S/PV.1167 Security Council

It is als0 my pleasant duty, on behalf of the Security Council, to thank Mr. AdlaiStevenson, therepresentative of the United States, for the moral inspiration he has provided and for the equanimity and theperspica- City with which he has presided over the Council’s work during the last month. I am sure that 1 am expressing the views of a11 members of the Council when I say that peoples and Governments recognize in Mr. Stevenson one of the most distinguished servants of the Cause of worldpeace and that his virtues as a great statesman and democrat are those that great leaders need in order to guide the nations along the difficult 3, ,It is a great honour for Bolivia to preside the meetings of the Security Counoil this month and 1 personally am highly honoured to relIreSent my country and to ts.ke my turn with the eminent statesmen here present. 4, Mr. STEVENSON (United StateS of America): President, I am deeply grateful for your very words about my modest service to this Organization and to the cause of peace. 1 appreciate your graOiOUs and flattering remarks, and 1 feel confident that YOU are destined to go to heaven for charity, unless go somewhere else for exaggeration, Like a11 your oolleagues, I wish you well in the conduct of this month’s deliberations of the Council and assure of our earnest desire to assist in every possible in the prompt, orderly and expeditious dispatch our important work. Expression of welcome to the Minister for External Relations of Brazil

1 also wish, as President of the Council, to extend a cordial welcome to Mr. Vasco TristEo Leitao da Cunha, Minister for External Relations of Brazil, who is honouring us today with his presence.

I am most touched by your kind greetings, Mr. President. I wish bo express to the Security Council the feelings gratification and honour with whioh 1, for the first time, sit at this table in this supreme organ of the United Nations which is charged with the protection of peace and security. 1 thank you, very much. Tribute to the memory of Mr. Arkady A. Sobolev, former Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Security Council Affairs

my Painful duty to inform the Council of the death yesterday in Moscow of His Exoellency Mr. Arkady Aleksandrovich Sobolev, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, 8. Mr. Sobolev was the first to occupy the seat to my left and he served with distinction as Assistant Seoretary-General for Political and Security Counoil Affairs from 1946 to 1949. 91 I should like to offer the sincere oondolenoes the Seourity Council to the Government of the Soviet Union and to Mr. Sobolev’s family on this irreparable loss. 11. The name of Mr. Sobolev is closely associated with the establishment and activities of the United Nations. In his high post as ‘Assistant Secretary- General for Political and Security Council Affairs, and then as Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations and in the Security Council, Mr. Sobolev devoted much effort to the strengthening of our Organization as an important instrument for international co-operation and the maintenance and consolidation of peace and security. 11. Le nom de M. Sobolev est étroitement creation Unies. Au poste Eminent de Secretaire aux affaires de securit6, de l’Union Nations a consacré notre cooperation et du renforcement 12. Many of the representatives seated at this table knew Ambassador Sobolev personally, and his passing is a source of special grief to us. We shall convey your expression of condolence, Mr. President, to the Government of the Soviet Union and to the family of Mr. Sobolev. 12. Parmi connaissaient ressentons condoléances, mises de M. Sobolev. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. L’ordre The Palestine question (-) Letter dated 14 November 1964 from the Permaa) Lettre, nent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic au addressed to the President of the SecurityCouncil sentant (s/6044 j; (v60~); (f$ tetter dated 15 November 1964 from the Permab) Lettre, nent Representative of Israel addressed to the au President of the Security Council (S/6046) sentant

In accordance with our previous decision, I shall invite the representatives of the Syrian Arab Republic and of Israel to take places at the Council table. 13. mement rement, blique d4bats. At the invitation of the President, Mr, Mïchael S. Comay (Israel) and Mr. Rafik Asha (Syria) tookplaces at the Gouncil table. Sur l’invitation (Israël) table du Conseil. 14. l*anglais]: la question de ma delégation condoléances sentant de l’eminent fut Arkady deploye Nations lors de ma mission

Mr. President, before broaching the matter which lies before us, I should like to associate myself, in the name of my delegation and my oountry, with tbe expressions of oondolences which you have oonveyed to the representative of the Soviet Unionon theunfortunatepassing away of a most dtstinguished diplomat and public servant, Arkady Sobolev, who for SO many years worked in and for the UnitedNations andwhom1 had the privi- .lege of meeting during my mission in Moscow. 