S/PV.1355 Security Council

In accordance with the decisions previously taken by the Council, I shall now, with the consent of the Council, invite the representatives of Israel, the United Arab Republic, the Syrian Arab Republic and Jordan to take places at the Council table, and the representatives of Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia and Libya to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber, in order to participate without vote in the discussion. At the invitation of the President, Mr. G. Rafael (Israel), Mr. M. A. El, Kony (United Arab Republic), Mr. G. J. Tomeh (Syria) and Mr. M. II. El-Farra (Jordan) took places at the Council table, and Mr. S. Chammas (Lebanon), Mr. K. Khalaf (Iraq), Mr. A. T. Benhima (Morocco), Mr. G. Al-Rachach (Saudi Arabia), Mr. S. Al-Shaheen fKuwait), Mr. M. Mestiri (Tunisia) and Mr. W. El Bouri (Libya) took the places reserved for them.

The Security Council will continue its examination of the four items inscribed on its agenda this morning. The previous meeting was adjourned in order to enable Council members to have before them written texts of the Secretary-General’s reports. I would first ask the Secretary-General to submit to the Council whatever new information he may have received.

Mr. President, in response to your request for confirmation of information previously transmitted by him, the Chairman of the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission has sent the following message to me. It was received during the recess of the Security Council. I quote: “Confirm air attack at 0735 hours GMT in area-repeat, area-of Damascus airport. A second air attack south of Damascus at 0855 hours GMT, and a third attack at 0919 hours GMT north and north-east of Damascus. All strikes 5. Thus the circle is complete. It has been proved that the crime was committed; but nevertheless we are still obliged to note the incomprehensible position adopted by several members of the Security Council, particularly the representative of the United States of America. We have listened to his explanations, but cannot agree that the United States representative, who has tried to confuse a perfectly clear situation, possesses that objectivity to which he so often refers in the Council. We now have further proof that the United States representative lacks elementary honesty. This is particularly serious, in that it is not merely a question of the honour and prestige of a professional lawyer and member of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

I call now on the representative of Israel.

To the best of my knowledge, the United Nations is an organization based on the sovereign equality of States. Nothing in its Charter provides for prosecution and judges, and even less for all in one and the same person. Neither does it have defendants. I am the representative of a sovereign State and I act upon instructions from my Government only. 8. The representative of Bulgaria has alluded to my war record. I wish to set his mind at peace. During the war I was in charge of operations which included the dispatch of Israel personnel to aid the heroic Bulgarian resistance against the Nazis. 9. Upon instructions from my Government I shall now deal with some questions which have been raised. It is not my delegation’s fault that so many false and confusing charges have been thrown into this debate. In view of the great importance of the issues involved, I felt that I would be assisting the debate if I were to remove these false allegations. 10. In spite of repeated denials, it is being reiterated that Israel troops are advancing on Damascus and that they have occupied Kuneitra. This is not true. The Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission Chairman reported in an earlier dispatch that at 0923 hours Israel aircraft were attacking Damascus. This report is untrue. The Chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission and his observers were at that time confined by the Syrian authorities in the Mixed Armistice Commission house in Damascus. 13. The representative of Bulgaria has referred to newspaper dispatches. They engage the responsibility of their authors only, and reflect the confusion of the situation. 14. Yesterday morning, at 5.30, I informed the President of the Security Council of the heavy shelling of Israel villages, and I inquired whether the President could take immediate action and steps to secure Syrian observance of the cease-fire which it had accepted a few hours earlier. I also informed the President that Israel forces were engaged in silencing those gun emplacements in Syria. I repeated this several times yesterday and this morning. 15. The Government of Israel has thus indicated where its troops are,.and what they are doing in the exercise of the right of self-defence. I have not heard the Syrian representative say one word in explanation of the continuing artillery shelling of Israel villages, nor have I heard those representatives who are quick to accuse Israel say one word about that shelling and the destruction of our villages. 16. The continuing shelling is a direct reason for the continued fighting. In an effort to bring this fighting to a complete stop, the Israel Minister of Defence and the United Nations Chief of Staff of UNTSO, Generals Dayan and Bull, are meeting now, at 2.15 Israel time-~&.15 New York time-in order to make all the necessary arrangements for the complete cessation of all hostilities.

I call on the representative of Bulgaria on a point of order. 18. Mr, TARABANOV (Bulgaria) (translated /iom French): Mr. President, twice already I have put ;a question to the Permanent Representative of Israel through you in your capacity as President of the Council. I should like tc receive an answer to this simple question: are there an} Israel troops on Syrian territory, since we know that then were none there before or at the time the cease-firi resolutions were adopted? Are there or are there not any Israel troops on Syrian territory? The representative 01 Israel has provided a great deal of information and ha! stated that there were no troops at this or that point, btr he has not replied to this simple question. 19. Although as President-and this is my point of order-you have put questions to the Secretary-General on several occasions, you have not transmitted my question f0 the representative of Israel. I should like to know whether it is not in accordance with the usual practice for tlie President to put this question to him so that he may anSW if he wishes. If he does not wish to do so, then we know what to think, The question is simple; ask him if he wishes to reply to it; if he does not, that is the end of this matter.1 repeat: are there Israel troops on Syrian territory? 28. I should like to know under what rule the representative of Mali asks me to ask a question of the Israel representative. 21. Now, members of the Council have asked certain questions of the representative of Israel. I am sure he has heard those questions; and if he wishes to ask to speak I shall call on him. 29. Mr. KEITA (Mali) (translated from French).’ I apologize, Mr. President, if you found the wording of my question confusing. I will revert to the statement which you made a moment or two ago. You said that you had not put a question to the Secretary-General, but had asked him to repeat part of the statement contained in the report transmitted to him by the United Nations Observer. 22, However, the Council decided to request the Secretary-General to make contact with the parties and to report to the Council. But the Council has not requested me to make contact with or to put any questions to the parties, and I am in no position to demand any explanations from any representative around this table. 30. I think that the representative of Bulgaria has asked you to do the same thing. If I remember correctly, you asked the Secretary-General to re-read a passage from General Bull’s report following the request made to you by the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. I believe that the same request has now been made to you by the representative of Bulgaria, namely, that you should ask the representative of Israel-not that you should put questions to him, but that you should ask him, as you were kind enough to ask the Secretary-General, to provide information which is of interest to the representative of Bulgaria as well as to my own delegation. 23. Lord CARADON (United Kingdom): In the grave circumstances which we now face . . .

I call on the representative of Mali im.a point of order. 25. Mr, KEITA (Mali) (translated jkom French): I apologize to the representative of the United Kingdom for having had to interrupt him. But after the statement you have just made, Mr. President, I should like to ask for an explanation. I consider that we are here to do serious and effective work, and I confess that the statement you made in reply to the question put several times by the representative of Bulgaria does not satisfy my delegation. In our opinion, we consider it is the duty of the President of the Council, with the assistance of all members of the Council, to ensure that our work is effective. I therefore do not really see why you could not put a question to a member of the Council or to a Member of the United Nations invited to sit at this table, in order to provide the Council with fuller information, 3 1. It is not, therefore, a matter of putting a question, but of transmitting a request which has been made to us.

