it unnec- essary to choose one or the other. Surely all of us in this 260. In view of the fact that the Camp David accords and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty are the only 'suc- cessful peace negotiations in the entire history of the Arab-Israeli dispute, my Government believes that they deserve the whole-hearted support and endorsement of this body. To our considerable regret, however, the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People challenges the validity of the Camp David accords, and a number of speakers in this debate have attacked these accords on the grounds that they do not take Palestinian rights into account. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The Camp David framework for peace in the Middle East specifi- cally endorses the legitimate rights of the Palestinian peo- ple and their just requirements. It also specifies a variety of measures through which the Palestinians will partici- pate in the determination of their fate. Thus, far from ignoring Palestinian rights, the Camp David accords are the surest guarantee that these rights will in fact be re- spected. Indeed, Camp David is a formula for participa- tion by the Palestinians in the forging of their own future. It does not seek to impose a solution on the Palestinians: it provides an opportunity for the parties directly con- cerned to negotiate the final status of the West Bank and Gaza. 261. But the Camp David accords are not solely preoc- cupied with Palestinian rights. Israeli rights are also rec- ognized. Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) are both reaffirmed in the Camp David framework. Those resolutions call for a negotiated settlement in which the withdrawal of Israeli troops from territories occupied in 1967 is linked to the acknowledgement of the right of every State in the area "to live in peace within <;ecure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force" • according to resolution 242 (1967). This formula for a settlement is the only internationally agreed basis for peace in the Middle East, and we are opposed to any efforts to undermine it. Any caU for Palestinian rights that does not also affirm Israel's legitimate need to be recog- nized by its Arab neighbours retreats from the equitable principles of resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). 262. My Government deplores the activities of both the Secretariat's Special Unit on Palestinian Rights and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Despite their names these bodies do not advance Palestinian tights in any way. Their sole function is to advance the political ambitions of the vari- ous groups which constitute the PLO, In allowing them- selves to become instruments in the hands of the PLO, the Special Unit and the Committee are doing the Palestinian people a disservice and are working to undercut the pro- gress that has already been made towards the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. "(I) the continuation of the Committee on the Exer- cise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the creation of the Special Unit on Palestinian Rights are wasteful expenditures of limited United Na· tions resources at a time when the United Nations is experiencing severe financial difficulties and when the United Nations is under close scrutiny from contribut- ing Members; "(2) the work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People does not contribute to the process of peace-making under way at present in the Middle East." And earlier this year both Houses of Congress, in passing the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1982 and 1983, agreed again, as they have since 1978, that the United States should withdraw any contribution to the United Nations to support the Committee or the Spe- cial Unit. This extraordinary step of withholding a small portion of the assessed contribution of the United States is not taken lightly. My Government fully realizes that, as stated by the sponsors of that Act, "the United Nations wiII find it hard to operate if Members freely withhold funds to express disapproval of particular budget items". Nevertheless. as stated in the United States Congress, "we take [this step] to express our very deep alann that the PLO, whose purposes run counter to those of inter- national society, has been admitted as a member in good standing within that society. We are alarmed that the United Nations has' conferred legitimacy on an organization dedicated to the destruction of one of the United Nations' Members." 264. As long as the PLO endorses the destruction of a Member State of this body, my Government does not be- lieve that it has any role to play in deliberations designed to resolve the Arab-:Israeli conflict. Resolving the Arab- Israeli conflict requires the affirmation of both Arab rights and Israeli rights. Unfortunately, the PLO persists in de- nying that the State of Israel enjoys any rights what- soever-even the elementary right to exist. We do not believe that enhancing the international status of such an organization serves the cause of Arab-Israeli reconcilia- tion. 265. The United States supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and regards the Camp David ac- cords as the only realistic means of advancing those rights in the West Bank and Gaza. It is our considered view, however, that the endorsement by this body of the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the adoption of re~­ ommendations which are diametrically opposed to the es- sence of Camp David wiII in no way advance Palestinian rights. 266. Such actions wiII serve only to undermine the good name and moral authority of the United Nations. The United Nations is more than a weapon in one side's political armory. It must not align itself with forces work- ing against a final settlement between Israel and its Arab neighbours by repudiating the sole existing framework

The Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization has asked to be allowed to reply to a statement made by one of the speakers in the debate. I intend to call on him on the basis of General Assembly resolution 3237 (XXIX) and particularly on the basis of the ruling made by the President of the thirty-first session2 and of the precedents established in similar circumstances during subsequent sessions of the General Assembly. I call on the Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Once again the representative of the United States of America has proved that the policies of his Gov- ernment are lagging behind history. Those kinds of pol- icies and stands are the cause of the conflict that we are going through in the Middle East. 269. The United States of America claims that it has paid $1 billion in assistance to the Palestinian refugees. But it does not point out that the United States is pri- marily responsible for the tragedy of the Palestinian peo- ple. Because, in 1947, when the Government of the United States committed one of the most unforgettable a~ts of aggression ever inflicted upon the territorial integ- rity of Palestine, by twisting arms in this very General Assembly and blackmailing Member States to force them to accept the partition, it also committed a crime against the Palestinian people. As a result of that partition resolu- tion the Palestinian people were expelled from their homes and property, which were given to Jewish immi- grants under the banner of zionism-immigrants collected from all over the world, including the United States, for settlement in the land of Palestine. In fact, the United States has exported to us in Palestine criminals like Meir Kahane, and others, who have been engaged in commit- ting crimes against the Palestinian people. 270. The United States, which complains that it pays $1 billion to the Palestinians, has given Israel $35 billion in the last 34 years-$35 billion in armaments, F-15s and F-16s and tanks, which are not used for tourism or to cultivate the land in Palestine, but to bum land as in southern Lebanon and in the occupied territories. 27 I. I assure the representative of the United States that the PLO is much more popular among the Palestinians than his own Government is among the American people, since only 20 per cent of them elected it. The PLO enjoys the support. even under the guns of the Israeli occupation. of 86 per cent of the Palestinian people. Despite the fact that the policy of the Israeli terrorists inside the occupied territories is to consider adherence to or association with the PLO as a crime punishable by three years imprison- ment or a fine of ten thousand pounds, the members of tne municipal councils and the mayors who support the programme of the PLO got 86 per cent of the vote in 1976. The Government of Reagan could not get more than 20 per cent of the total votes in the United States. 273. I would say to the representative of the United States-despite the fact that he represents a super-Power and I represent a struggling people-that in the final anal- ysis he should learn from the lessons of Viet Nam, Nic- aragua and Iran, and advise his Government to walk to- gether with history rather than behind history. The arrogance of the United States and its engagement in a militaristic policy in our part of the world can never be conducive to peace; it can lead only to further bloodshed NarES I United Nations, Trear....· Series. vol. 75, No. 973, p. 287.