15. bresilienne de plus plaintes des la frontiere genre rations est d’arriver 15. It is unfortunate and a matter of ooncern to the Brazilian delegation that, once again, the Security Council has before it the complaints lodged by Israel and Syria regarding the recent incidents on the border between the two countries. These incidents have been the abject of many deliberations of the SeCUrity Council which has been guided by the sole purpose of establishing a workable solution to prob- 1emS of fundamental importance affecting the two 17. We have carefully examined the explanations presented to this Council by the representatives of Israel and Syria with respect to the incidents of 13 November. We have also devoted the greatest attention to the report of the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine [UNTSO] [S/6061 and Add.l],Y whose accuracy and zeal in collecting the information embodied in this report deserve our appreciation. Furthermore, the Brazilian delegation notes with satisfaction the encouraging degree of unanimity of the previous speakers in supporting the suggestions made by General Bull. We share his view and deem it of the utmost importance to concentrate on practical measures that may prove effective in lessening the existing motivation for the recurrence of border incidents between Israel and Syria. 18. In the absence of regular meetings of the Mixed Armistice Commission, it is difficult for the Council to determlne which of the complaints should be considered as a violation of the General Armistice Agreement. The basic function attributed to the Truce Supervision Organization is to investigate complaints lodged by the parties and to place the findings of the investigation before the Mixed Armistice Commission, thus enabling the Commission to evaluate those results and to decide on measures that may prove efficient to correct the situation in the event that a violation has occurred. It follows that, if meetings of the Mixed Armistice Commission fail to take place, the Truce Supervision Crganization cannot but have its function limited to acknowledging complaints and to conduc ting the appropriate inquiries that often amount to nothing more than the taking of statements by witnesses. 19. Under these conditions, my delegation wishes to express its full support for the suggestions made by General Bull in paragraphs 24 to 27 of his report; paragraph 26, in particular, indicates, we believe, the necessity for supplementary action, 20. Alongside these considerations, there remains no doubt, according to the report, that the Syrian military posts started ‘the firing on an Israel patrol allegedly enoroaching on Syrian territory. The exchange of fire, however# was initiated in a region where the completion of an accurate topographlcal survey is still necessary to establish the location of the Armistice demarcation line. On the other hand, one cannot fail to note thatIsrael’s militaryretaliationwas unjustified and out of proportion. 21. Suoh incidents cannot be examined individually, for they are part of a broadcontextwhere goodwill and & See, Officia1 Records of the Securiry Council, Nineteenth Year, Swplement for October. November and Decemher 1964. 22.. Mr. USHER (Ivory Coast) (translated from French): My delegation would like to join you, Mr. P % aident, in expressing its deepest sympathy to the SO ‘et delegation upon the tragic loss of Mr. Sobolev. 22. M. USHER (C&e-d’ivoire): drait se joindre à vous-m&me, pour adresser leances perte M. Sobolev. 23. The Security Council is now considering the Israel-Syrian incident of 13 November upon whioh General Bull reported on 24 November 1964. This incident is part of a series of extremely complex and delicate problems which arouse passions in that part of the Middle East and with whioh the United Nations has been seized every year for over a decade. The over-all solution to be applied to those problems or that has already been applied has created or will undoubtedly create a whole range of new and no less serious problems constantly jeopardizing peace in the area. 23. l’incident l’objet s’insere complexes toute cette region du Moyen-Orient Unies decennie. apportée - ou qui leur a et6 apportee - surgira bitablement problemes la paix de la regicn en danger. 24. Any visitor passing through this border areacannot but describe the various demarcation lines as “debatable frontiers”. Indeed, a sudden movement of the steering wheel at a bend in the road is enough to cause one% car to end up with its front wheels in one State and its rear wheels in another, and its progress would at no time escape the field-glasses of the guards stationed on the heights overlooking the Mount of the Beatitudes who scan the scene below, their fingers on the triggers of their guns. Automatically, the guide esoorting the visitor Will take out the rifle he had hitherto kept discreetly concealed, a rifle of thesame make as the one used on the other side, generously provided by some friendly Powers in application of the as yet unscientifio principle of the balance of terror. If the visitor should then escape being fired upon, it Will only be because he is, fortunately, in the land of miracles. 24. region les diff4rentes à palabres”, brusque de votre roues arriére vous &chappiez & la vigilance de ces gardes a longuevue le mont des Béatitudes, deroule par son marque tablement vertu libre fusillade, &tes par bonheur sur la terre qui détient le privilege des miracles. 25. That is the background of a situation which is frequently brought to the attention of the organs of the United Nations and, periodically, of the Security Council. 25. souvent, Unies 26. Even while we are considering this prcblem, on that same spot and for the same reasons, gun-fire is heard daily. Thus, however objectively one may regard this problem, the determinism governing the actions of these two hostile neighbours inevitably leads them to treat one’s attitude as unobjective, in SO far as it does not wholly and unreservedly endorse one of the two opposing positions, At a11 events, by adhering to one side or the other, one cari do no more than render the situation even more confused. 