I will try to make the situation clear. The Council adopted a decision to request the Secretary-General to report to the Council. That was done by the Secretary-General. One of the members of the Council was in doubt about the report submitted by the Secretary-General at the request of the Council. Thus it was normal to ask the Secretary-General to repeat part of that report in order that there should be no misunderstanding as to what the Secretary-General had reported to us at our request. 26. You have been able to put questions to the Secretary- General of the United Nations. I do not see what prevents you from putting them either to a member of the Council 33. However, the Council has not taken any decision as to any questions to be put to the representative of Israel. The only rule under which I can calI on representatives in this Council is rule 27 which states: or to a Member of the United Nations at this table, or from transmitting the questions put by a member of the Council to someone invited to be present here, since all this in fact contributes to the search for truth and facilitates the Council’s task. I do not understand your statement that you do not think you are entitled to put questions.of this kind+ I should be grateful if you would enlighten me on this point. I do not know what principles or rules of procedure prohibit or prevent you from putting such questions, which are solely intended to help the Council in its work, “The President shall call upon representatives in the order in which they signify their desire to speak.” Therefore, I said that as we are all sitting around this table, I supposed that the representative of Israel had heard the question; if he signifies that he wishes to speak, I will call upon him in the order in which his name is inscribed on my list. of I were not to employ that rule, which, to my knowledge is the only rule in our provisional rules of procedure under which I can give the floor to the representatives in this Council, then I would ask under what rule I should put a concrete question asked by a represen-

May I repeat that I did not put a question to the Secretary-General. I asked him whether he would repeat part of the statement he had submitted to us at the request of the Council, in accordance with the decision taken by the Coullcil. I suppose that in order to Put questions or QS!: for explanations, even if it might

Mr, President, you have said that the Secretary- General reported to us in accordance with a decision of the Council. I agree with you on that point. The Secretary General did report to us in accordance with a decision of the Security Council. But when the representative of the Soviet Union-admittedly the reprksentative of a great Power-asked that the Secretary-General should be allowed to repeat part of his report, there was no decision of the Council to that effect. You simply asked the Secretary- General if he wished to reply, if he could repeat the part of his report in question. 36. What I wanted to ask you to do was not to apply the rules of procedure, but simply to ask the representative of Israel whether he wished to reply. Nothing more than that: simply to transmit my question. All of us here address our remarks to the President; if we did not do so, we should never finish putting questions to each other. We therefore address our remarks to the President. Otherwise, I would have spoken to the representative of Israel, I would have asked him my questions, but it would then have been a personal conversation. 37. That is why hoped you would be kind enough to ask the representative of Israel if he wished to answer my question. That is all; we wished to put a question here to the representative of Israel and that is the service we wished to ask of the President. We did not want to ask him to consult the rules of procedure and tell us that he is not entitled to put questions. We did not want him to put questions to the representative of Israel, but to ask him if he wished to reply. That is all we wanted and I believe that if you would be good enough to put the question to him, he might perhaps reply.

If it were the wish of the Council that I should request the representative of Israel to reply to the question raised by the representative of Bulgaria, I would certainly do so. However, in accordance with the rules of procedure, the President should call upon representatives in the order in which they signify their desire to speak. In accordance with that rule, I now give the floor to the representative of the United Kingdom. However, before I do so, I call on the representative of Mali on a point of order.

I find myself obliged to quote a precedent on this point. In the verbatim record of a meeting held yesterday we find that, following a statement by the representative of France, the President said: “Before proceeding, I would ask the Secretary-General to reply to the question just raised by the representative of France .” (1352nd meeting, para. 255.1 Just now, the President told us that he had not put questions to the Secretary-General. But we have the documents before us. 41. I should add that a further precedent can be found in the verbatim record of another meeting held yesterday. Following a statement by the representative of the Soviet Union, the President said: “The question has been raised by the representative of the Soviet Union that the Council should hear whetl~er the Secretary-General has further information to submit to the Council now. I give the floor to the Secretary- General.” f1353rd meeting, para. 145.1 42. The situation is similar in the case now before us. The representative of Bulgaria has put a question. I should like to know how, in view of the two precedents which I have just cited and which were set yesterday, the President can tell us today that he does not find it possible to transmit the question put by the representative of Bulgaria.

I should like to reply to the remarks made by the representative of Mali. According to rule 27 of the provisional rules of procedure, “The President shall call upon representatives in the order in which they signify their desire to speak.” Twice questions have been put to the Secretary-General, who is not a representative, but the Secretary-General, In both cases technical questions were asked of the Secretary-General. The questions were put by the representatives of France and the Soviet Union, and I asked the Secretary-General to submit the information and later to reply to the questions. However, if it is a question of representatives, I must abide by rule 27 as long as the Council has not decided that a question shall be submitted to a representative, and in this case the Council has not so decided. 44. I call on the representative of the United Kingdom on a point of order. 45. Lord CARADON (United Kingdom): Mr. Prez;idenf, if I may, very respectfully, I should like to support the position which you have taken up in this matter, WhiCh seems to me absolutely clear. Indeed, it would seem to me to be very wrong to depart from it. 46. Where a request is made of the Secretary-General, it is entirely different, it seems to me, from using the President in some form of inquisition against members of this Comii or in respect of any Member of the UnitedNations invited to take part in our discussions. I think you quite ri@tly say, Mr. President, that when a question is asked, the member of the Council or the Member of the United Nations concerned hears the question. He has a rigllt to reply to it and he has a right not to reply to it, and I do noi think the President should be brought into the matter. 47. Nevertheless, since the representative of Bulgaria wishes to press his point, I am quite prepared, h,aving the right to speak next, to waive my right in favour of the

It will not be possible for me to call next on the representative of Israel simply because the representative of the United Kingdom yields ma place to him on the list of speakers, since several other speakers are Inscribed on my list between the representative of the United Kingdom and the representative of Israel, who is the last speaker on my list. 49. I call on the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on a point of order. SO. Mr. FEDORENKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated from Russian): We also feel obliged to speak on the question of procedure. 51, We understand the approach taken by our colleague, the representative of Mali, in regard to the question put by the representative of Bulgaria. We believe that the discussion on the President’s conduct of the meeting is not merely a discussion on technical and ethical matters. It also has, if one may say so, certain political implications. 52. In the work of our Council we must above all abide by the principle of ensuring efficiency in our consideration of problems, and we agree entirely with the views expressed by the representative of Mali, We are now considering a very serious problem. That being so, there must of course be some kind of working understanding between the members of the Security Council and the President, and I would have thought it was quite natural for the President to respond to legitimate requests by members of the Security Council, 53. We cannot consider the President’s explanations as satisfactory. They are contradictory and plainly unreasonable. And things are not helped, either, by the remarks made by our United Kingdom colleague, who tried to encourage the President to adhere to a very shaky position. 54. In our view the question was raised in the proper context; and, if the President receives a request from one of his colleagues in the Council, why should he not meet this coHeague halfway and ask the other members of the Council whether they have any objections to this initiative by the President’? I hardly think that members of the Security Council would be likely to object very strongly. Even from the viewpoint of elementary courtesy, this would have done credit to our President and colleague. 5.5. We felt obliged to express our views on this matter, and we hope that the President will show greater understanding in dealing with requests which members of the Security Council quite naturally address to him. 56, Today it is our Bulgarian colleague who is rn,:l;in:: this request; tomorrow you yourself may be addressing a request to another President, since the Presidency is not of course a permanent office. 58. I wonder whether we could now proceed with our discussion, in which case I shall call on the next speaker, the representative of the United Kingdom. 59. Lord CARADON (United Kingdom): I was addressing myself some little time ago to the grave situation which exists not in this Council but on the borders of Syria. I wish now to speak very deliberately, I hope very clearly, and certainly very briefly on the most serious issues that arise from the reports which we have today received. 60. I should like first of all, perhaps, to refer to something that was said yesterday by the representative of Syria. I spoke after him yesterday and I spoke to support his proposal that the impartial United Nations observers should go to the areas and establish the facts, and convey them to the Secretary-General for the information of the Security Council, I was especially glad to note, and I welcomed it in what I said, that when he spoke immediately before me, he used these words: . . . we will give General Odd Bull and his assistants in the United Nations machinery all possible facilities at our I‘ disposal so that they can go into the areas specified in my letters to the Secretary-General and establish the facts and convey them to the Secretary-General for the information of the Security Council.” [Ibid., para. 218.1 61. I would not wish that there was any possibility of difference or dispute with him on, the aim which he stated and I supported. He and I were and are equally anxious, I am sure, to establish the facts, and when I spoke yesterday I was anxious not to speak in such a way as to differ with him, but rather very much in support of the line which he had taken in this Council. When I spoke before, my plea was very simply and very clearly for the Secretary-General to do everything he possibly could to get us as full a report as possible as soon as possible. That was the sole purpose of my speaking yesterday; I would like to make that perfectly plain. 62. I am sure that we want to depend on the actual facts as established by impartial inquiries. We have been very much in need, indeed I think we still are in need, of the fullest information. I was struck by the words used by the Soviet Ambassador yesterday when he said that what we want is-1 use his words-information which is reliable, authentic, verified. Yes, I fully accept that, and I believe that every member of the Council will accept that test. Evidence must be clear and complete; especially if we are going to act must we be absolutely sure of our ground. 64. Our position, the position of every one of us, should be extremely clear. Consequently, I would suggest that we should authorize the Secretary-General at once to communicate to both Governments the insistence of this Council on full and immediate compliance with the cease-fire orders; and then the insistence of this Council on freedom of movement and communication for all United Nations staff; and certainly also the insistence of this Council on the return to UNTSO of the headquarters from which General Bull is not able now to operate. 65. I think that we should make it perfectly clear that anyone who continues in breach of the Security Council’s call for a cease-fire will earn the severe condemnation-let there be no mistake about it-the severe condemnation of the international community. I think we all feel today, and all should agree today, that it would be absolutely intolerable if all the efforts we have made since the beginning of the yeek to stop the fighting were now frustrated and flouted. 66. I have been saying those things which I hope are perfectly clear and, certainly, deliberately stated. We must not at this time lose sight, may I respectfully suggest to the members of the Council, of our first and overriding purpose, the purpose on which we have all agreed and on which we have three times voted unanimously. Our first and overriding purpose is to stop the fighting and stop it at occc. That is the purpose we have had from the start, and I believe that we should all concentrate, without diversion and without delay, all our effort on that main purpose.

The next speaker on my list is the representative of Syria, but before giving him the floor I would ask the Secretary-General to submit some supplementary information he has received.

I have just received two short reports from General Odd Bull. The first report was dispatched from Jerusalem at 1145 hours GMT. The report reads as follows: “1. At 1115 hours GMT, Colonel Gat of Israel called Chief of Staff to request that he go to Tel-Aviv soonest to meet General Dayan, Israel Defence Minister. Gat said Israel is ready to make proper arrangements for ceace-fire and wishes Chief of Staff to obtain time for cease-fire from Syrians. Israel also wished Chief of Staff to inform Secretary-General that he is in contact with Israel authorities to arrange cease-fire and he is going to see General Dayan as soon as possible. That is the end of the first report. 69. The second report from General Bull was dispatched from Jerusalem at 1157 hours GMT. It reads as follows: “At 1130 hours GMT Sasson.“-from the Israel Foreign Office-“called. Said he had heard Security Council reports on radio in which information concerning presence of Israel aircraft over Syria was presented. He said Israel aircraft taking protective measures lover Syria were over the border area, repeat border area.” That is the end of the second report.

I thank the Secretary-General for his report. I now call on the representative of Syria.

Mr. President, I wish .first of all to apologize for a lack of courtesy which I displayed during this meeting. I arrived a little late for this meeting, and since you asked me to speak immediately, I forgot first to thank you for your efforts in responding to our call in these difficult hours of the night and in convening th: Security Council, and also to thank -the members of the Council and to apologize to them for the inconvenience that we have caused them, But perhaps our excuse can be found in the legitimate thoughts and feelings that I am sure all the members of the Council share with us about the gravity of the situation. 72. Allow me now to point to the fact that since the start of the earlier meeting of the Council this morning five hours have elapsed, and during these five hours. so many extraneous points and subjects have been brought into the debate that our consideration of the heart of the matter, which is the attack on Syria and the invasion that is proceeding hour by hour in Syria, has been delayed. 73. It will be recalled that I requested that a map of the area be circulated, and I wish to thank the Secretary General for having arranged for this map to be distributed immediately, But that map is a very abstract thing, and I want to add a few words. I want to tell you, Mr. President, and members of the Council that this area of Syria is one of the most populated areas of the country, that it is one of the most cultivable and cultivated areas, and that this is the time of the year for the harvest, after the farmers and the peasants have waited all year in order to collect their crops for the coming year. They have been faced with death, destruction and fire. Of all the members of the Security Council, I think the one who knows this area very well is the representative of the United Kingdom, Lord Caradon. 74. In this connexion, I wish to quote from the report submitted yesterday to the Council by the Secretaw General in which he quoted the Chairman of the Israel- Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission a$ stating: “The 75. Many questions have been raised about the facts of the situation regarding which the Security Council was convened and which we submitted to the Security Council. Early this morning, for instance, when we called you, Mr. President, we said that Kuneitra had been occupied. If there is any shadow of a doubt that Kuneitra itself has been occupied, the third report submitted to the Council by the Secretary-General, in which General Odd Bull gives his assessment of the situation, states: “There is a strong indication that Kuneitra has been taken by Israel troops but it is impossible for UNTSO to confirm.” [1354t/z meeting, paru. 121. / 76, But now I can affirm that Kuneitra has been occupied by Israel forces. A dispatch from Tel-Aviv which has just arrived states: “Israel tanks and troops, supported by waves of jet planes, today smashed fifty miles into Syria and began encircling the capital city of Damascus, battle reports said. Informed sources said the Soviet-supported regime will fall shortly.” The report said Israel forces captured the city of Kuneitra, ten miles deep into Syria, and then split into a two-pronged attack, one armoured infantry column pushing north-east to Damascus and the other south-east to Dardara. It is a very long report, and I will not take the time of the Council by reading it, but again I should like to affirm that Kuneitra already has been occupied. 77. Now we have heard more than once, and we heard it even in the last intervention of the representative of the authorities of Tel-Aviv, that there have been many falsehoods and many confusing charges made, among them that Israel troops are advancing to Damascus. In connexion with this, I will not use my own words, but the words of one of the directors of the Foreign Ministry of the Tel-Aviv authorities which were reported to us by the Secretary- General, in which that official states: “There have been and are IsraeI aircraft in the vicinity of Damascus; they are there as protective cover for the Israel forces in the area.” [Ibid., para. I&.] NOW, for anyone who knows the area as I know it, this is actually a suburb of Damascus. It is much nearer to Damascus, than, let us say, Queens or the Bronx is to Manhattan. So we can already say that the battle is going on in Damascus itself, by the admission of what is referred to here as Mr. Sasson of the Israel Foreign Office reporting to General Bull. 78. The question has been raised about the freedom of movement of United Nations observers concerning which I categorically affirmed yesterday (1353rd meeting] that 79. I need not recall to the Council the numbers of UNEF personnel from India, Brazil, Ireland etc. that have been killed by the attacking Israel forces. Again, I assure you, Mr. President, and members of the Council, that once the attacking Israel f6rces withdraw from the vicinity of Damascus, the United Nations personnel-UNTSO, the military observers and members of the Mixxed Armistice Commission-will have full freedom to circulate. But as long as the attack goes on, it is our imperative duty to protect, as we have already done, the lives of the United Nations personnel. 80. I do not want to go into any points that are not directly related to the subject under discussion. The subject is an invasion, a systematic invasion, of Syria. The parts of Syria where the battles are taking place are, as I said, some of the most inhabited parts of Syria. People are being killed by the hundreds in a barbaric and savage manner, a reminder of the fascist atrocities and the nazi crimeskilling civilians and destroying property. That is unforgivable . 