26. Au moment bleme, des fusillades que soit votre minisme ennemis position n’epouse theses ferez en ajoutant au nombre des partisans camp. 25. I confess that my Government is always concerned when, for one reason or another, human lives are lost. It considers that to be a needless sacrifice which a little restraint might avoid. It deplores the use of means of mass devastation or destruction, whereby innocent civilians invariably become victims. 29. Therefore, 1 believe that the Council should endorse the views expressed by General Bull in paragraph 25 of his report, that in cases where an illegal crossing of the Armistice demarcation line in the course of any activitiy is alleged, a complaint should be lodged with the Chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission who should decide whether that activity should be permitted to continue or not, pending an investigation of the charges. The parties should, of course, refrain in a11 cases from the use of arms. 30. There is no denying that some form of dialogue between the parties would be more effective than any complaint, and certainly much more effective than an exchange of fire. It seems to me that, for want of any better solution, recourse to the Mixed Armistice Commission would set in motion somekindof an exchange, however deaf the parties maybe to one another’s arguments. In view of the nature of the confliot, that is enough to make my delegation consider resumption of the Commission’s activities eminently desirable. The Chairman of the Commission should continue his attempts to convince the parties of the need to corne together, under the Commission’s aegis. However, the solution of the specific problem of Tel-El-Qadi, the immediate cause of these many incidents, depends on the answer to the question of whether the track constructed by Israel does or does not encroachon Syrian territory at some points, 31. The report provides a partial answer. In paragraph 22, it states that: “The question whether, in a particular area, the reconstructed road used by Israel military patrols encroaches or not upon Syrian territory, may be, as indicated by the Chairman, a matter of metres.” That answer is not categorical and is therefore not satisfactory. On the other hand, it implies that the dispute cari easily be settled by having the Canadian team which began a survey of the area in 1963 resume its work. The Security Council should therefore encourage a resumption of the work which was suspended. 32. In my delegation’s opinion, the Security Council should find the most appropriate and effective formin which to request the parties, in such cases as the present one, to refrain from resorting to axms and to abide by the complaint procedure, It also considers that ,the Council should order a resumption of the 33, In conclusion, 1 wish to pay tribute to the United Nations observers who are risking their lives every day ta maintain world peace by ensuring the maintenance of peace in the area. 33. Je voudrais observateurs danger maintien la paix dans cette r8gion.

Mr. President, the Soviet delegation would first like to welcome you as the new representative of Bolivia to the United Nations and on the Security Counoil, and to express its firm confidence that your persona1 participation Will contribute to the suooess of the Councilts work. 34. M. FEDORENKO listes sovietique le Président, de la Bolivie Unies vous personnelle 35. Nous cipation relations à qui nous sommes heureux de souhaiter la bienvenue. 35. We also note with satisfaction that the Brazilian Minister for External Relations, Mr. Leitao daCunha, is taking part in îhe Security Council’s proceedings, and we are of course happy to welcome him to the Council. 36. Permit me to thank the Brazilian Minister for External Relations, Mr. Leitao da Cunha, and the Permanent Representative of the Ivory Coast, Mr. Usher, for their expressions of condolence on the occasion of the untimely death of Mr. Sobolev. 36. mer notre reconnaissance ext8rieures de la CBte-d’ivoire, condol8ances deces pr8matur8 37. The Soviet delegation has carefully examined a11 the materials and documents submitted to members of the Security Council on the agenda item now under consideration. 1 refer to the letters addressed to the President of the Security Council by the representatives of Syria [S/6044]3 andIsrael[ S/6046]2/ and their statements in the Council of 16 November last[ 1162nd meeting], as well as to the report of the Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce SupervisionOrganization. We also heard, at previous meetings of the Security Council, further statements by the representatives of Syria and Israel, as well as statements by a number of members of the Council. 37. La delegation sovletique les documents du Conseil voulons Syrie au President ventions ainsi que du rapport nisme de la trêve. de securit8, velles du representant du Conseil. 38, La documentation nous du 13 novembre, Conseil determiner tere et les responsabilit& 38, The material thus available makes it possible to analyse in detail the events which took place on 13 November and which led to the convening of the Security Counoil and to answer questions concerning the origin and nature of, and the responsibility for, those even ts . 