81. Twenty hours ago the Security Council adopted resolution 235 (1967) of 9 June 1967. With your permit sion, Mr. President, I should like to read operative paragraphs 2 and 3 of that resolution: “Demands that hostilities should cease forthwith; ‘Requests the Secretary-General to make immediate contacts with the Governments of Israel and Syria to arrange immediate compliance with the above-mentioned resolutions, and to report to the Security Council not later than two hours from now.” 82. I do not want to go into the details again, but as Lord Caradon has said in support of me, and as other members of the Council have as well, I requested reports from the Secretary-General, as has always been my habit. It has been established beyond any doubt, and by the admission of the Israel spokesmen themselves, that a large invading army, with tanks, armour and air force, is invading Syria. Therefore, I believe it is the imperative duty of the Council to go back again to this specific point and see to it that the hostilities cease and that the invaders withdraw; that in their withdrawal they stop killing civilians and destroying property-houses, villages, churches, mosques and so on. 85. At the risk of repeating myself, I am, therefore, compelled to say that, unlike the reports previousIy communicated to the Council, which emanated either from press agencies or from representatives of the parties to the conflict and which were regarded as rumours on which the Council could not base a decision, the reports received this morning by the Secretary-General came from an official representative of the United Nations in the person’ of General Bull; and, until it is proved otherwise, there has been no change, since these reports indicate that, despite the acceptance of the cease-fire by Syria and Israel, bombing has been continuing on Syrian territory and in the neighbourhood of Damascus, the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic. 86. As far as my delegation is concerned, this is clear evidence of a violation of the cease-fire. Whereas, since the beginning of the debate we have been unable to reach any decision’ on the responsibility for the aggression, in other words, on which of the parties started the fighting, and whereas, since the beginning of the debate we have not succeeded in taking any measures whatsoever against those responsible for the fighting, my delegation believes that we now have before us information which no one could describe as a rumour. 87. My delegation believes that the Council is in a position to take a valid decision, which can only be to condemn the violation of the cease-fire. In the opinion of my delegation, when this decision has been made, the Council will have taken a step which will mark an important advance in its deliberations. 88. This morning, I noted that one of the replies given on the subject of the Israel aircraft reported to be in the air space of the Syrian Arab Republic, consisted in the assertion that defensive measures were involved. But I do not think that these aircraft violated the air space of the Syrian Arab Republic in order to defend that country. 89. Since the report transmitted to the Secretary-General was absolutely clear on this point, I think that it is high time to take a decision on this specific question of the violation of the cease-fire. I should like to make this very clear to the Council. Although the Council has not so far been able to say who is the aggressor, who started the aggression, who is the guilty party, I think that it is now in a position to take a decision on at least one specific point, namely, the violation of the cease-fire, a subject on which three resolutions have been adopted by the Council, since we now have General Bull’s report which enables us to make a formal and objective assessment of the situation and to take the necessary measures. “News has just been received that Israel troops, ignoring the United Nations Security Council’s decision calling for a. cessation of military activities, are continu:ng these activities, seizing Syrian territory, and advancing in the direction of Damascus. “The Soviet Government has warned the Government of Israel that it bears all the burden of responsibility for its perfidy and its flagrant violation of the Security Council’s decision. “Unless Israel ceases military activities forthwith, the Soviet Union, together with the other peace-loving States, will apply sanctions against Israel, with all the consequences arising therefrom. “The Soviet Government states that, in view of Israel’s continued aggression against Arab States and its gross violation of the Security Council’s decisions, thle Government of the USSR has decided to break off diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Israel.” This note from the Soviet Government speaks for itself and hardly needs any explanation. 92. We should like merely to issue a warning here that, if the Security Council does not do its duty in accordance with the United Nations Charter, and if the high-handed aggressor is not halted immediately, this will create au extremely serious situation for which the entire responsibility will rest with those who are preventing the adoption of the necessary decisions in the Security Council.

I now call on the representative of Israel.

I had tried at an earlier stage to intervene in the debate, but of course I must abide by the order of speakers inscribed on the President’s list. I wished to’ intervene in order to facilitate the procedural debate. 95. The representative of Bulgaria had made certain statements and I had dealt with them in my intervention at the beginning of this meeting. I wished to repeat what I said and I assumed that that clarified the position. I reminded the Council that yesterday morning at 5.30 I informed the President of the Security Council of the heavy shelling of Israel villages and I inquired whether the President of the Council could take immediate action to secure Syrian observance of the cease-fire which had been accepted a few hours earlier. 96. I also informed the President of the Council that Israel forces were engaged in silencing these gun emplacements in 97. I think that it would have been a good thing and important for the Council to obtain detailed information about these aggressive acts. Only two days ago the Syrian authorities described over the Damascus radio the victorious advance of the invading Syrian forces deep into Israel. They were, according to Damascus radio, approaching the town of Safad. The reports were somewhat in advance of the events. The Syrian forces were repelled near the border. After they had retreated, these same Syrian gun positions opened fire against Israel villages along the border, and this firing has continued ever since; and it continued after Syria had announced its acceptance of the cease-fire. This is the only reason why a complete cease-fire has not been established. 98. I hope that the discussions which are now in progress will soon be doncluded in Tel-Aviv, discussions between General Bull and General Dayan, the Minister of Defence, and that satisfactory arrangements will be made for the complete cessation of all hostilities.

The next speaker on my list is the representative of Jordan on whom I now call.

I have inscribed my name on your list, Mr. President, in order to speak on the question now before the Council, but I find myself compelled to speak on another phase of the same matter. 101. We have received information that masses of refugees are pouring into Amman today from Israel-invaded territory on the west bank of the Jordan. The Agence France-Presse reported this morning that masses of refugees were pouring into Amman from Israel-invaded territory on the west bank of the Jordan. Local and government authorities face the problem of how to feed and house the refugees in exodus, and Jordanian authorities fear that the arrival of the refugees might trigger riots, especially against British and American people living in the capital. The Jordanian Cabinet is in permanent session, and the Government today agreed to request embassies to evacuate foreign nationals. 102. The New York Times of yesterday reported that thousands of Jordanians had been expelled from homes and towns. The case of our Director of Tourism was cited as an example. He told reporters that his family, together with some thirty-five civilian neighbours in Jerusalem, had been rounded up and requested “to go”. The bus that carried them to Jericho was strafed repeatedly, causing many casualties, deaths and injuries. 103. In today’s press it was clearly stated that Israel military authorities had started to evict the native Arab 104. This is a very serious situation,. The Israelis are using the same tactics as those used by the Nazis in the Holy Land in 1947. Then, in March, April and May, 1948, they started massacres, such as that of Deir Yassin and others, 105. Unless the Security Council, which up, to this minute despite the lapse of more than five days, has been unable to take an immediate decision for withdrawal, which would have prevented the present crime from continuing, unIess the Security Council takes an immediate measure now on this humanitarian aspect of the problem, this off-shoot of the war crime committed against us, against our people apd land, unless we treat this problem right now with the utmost urgency and adopt a measure which would prevent further atrocities, flIrther exodus, we will be facing more problems in the very near future. 106. Is it too much to ask the Securtity Council right now to adopt an effective measure to cope with this humanitarian problem? I am putting this before the Securrity Council, in the hope that this humanitarian problem will not be given treatment similar to that which we have been witnessing this morning. 107. Mr. TARABANOV (Bulgaria) {translated from French): Just now the representative of Israel tried to give a reply, or a semblance of a reply, to the question which I asked. He began by quoting from his his statements of yesterday. His reply today bore out what we said yesterday and what he has sought to deny throughout the discussion, namely, that Israel has invaded the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. He did not, of course, say: “We have invaded the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic”; he began by saying, and this is a point we stressed yesterday in the Security Council, that Israel was taking defensive measures for this or that purpose. 108. This virtual admission by the representative of Israel, here in the Council, of the invasion of the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic should dot the “i’s” for all those delegations which have, hitherto in one way or another, been inclined to doubt that Syrian territory has been invaded and subjected to aggression by Israel troops. 109. In this situation, and in the light of the explanation that the ,territory of the Syrian Arab Republic has in fact been invaded by Israel troops-an explanation which is implicit in the Israel representative’s attempted reply to my question-the statements made by the authorities in Tel-Aviv accepting the cease-fire, the statements by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as the statements made here yesterday by the representative of Israel to the effect that Israel had accepted the cease-fire and that, up to a 110. In effect, all these statements were made solely in order to misrepresent the situation and, under cover of that misrepresentation, to continue the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic. In one of the latest reports to the Security Council, a report received by the Secretary- General from General Bull, the Chairman of the Mixed Armistice Commission, we read, in effect: “at 9.23 hours Greenwich Mean Time, air attack on Damascus going on”. 111. In the circumstances, the statement just made that, at 1115 hours, General Bull was asked to go to Tel-Aviv for a meeting with General Dayan, the Israel Minister of Defence, in order to make arrangements for the implementation of the cease-fire already indicates that all previous action has had the sole purpose of delaying the implementation of the cease-fire, continuing Israel aggression against Syria, occupying Syrian territory, taking up positions and, from those positions, attempting to dictate terms in any future talks which might take place. In such a situation, we believe that the Security Council cannot fail to take measures against Israel without making itself appear ineffective, without placing itself in a very difficult position in the eyes of world public opinion. 112. The Security Council has a duty to condemn Israel for the treacherous attack which it has launched against Syria despite the three Security Council resolutions concerning a cease-fire, especially in view of the fact that it was the aggressor and took the initiative in carrying out these attacks. 113. The Securrity Council cannot abstain from taking a decision calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops. It cannot do so without losing prestige in the eyes of world public opinion as well as in its own eyes. If it does not take such action, it will have failed to make any contribution towards the restoration of peace. 114. That is why the Bulgarian delegation supports the position taken by the representative of Mali. We should like to see the Security Council take the necessary measures immediately, because otherwise there is a grave risk that the war will escalate with consequences that might be catastrophic for world peace and security. 115. Furthermore, we have just been informed that the Israel army and authorities have already begun to install themselves in Jordan, that they are seeking to create serious problems for the Middle East, to disturb the peace, to add to the number of refugees and to exterminate the inhabitants of those regions by starvation. The United Nations has been dealing with the problem of the Palestinian refugees for more than fifteen years and, in our view, the Security Council must take all the necessary measures to prevent any repetition of such incidents and to ensure that the peace of the MiddIe East is not permanently threatened by an exodus of the kind for which the authorities in Tel-Aviv have just given the signal in Jordan. 117. I myself many years ago had the privilege of living and working amongst the people of Samaria, the people of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm before I had the privilege of spending some years in the country of my friend, Ambassador El-Farra. I feel with him, as I believe we must all feel, great concern today for the people of those beautiful villages of Samaria from Tulkarm to Tubas. Many of them have suffered before through no fault of their own.. As I said the other day, it is very often the most innocent who suffer most and suffer worst. We greatly hope-l am sure that we all join in hoping-that those fine people of the hills of Samaria will not suffer similarly again. We recognize of course that the question of the welfare of those people -and there are many other peoples concerned elsewherecannot be dealt with in isolation, that it must have some relation to the question of security and that it must have some relation to questions of political settlement. 118. But it does seem to me that it is possible tha-t even now, as we deal with all our other urgent tasks of cease-fire, disengagement and withdrawal that we might be able even now to start thinking together about what can be done to assist the people of that area. 119. I do not think it would be necessary for us to appeal to the representatives of Israel to exercise all 1lumanii.y and restraint. I think perhaps that we might together, working with the Secretary-General and with the various organizations concerned with the refugee problem and which have been for so long, to start thinking now of how assistance can be given and how relief can be provided to the innocent civilian,population which is now, no doubt, in a st.ate of confusion and, in some cases, of loss and suffering. I believe that it should be possible, by working with the many organizations concerned that are already established, to think how most rapidly succour and comfort can be brought to those people. 120. I would be rash enough to go further in this respect and say that if the voices here can be heard so far away, 1 would greatly hope that the people of the hills of Samnria would stay where they are. I believe that they would suffer much more if they leave. 121. I apologize for having intervened on a particular subject, but it is a subject which none of us can disregard, I believe that whatever we may do in our other tasks and however we fulfil them, it would be well to turn our minds to this humanitarian task at once.

The news we have been receiving since early morning on an hourly basis from the Near East is, I think we all agree, extremely distressi:ng, full of danger and at the same time most confusing. Facts and partisan reports are not easily separated, but very serious allegations have been made regarding the lack of respect for the Council’s cease-fire resolutions. 124. First of all, there is a problem to see what the nature of the problem is at first hand. There is the problem of co-ordinating urgently the resources of the United Nations. We know at least that there is one body, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, actively engaged in the area on part of the problem, 125. This is a matter of great importance, and, of course, while associating ourselves entirely with the appeal to the Governments concerned, particularly to the Government of Israel, to take heed of the distressing human problem which has been created as an aftermath of hostilities, we must, as the representative of the United Kingdom said, put our heads together as soon as possible to see that practical solutions are found to the human problem as well as to the problem of observance and enforcement of the cease-fire, to which we gave attention yesterday.

The next speaker on my list is the representative of the United Arab Republic, to whom I now give the floor.

The Council has been meeting again during the early hours of the day to examine anew the disturbing news we have just heard from the representatives of Syria and Jordan. That alarming news gives the whole question a new dimension, namely the blatant and flagrant defiance by the Israelis of the authority of the Security Council as well as of the Organization of the United Nations. The Israelis are equally repeating the same policy which they learned from the Nazis, namely the persecution of the population of the invaded lands of Jordan, and the expulsion of those people from their homes. 128. The case before you today, Mr. President, is no longer a case between Syria, Jordan and the Israelis. It is indeed the case of the United Nations, the case of the whole community of nations, against the defiant aggressor, the Israelis. The civilized world is watching and indeed 129. Mr. President, it appears to me, and it should appear to you by now, that no further call by the Security Council will be heeded by Israel. There is nothing left to the Security Council except to choose between action and surrender. I hope the Security Council will not fail in making the right choice at this decisive moment.

The next speaker on my list is the representative of Jordan, to whom I now give the floor.