39. Dans son rapport, ce qui suit: 39. In the report submitted to the Council, we read: “The recent tension in the area of Tel-El-Qadi {the Israel “Tel Dan”), which culminated in the 13 November incident, began with the carrying out by Israel of a project described by thesenior Israel Delegate to the Mixed Armistice Commission as Yhe reconstruction of the track along the international boundary and a drainage ditch parallel to and to the north of the track’.” [S/6061, para. 12.1 2/lb& 41. The Syrian view in this matter is that there should be another survey. Nevertheless, withoutwaiting for such a survey, Israel unilaterally undertook the construction of the track in question, 42. As is further revealed in the report, on 3 November 1964-that is, ten days before the events of 13 November-lsrael’s unilateral actions in connexion with the construction of the track had already given rise to an incident similar in origin to that whioh led to the events of 13 November. The essence of the matter, as is known, lay in the fact that on 3 November an Israel bulldozer had entered Syrian territory. In this connexion, the report states that an encroachment by the Israel bulldozer into Syrian territory would appear to be confirmed by the map annexed to the General Armistice Agreement. That action in turn precipitated the events which are described in detail in the relevant part of the report. 43. Moreover, we cannot fail to note that these unilateral actions by Israel have been and continue be taken in an area where the question of literally a few metres on either side of the frontier-and hence of any action taken here, as the report emphasizes-is a particularly sensitive one. The reason for this is, as we know, that sources of the River Jordan are located in this area, 44. It may be noted, therefore, that attempts Israel to engage in unilateral actions in this area are bound to be, and ‘in fact are, a source of every conceivable complication. Nevertheless, as recent events have shown, Israel has continued and is continuing engage in such actions. 45. It cari now be considered established that the initial incident that occurredon 13November andprecipitated a whole chain of events, which we shall speak of later, had its origin in provocative actions from the Israel side in this highly sensitive area. 1 refer to the appearance of an Israel military patrol. 46. In this regard, the behaviour of the Israel side is extremely symptomatic. Hardly had a single warning shot been fired from the+Syrian side, when from the Israel side-and this is confirmed by the statement of an Israel witness [S/BOôl/Add,l,AnnexC,para. SIthe wail of a siren was heard, after which everyone immediately took caver. This fact alone leads one to think that the Israel side reasoned out in advance the whole sequence of events which might have been expeeted from its unilateral action-action consisting in the dispatch of a military patrol to the area in question. 48, The firing which subsequently followed on both sides was, as is known, extremely heavy. As is indioated in paragraph 6 of the report, however, by 1446 hours local time, on 13 November, both the Syrian and the Israel sides had agreed to a cesse-fire at 1500 heurs. It seemed that a further dangerous turn of events had thereby been averted. 49. But it was preoisely at that time that what amounted to a new chapter of events was opened by the Israel side. What followed the common agreement on a cesse-fire is therefore deserving of special attention. What followed, as is well known, was a gross violation of Syrian air space by Israel military aircraft, which bombed a whole series of points on Syrian territory. This was not a single sortie or an isolated air bombardment, but a whole series of such acts, engaged in one after the other by the Israel air force. 50, This, obviously, was nothing other thanadeliberately planned and exeouted large-scale attack, occurring after bath sides had agreed to a cesse-fire. parbe, par 51. In bis stiatement to the Security Council on 16 November [1162nd meeting], the Israel representative asserted that Israel planes went into action because-allegedlythe Syrians did not accept the ceasefire. This assertion, as is now evidentfrom the report, does not square with thefacts. Moreover, in the report submitted to the Security Council, it is clearly estabiished that the Senior Israel Delegate, after he had agreed to the cesse-fire and after the cesse-fire had been accepted by Syria, unexpeo tedly declared that his acceptance of the cesse-fire was not final. Thus, Israel-and not Syria-repudiated the cesse-fire. And, at almost the same time that tlie cesse-fire was repudiated, Israel aircraft began a systematic bombardment of Syrian territory. 16 d’Israël entres pas comme respond etabli dans le rapport de la delégation israélienne d’une part, le cessez-le-feu, tation non la Syrie, simultanement, à bombarder 52. En d’autres du 13 novembre, cette serie d’evénements d’une patrouille Israeliens, le-feu, région etendu l’ampleur 52. In other words, it may be stated indisputably, as regards the happenings of 13 November, not only that the entire chain of events was initiated by the actions of the Israel military patrol, but also that the Israel side, after agreement had been reached on a cesse-fire, violated that agreement and sent military aircraft into action in this area-which led to a serious expansion in the scale of the conflict. 