I am grateful to my good friends and colleagues, Lord Caradon, Ambassador Ignatieff and Ambassador Tarabanov, for their kind remarks. Apparently, however, there was a little misunderstanding. What I am putting before the Council is not-and I repeat, is not-a question of relief. I know that the Council is here to prevent the further deterioration of a situation and to protect human rights and inherent rights. I am putting before the Council the question of an attempt to displace not just some people but to displace all the people now living in the invaded area. 132. It is necessary to look at the experience of 1948, when they had a specific and well-planned campaign to terrorize the area and to make room for immigrants. I am putting before the Council the question of a well-planned formula which started working this morning. I want the Security Council, in its wisdom, to consider the consequences of allowing that to continue. 133. What is before the Council is not a relief problem, but a more dangerous and more risky question, the question of the safety, welfare and security of the people living in the invaded area, whether it is in the Gaza Strip or on the western bank of the Jordan. I hope that this will be given very serious and urgent consideration today. 134. Mr, MAKONNEN (Ethiopia): If I have resisted the temptation to intervene in the debate earlier, it is not, of course, because the problems with which we are faced and the serious developments that have taken place are not of great concern to my delegation. I have already, in many interventions during the course of the meetings of this Council, stated the concern of my country, my Government and my people. It is in that same spirit of concern that I ask for your indulgence to make a short statement giving expression to the views of my Government on the specific matter that we are discussing at the moment. 135. The information we have been receiving from United Nations personnel in the area of conflict has understandably been sketchy and perhaps not as clear and emphatic as it could be in the confirmation of certain specific facts and events pertaining to the situation. This 136. Nevertheless, the last report of the Secretary-General, contained in United Nations Press Release SG/SM/739, dated 10 June 1967, seems to me to be very clear in what it sets out to state and in its implications. For the sake of emphasis, I would ask your permission, Mr. President, to read out this report. I think all members around this table will agree that the message is clear in what it tries to present. It reads as follows: “In response to a request for confirmation of information previously transmitted by him, the Chairman of the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission has sent the following message at 1125 hours GMT: “ ‘Confirm air attack at 0735 hours GMT in area -repeat, area-of Damascus airport. A second air attack south of Damascus at 0855 hours GMT, and a third attack at 0919 hours GMT north and northeast of Damascus. All strikes appear to be outside the city of Damascus and based on UNTSO observation.’ ” This report cannot but lead us to the conclusion that air attacks have been made and we cannot but relate these attacks to the information given earlier in, if I am not mistaken, a previous report by the Secretary-General that Israel planes have been known to fly over Damascus. 137. My delegation cannot remain silent in the face of this highly dangerous development which not only is filled with danger to the civilian population but could also lead to an escalation of the hostilities that our three resolutions have sought to bring to an end. My delegation therefore joins with other delegations in condemning the air attacks over Damascus as reported in the Secretary-General’s report I have just quoted, and would urge the Council to call on all parties to adhere strictly to the cease-fire resolutions of the Council. It is the view of my delegation that the Council should not tolerate such flouting of its authority, which authority is the express voice of the international community speaking through the United Nations. 138. In conclusion, my delegation joins with members of the Council in appealing to all concerned to adopt humane attitudes towards civilian populations and prisoners of war. The maltreatment of such people serves no purpose and only. adds to the bitterness and hatred that can never be the right basis for a just and lasting solution of international disputes. The parties concerned should realize that, whatever has happened and despite temporary gains or setbacks, the day will soon come for them to live together again and to face the realities of life. I appeal therefore to them not to spoil the future, not to poison it by uncharacteristic acts which can lead only to more bitterness, to more humiliation and frustration. This appeal, this very honest appeal, I make in the name of my Government.

A number of resolutions have been adopted by the Council demanding an immediate 140. I regret to say that our hope was betrayed lby the disturbing reports of the fact that military hostilities have not been halted in the border areas between Syria and Israel. This is a most regrettable situation, This morning we heard even more serious reports from the Secretary-General that concerned the air bombardment of Damascus by the Israel Air Force. 141. Another alarming situation has been reported just now by the representative of Jordan, to the effect that a massive, forced exodus of Arab refugees has been taking place. My delegation was greatly shocked at this report and deeply concerned over the fate of those innocent victims of the tragic conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis. The utmost humanitarian consideration should be given to those innocent victims. This is a problem df the utmost importance and urgency, and urgent steps should therefore be taken, from the humanitarian viewpoint, to safeguiard the safety and welfare of those innocent victims, The Security Council should forthwith take necessary and appropriate measures so that another tragedy may not be added to the fate of those people, with whose well-being the United Nations has been so deeply involved. 142. Confronted with this tragic situation, I should. like to repeat my delegation’s conviction that all military action must forthwith be halted in all parts of the area of hostilities. This is an absolute essential for the establishment of lasting peace in the area, Once again my delegation strongly demands of the parties to the conflict that they halt forthwith all military activities. A complete halt should be put to further unnecessary death and destruction., which serves only to bring about further accumulation of hatred, hostility and death on a large scale.

I call on the next speaker, the representative of Syria. 144. Mr, TOMEH (Syria): I feel it my duty to put before the Council these concluding remarks. It has now been established by the objective report of UNTSO that Damascus, or the airport and suburbs of Damascus, is being subjected to continuous aerial attacks by the 1s:rael Air Force, In this connexion I wish to emphasize to the members of the Council the fact that, given the speed of the jet bombers that are bombing Damascus, we cannot but say that Damascus itself is being bombed. 145. The second point in connexion with the bombardment of Damascus is that that city is the oldest inhabited city in the world at present. As such, it has a great number of historical monuments that go back to ancient periods of history--Greek, Roman, Hellenistic, and others. It has some of the oldest temples, mosques, churches and synagogues. 146. We came to the Security Council with our plea concerning the barbaric aggression committed against our country. We resorted to the United Nations because we thought that such a problem should be dealt with by the international Organization. We have accepted the resolution of the Security Council and abided by it. But the other side ignored it and went on defying the authority of the Security Council, carrying on its slaughter and genocide of our civilian population and people. 147. All we have said and are now saying has been substantiated by reports of UNTSO in the area. Despite this barbaric aggression, some Western members of the Security Council are still manoeuvring to allow Israel to carry on its policy of destruction, assassination and pillage. I wish on this occasion to remind those Western Powers, friends, protectors and spokesmen for Israel, of two facts. First, that by their blind one-sided support of Israel they have encouraged the conquerors of Arab Palestine to become not only professional international criminals, but also pampered criminals. Those friends themselves are the ones who are sapping the roots of Israel. Secondly, I wish to remind the Jews-and I say this word not in antagonism, because we are never enemies of the Jews, as we and they are descendants of the same race, but of the Zionists who have spoiled Judaism-of their indebtedness to the Arabs all throughout history, as manifested by tolerance, by the renaissance of their culture in our midst and by our hospitality; and when the Western Powers closed their doors and persecuted them, they prospered and lived amongst us. 154. We hope that the representative of.Israel, who I know will be speaking shortly, will give us more reassuring news during this meeting than we have had so far, particularly after the talks which were scheduled between General Dayan and General Bull and which I hope have already taken place. We should like to see a serious attempt made in these talks to ensure the effective cessation of hostilities. 148. Today, the Israelis are paying us back by annihilation, destruction and hate beyond their own power to control. Listening to the moving but brief statement of the representative of Jordan, my brother, Ambassador El-Farra, about the plight of the Arabs from the western bank of the Jordan, I knew that his words were reflections of his whole being, a being that suffered because he was parted from Palestine, because he saw members of his family killed and deported; so our hearts bleed for the tragedy he described to us, the tragedy of the plight of our brethren from the western bank of the Jordan.

I have just received a report about the outcome of the meeting between General Dayan, Minister of Defence of Israel, and General Bull, the Chief of Staff of UNTSO. The report says that General Dayan stated that Israel accepts any proposal made by General Bull for the implementation of the Security Council cease-fire resolution and the arrangements for the supervision of the cease-fire. These arrangements will not be part of the General Armistice Agreement but will be means to implement the cease-fire resolution. General Bull stated that this was obvious. General Bull proposed to fix an hour for the cease-fire to enter into force. General Dayan stated that on his part ‘the* cease-fire Could enter into force at any time, right here and now. General Bull replied that this will take some time because he has to contact Damascus and he will then give his reply to Israel. I am reading from the Hebrew text, therefore I have to check. Then, General Dayan agreed that Israel will accept any hour which General Bull will fix, and he can decide on his own the hour for the cease-fire to go into effect. 149. However, I must say that this tragedy did not come to us as a surprise, since it falls within the criminal, neurotic, Zionist-Nazi complex. It is part of what the Zionists describe as the “final solution of the Arab problem” to deport, expel, expropriate, kill and annihilate. It is another phase of the Israel conquest, 150. We still await the reaction of the American conscience to this tragedy, if that conscience is at all given the opportunity to express itself, but so far it has been completely blinded in its churches, universities, intellectual and political centres to the Arab tragedy. But if the clenched fist of brute force tells us, as I heard it said once 1.52. Mr. SEYDOUX (France) (translated from French): The reports which we have heard unfortunately show that hostilities are continuing, particularly on the Syrian border, and that there has been intense air activity in Syrian air space, about whose purposes and effects we have insufficient information. The town of Damascus does not appear to have been hit, but it is clear from the information which the Secretary-General has given us that the area immediately surrounding it has been attacked. 1.53. We know enough to know that our concern, which does not date only from today, is well-founded and justifies an urgent appeal to the parties to implement a cease-fire which, it seems to us, is still being frequentIy violated. If these violations continue, we shall be entering a dangerous phase, This situation justifies our vigilance, which must be exercised until the fighting is effectively terminated.

I call on the representative of Israel.

I have no further speakers on my list. I am in the hands of the Council. 159. A series of suggestions have been made. It appears that it might be difficult on the basis of the information I have, to arrive at an agreement right now. One could perhaps suggest that we adjourn now and that the next meeting will be fixed on the basis of consultations I would have with all members of the Council, on the understanding that all members will hold themselves ready for an urgent meeting in case an emergency situation should arise, In agreeing on that, it should be a condition that the Secretary-General, in accordance with earlier decisions and resolutions of the Council, should continue his efforts to bring about full and immediate compliance with the resolutions of the Council. 160. I submit these ideas for the consideration of the members of the Council. Is there any objection from the members? I call on the representative of the Soviet Union.

Last night an vrgent meeting of the Security Council was convened because of the deteriorating situation in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, due to the continuation of aggressive activities by the Israel invaders and interventionists. 162. In the course of the discussion and on the receipt of information from SecretaryGeneral U Thant, the position became quite clear, at least in regard to one undisputed fact. Damascus, the capital of Syria, has been subjected to repeated air raids and bombing attacks by the Israel Air Force. In the Secretary-General’s reports the official representatives of the United Nations provide documentary evidence of this, and there can no longer be any doubt about it. 163. Quite naturally, therefore, certain members of the Council, moved by a feeling of high responsibility, took the initiative of preparing a draft resolution condemning Israel for its violation of the Security Council’s decision calling for a cease-fire and a cessation of military activities. 164. The matter is now perfectly clear, And yet, although the circumstances cannot be disputed, the Security Council is incapable of taking such a decision. Why is this? 165. The United States representative does not raise his hand in favour of a decision condemning the aggression. Such is the logic of those who are themselves pursuing a policy of aggression and intervention. The barbarous raids by United States aircraft on a sovereign State in another 167. From this we must inevitably draw the appropriate conclusions, in which the United States of America appears in a very unseemly role as an accomplice of aggression, And no hypocritical words will help United States diplomacy to whitewash this dangerous policy pursued by Washington, It is precisely the United States of America that must take the first practical steps, before it is too late, to stop the criminal Israel aggression, which is fraught with fatal consequences.

The next speaker on my list is the representative of the United States, on whom I now (call in exercise of his right of reply.

Mr. President, I had hoped, when you made your statement, that all could join, without further debate, in concurring in what you had to say. But I have no alternative, in light of the very provocative and inflammatory and unjustified statement just made by the representative of the Soviet Union, but to exercise my right of reply. 170. It is important always to set the record straight. The representative of the Soviet Union knows quite well that we had presented a draft resolution /5’/7952/Rev.2/ under which any and all violations of the cease-fire-by Israel, by Syria, by anybody concerned-would be condemned, and that in this draft resolution we called on the Governments concerned to issue categoric instructions to all military forces to cease all firing and military activities, as required by the cease-fire resolutions. This draft resolution also demanded that the parties scrupulously respect the ceasefire appeals contained in resolutions 233 (1967), 234 (1967) and 23.5 (1967). 171. Now, because we have had a long debate, I do not want to go over the record except briefly to recapitulate certain essential points. The United States sought by every means at its disposal, in the Security Council and outside th’e Security Council, to avoid this conflict, and, wh:n the conflict broke out, to bring it to an end. I should again like to recall that when we urged that n meeting of the Council be convened several days ago, before any conflict was in the air, we were told that we were dramatizing the situation. 172. Well, we have had many tragic events since then. We were among the principal proponeats of the first cease-fire resolution, the second cease-fire resolution and the. third cease-fire resolution, and each time there was delay in doing what might have been effective to avoid the bloodshed, too much bloodshed, which has occurred because of delaying tactics on the part of others. 173. So I cannot accept and I completely rejelzt the statement which has been made, The United States has 174. I said here just last night in the Council [1353rd meeting], on the full authority of my Government-and I can say to you, Mr. President, that this was implemented yesterday by private diplomatic action-that the United States deems it of the gravest import that the Security Council resolution should be complied with in letter and in spirit by Israel and the Arab countries involved. 175. I did not make that statement lightly. I said also that there has been too much bloodshed and loss of life, and it is imperative that this war come to an end, and that all Governments involved in this conflict should return to the urgent task of restoring peace to the Middle East, The representative of Ethiopia, Mr. Makonnen, has, I think, expressed the right note. It is necessary, in a time like this, a time of war and tragedy, to remember that the people of that area must live together and peacefully coexist. It is important that we here in this Council do nothing to inflame the situation. Our task ought to be to pacify it. Throughout this whole debate, I have tried scrupulously, on behalf of my Government, not to say a single word that in any way reflects upon any of the peoples or Governments involved. 176. The representative of Syria made a statement in reference to a remark of mine. I will recall the circumstances of that remark. The remark was made in the context of a malicious and false accusation that United States aircraft from carriers had participated in an attack. And I said, with respect to that remark, that people ought to put up some evidence that such an accusation was true. There has been no evidence offered. There can be no evidence offered of that because there is no basis for that accusation. That accusation was a false and malicious and scandalous one. That is the remark I made, and I was impelled to make it because of the dangers indicating to anybody involvement on the part of the United States, which has never been the case in this particular situation. 177. What is needed here are not hot words. What is needed here is an end to the conflict. And that is what we have been attempting to do, with all the means at our disposal, in the most vigorous terms, both here in the Council and privately outside of the Council. When I say, as I must say, as a citizen of this country and as a representative of my country, that we ought to deal here with Governments and we ought not to deal with the internal affairs of any country, I am only expressing what the Charter provides, because if anything is clear in the Charter, that is clear in the Charter. 17 9. Mr. TARABANOV (Bulgaria) (trunsZated jivm French): We have just heard yet another statement by the Permanent Representative of the United States who, in reply to the representative of the Soviet Union and in an attempt to whitewash the United States, has once again raised the question of the so-called dramatization of the situation. He has repeated that the United States gave a warning that the situation was a dramatic one. 180. We have already heard this charge by the representative of the United States. At a certain stige of our debate here, he read out at least three, four or five pages of such accusations dramatizing the situation. But if the United States was so well informed about what was going to happen, if it was informed of Israel’s intention to launch an attack against the Arab States, it may be asked why it did not exert its influence on Israel at that time to prevent/that country from putting its plans into operation. It may be asked why the United States does not at present exert its influence on Israel, now that the latter is occupying numerous positions in the Arab countries. 181. But at the time the United States sought to dramatize the situation, as we have said, it tried to claim that the Arab countries, which had declared that they had no intention of waging war, then wished to dramatize the situation, and they brought accusations against the Arab countries which have not committed aggression. The aggressor was another State; the aggressor was Israel. It is truly surprising to hear this constant repetition of the accusation that it was the Arab countries which were the aggressors; it is truly surprising to hear the United States representative speak as if the Arab countries had launched the attack, as if the danger came from the Arab countries which have declared that they had no intention of taking offensive action, 182. The United States dramatized the situation in precisely this way, and we should like once again to repeat that the situation should certainly not have been dramatized at that time in order to avoid encouraging Israel to commit aggression. It is not only now that the United States should exert all its influence; of course, we want it to do so, but it should have exerted its influence on its friends at that time. It was at that time that it was important to avoid any dramatization of the situation which might give Israel a pretext for launching aggression against the Arab countries.