53. Apparently, even the Israel side cannot but feel that its use of military aircraft requires some kind of justification. We have just analysed one such explanation by Israel-that the agreement on the ceasefire was allegedly rejected by Syria. It is unfounded. The second argument which the Israel representative Put forward in his letter of 14 November [S/6045] consists of an assertion that “the employment of Israel planes . , . must be understood in relation to the nature of the terrain”. [S/6045 para. l.]aIt seems to US, however, that it may be understood more 53. Les Israeliens t-il, aviation des arguments Syrie argument deuxieme avance ltL’intervention s’explique A notre 54. We must also point out that, in this letter to the President of the Security Council, the ISrael representative actually describes the “air striken carried out by the Israel air force as a COUnter-meaSUre by the Israel forces, The representative of Mosocco was therefore entirely correct when, at the Council meeting of ‘16 ,November, he said that, if one accepted Israel’s case, this action was “undertaken as a reprisai”. 55. But tis is well known, the Security Council has twice in recent years-in January 1956 and in April 1962-condemned the principle on which Israel seeks to rely in asserting that it took these and other military actions onlyinretaliation. The so-calledprinciple of reprisalahas, then, already been rejected twice by the Council. Moreover, whal “retal,iatory measures” could be taken by Israel in this case? Perhaps it was retaliation against the Syrian side for having agreed to the cesse-fire? 56. Lastly, we should like to make some comments on Annex E to the report, in which the Israel and Syrian complaints submitted to the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission for the period 7 to 13 November 1964 are liste& Without going into detail at this time, we must point out that, in addition to the fact that the Syrian complaints for this period are far more numerous than the Israel complaints, Syria’s complaints are considerably more serious in nature. 57. More than a third of the Israel complaints deal with grazing or fishing in an area where, in Israeits View, such activities should net take place, But the great majority of the Syrian complaints refer to moVementS Of Israel military personnel near the border, violations of the Syrian frontier from the ISrael side, or the violation of Syrials air space by Israel aircraft. 58. The over-a11 picture, which we considered it necessary to analyse in detail here, is in these circumstances quite clear. The point is, first, that Israel is continuing its practice of taking unilateral action in matters and in areas where the Syrian point of view must be taken into account. This, in turn, leads to increased tension in the area as a whole and gives rise to dangerous incidents ~ Secondly, in the events which occurred spontaneously on 13 November, the Israel side not only provoked the subsequent developments by its provocative actions but also, by taking large-scale aggressive action against Syria, violated the agreement on the cesse-fire. 59. We are entitled to seek an explanation of these actions by Israel. In this connexion, the reports concerning Israel’s “strategiS doctrine”, particularly as expounded by foreign correspondents accredited to Tel Aviv, cannot be ignored. An example of the appraisals given by the foreign correspondents on this subject is the following, sent by a Wnited States As you see, this manner of thinking is highly dangerous. 60, 1s it not a direct consequence of this doctrine that the Security Council has had to devote almost a fifth of a11 its meetings to the incessant complications in the relations between Israel and the Arab States? Yes, practice shows that, on the average, every fifth meeting of the Security Council is devoted to these questions, Such a situation cari hardly be considered for tuitous . 61. In this connexion it would be more than naive to suppose that Israel, in this display of excessive bellicosity, is relying solely on its ownforces and does not feel that it has outside support, As is correctly noted in the Declaration of the Council of Kings and Heads of State of the Arab League, dated 11 September 1964, %eo-cclonialism is using Israel as a tool to realize its ambitions in developing ccuntries against their aspirations to attain progress, strength and unity, thus perpetuating illegal foreign exploitation”. [s/6003.1-! 62. Provocative acts and direct aggression by Israel against the Arab countries cannot be tolerated. The Security Council cannotdisregardIsrael’sprovocative activities and the aggressive action takenagainstsyria by the Israel air force on 13 November. This act of aggression must be resolutely condemned by the Security Council. Since, however, this is net the first time that aggressive actions of this type have been engager-l in by Israel and the latest aggression against Syria was undertaken by the Israel side in defiance of repeated Security Council resolutions, the Soviet delegation agrees with the view expressed by the Syrian delegation in the Security Council. This time, thecondemnation of Israel’s aggressive actions must be of such a nature as to make it clear to the Israel side that the Security Council has firmly and inflexiblydecided tc put an end to such actions. 63. In view of the hour, the Soviet delegation ventures t0 request that consecutive interpretation into the other European languages be dispensed with. 64, The PRESIDENT (translated from Spanish) : The next meeting of the Council will be held at 3.30 this afternoon. 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