I call on the representative of Syria.

I would not reply to the distinguished representative of the United States were it not for some of the very words that he used in reference to my statement when he said, referring to a previous statement, that it was a malicious, false, and scandalous accusation I confirm categorically that the United States has helped U-2 spy plane has given pictures of the twenty-five is a country in the Middle East. What about its integrity? What about the integrity of its population? Where are the aerodromes in the various Arab countries to Israel and has Arabs of this country, the Arab country, Palestine? enabled them in their own secret manner to bomb those Secondly, is it a mere coincidence that in spite of all these aerodromes. How can we prove that? It was proved ohce or declarations of love to the Arabs, time and again we tell the twice when the U-2 spy planes were shot down over the distinguished Ambassador of the United States we do not skies of some countries, but unfortunately we do not have believe these confessions of love? the tools to shoot down those spying planes. 190. Finally, I would put this to the distinguished 186. I have already referred to the statement of Levi Ambassador of the United States: show me one single Eshkol in which Mr. McNamara told him that the United circumstance in which any one Arab country or any one States fleet is at his disposal. That is enough proof. I have Arab State did harm to the United States, to the American here with me an article on United States-Israel ties, dated people, Is it in their investments of $2.5 billion in the oil of May 1967. the Arab world? Is it in their American cultural institutions that we safeguarded and respected? Where is enmity ia the “United States Navy sends purchasing mission. Rear Arab world to be found? And if even a drop is found, it Admiral Herschel G. Goldberg, head of the United States will be lost in the sea of what I have enumerated here. Navy Supply Services, arrived in Israel for a three-day visit connected with supply of non-military items by 191. Mr. GOLDBERG (United States of America): Am- Israel to the United States Navy. He was accompanied by bassador Tomeh’s personal comments, which are in viola- Commander Fogel, Head of the United States Sixth Fleet, tion of every type of diplomatic usage, are beneath and his adjutant G.R. Ahrons. The visit was to implement contempt, and I would not even purport to dignify them a recent United States-Israel agreement under which the with an answer. The remark to which I referred and which I United States will buy certain industrial items for the said was utterly false and malicious was the remark that civilian needs of its military forces.” carrier planes from the Sixth Fleet had intervened in this conflict, and I challenge anybody, including the Ambas- These innocent words do not deceive anybody, This is not a sador, to bring evidence before the Council to this effect. newspaper in Damascus or Cairo; this is from New York. 192’. It should be very clear to everybody that there is 187. I maintain and categorically affirm that the policy of another representative in this room whose ships have been the United States vis&vis the Arab world was, has been, shadowing our carriers in the Sixth Fleet throughout, and and is scandalous toward the Arab world. I will enumerate we have had no word of confirmation of this outra,geous these examples of this policy: charge from that representative. The fact is that that charge was, as I have said, false and malicious, scandalous and {a) The very creation of the tragedy of the Arabs of inflammatory. My country has had long relations with the Palestine by the machinations, scandals and intrigues of the Arab States, has bought many goods, and has exchanges United States Government on behalf of and in the service both commercial and cultural of wide-ranging effects, far of the Zionist organizations of the United States; greater, by the way, than we have had with Israel, Our (b) The perpetuation of the tragedy of the Arab refugees policy has been to extend the hand of friendship to all countries. We say “all countries”, and that has been the nub from Palestine; of the difficulty here. There have been others who have not been willing to accept the concept that all countries rfre (c) The creation of a new tragedy of the Arabs from entitled under the United Nations Charter to mutual Palestine, about which the Jordanian Ambassador spoke respect. today; 193. Mr. FEDORENKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Re- (d) The giving to Israel of all the tools of mass killing and publics) (translated from Russian): I shall be very brief. I massacre; wish to stress that the Council has now lost all faith in the mendacious demagogic statements which have been made (e) The giving to Israel of billions in order to be able to here during the past few days by Israel and United States devastate the Arab world. diplomats in turn.

I give the floor to the representative of Syria.

I shall ignore the venemous attack made personally against me by the representative of the United States. I would only say this, that it is not enough to belong to a great Power. The United States with one bomb can destroy the whole of Syria. But it is much greater and much stronger to belong to a great cultural and intellectual tradition. And this I am proud of. 197. The words that I have used were a repetition of what the representative of the United States used against me. “Malicious”, “false” and “scandalous” were not my words; they were his words in describing my statement. 198. I have before me The New York Times of 10 June, in which I find the following announcement: “Join in this historic event; Stars for Israel on behalf of the Israel Emergency Fund of the United Jewish Appeal”. This is just a sample of what we see and read every day. 199. We understand that the United States Constitution and its laws-1 hope that I am not mistaken-prohibit Americans from taking part in the armies of other countries. What is the meaning of offices for volunteers opened up in various parts of the United States for the purpose of sending American volunteers to fight side by side with the Israelis? 200. The Pentagon itself declared a few days ago that military material was recently shipped to Israel, but in execution of old contracts. We know what that means. 201. I could go on and on, but I can tell the representative of the United States that in my answer to him I shall not use the same language that he used against me. Perhaps if he were a little better informed about my own record he would not have said what he did.

I have no more speakers on my list and, in order not to prejudice the further discussions in 203. Before we adjourn, the Secretary-General would like to submit some additional information which he has received.

I have just received the following message from General Bull, Chief of Staff of UNTSO, dispatched at 1412 hours GMT from Jerusalem: “The following message has been sent by the Chief of Staff of UNTSO to the Chairman of the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission: “ ‘1. Most urgently advise Syrian authorities that Israel is prepared to co-operate on a cease-fire together with no further movement of troops provided Syria accepts same, provided further that United Nations military observers shall be deployed on each side of lines at same time that cease-fire fixed. Request urgently Syrian advise regarding acceptance this cease-fire arrangement. “ ‘2. UNTSO Chief of Staff proposed cease-fire to be effective 1630 hours GMT, today, 10 June. Speed is essential. “ ‘3. Chairman be prepared to re-establish control center Kuneitra as soon as possible and further be prepared to post United Nations military ObSeTWS together with Syrian liaison officers at observation sites to be selected on the spot. Syrian liaison officers to be provided with own communications. Advise estimated time required for movement and positioning United Nations military observers. “ ‘4. Officer-in-Charge Tiberias be prepared make, similar paragraph 3, deployment of United Nations military observers on Israel side with Israel Defence Forces liaison officers.’ ”

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