S/PV.1860 Security Council

Once again we meet to consider the tragedy of violence and counterviolence in the Middle East and the dilemma which it poses for all of us. Surely no one can listen to the accounts of actions which involve the maiming and killing of innocent civilians without feeling the utmost compassion for those concerned. i How satisfying it would be if we felt that through what we say and do here we could break this vicious circle which has brought so much tragedy to so many people over the last quarter century. Surely, however, as responsible members of the international community charged with serious obligations under the Charter of the United Nations we must recognize that we do not accomplish this by condemning isolated acts. The attacks we are considering today do not occur in isolation. There is always cause and effect. My delegation considers that all loss of innocent human life is reprehensible and we are prepared to deplore it in strong terms whether it occurs from the acts of organized groups or from those of Governments. Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/l860) 1. Adoption of the agenda 2. The situation in the Middle East: ((0 Letter dated 3 December 1975 from the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/I 1892) Letter dated 3 December 1975 from the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/l 1893) @I 3. We would remind the Council that organizations which carried out recent acts of violence against citizens of Israel have publicly acknowledged their responsibility for those acts just as the Government of Israel has acknowledged its responsibility for the attacks which we are now considering. I make these points not to condone or excuse Israel’s recent massive air attacks, which by their nature could not avoid making innocent victims. We neither condone nor excuse them. But we must deal with them in context and not in isolation. Adoption of the agenda The situation in the Middle East: (a) Letter dated 3 December 1975 from the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/11892); (6) Letter dated 3 December 1975 from the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/l 1893) 4. So let me be quite clear that the United States deeply deplores these attacks just as we have consistently deplored those despicable terrorist incidents which have caused the loss of life in Israel. We are prepared to support an appropriate resolution which registers the strongest disapproval by the Council of all acts of violence in the Middle East, particularly those which result in the death of innocent civilians, and which calls on’all parties to refrain from any action that might endanger peace negotiations. Certainly there is nothing all of us would wish to see more than

In accordance with the decisions taken at the Security Council’s 1859th meeting, I propose now, with the consent of the Council, to invite the representatives of Lebanon, Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to participate in the discussion, without the right to vote. 5. One of the unhappy features of the situation we are dealing with today is the disruptive effect it has on the efforts to move further towards a peace agreement. The tensions and passions generated by the recurring cycle of violence are hardly conducive to the type of atmosphere that will permit the parties concerned to arrive at that accommodation of opposing views which is the prerequisite of a peace agreement. Our task is to weigh deliberately how our reactions can best advance that reconciliation of views. It will not be accomplished through the adoption of one-sided resolutions which leaves one party believing it is the victim of discrimination and bias on the part of the United Nations. It will be facilitated if the Council renders impartial, reasoned and reasonable judgements on the issues properly within its competence. *It is our duty to react in the most responsible and constructive way that we can conceive.

First, on behalf of the delegation of the USSR in the Security Council, I should like to welcome the representatives of the PLO who have been invited by the Council to participate fully in its meetings during the present discussion of the barbarous acts of aggression committed by Israel. The just cause and justice have prevailed, despite the counter action of those forces which are hostile to the Palestinian people. The Security Council has followed the noble example of the General Assembly and has carried out a just and historic act, for the first time making it possible for representatives of the Palestinians to participate together with others invited to the meetings of the Council. 7. The Council has met for this emergency meeting in connexion with the new aggression perpetrated by Israel against Lebanon and with the barbarous bombings which Israeli aircraft inflicted upon. the territory of a neighbouring State and also on the area where Palestine refugee camps are to be found in Lebanon. 8. The Council has heard the statements of the representatives of Lebanon, Egypt and Syria and also of the representative of the PLO [1859th meeting], the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Their statements convincingly revealed the nature of the inhuman and barbaric sorties of Israel’s air pirates against the peaceful population, women and, children, in Lebanon and against the Palestinian refugees. 10. The Israeli bombings of Palestinian refugee camps are acts of premeditated international mass terrorism against the Arab people of Palestine. They represent a gross crime against peace and mankind. The latest aggressive acts of Israel represent an overt challenge to the decisions of the United Nations and in particular to the numerous resolutions of the Security Council in which the Council has demanded that Israel put an end to its military provocation vis-a-vis Lebanon. 11. Today, in discussing this fresh act of intemational piracy perpetrated by Israel, the Security Council cannot but recall the long list of aggressive crimes perpetrated by Israel against Lebanon which have frequently been condemned by the Council. In December 1968 [146Uth-1462nd medings] the Council considered the military attack of the armed forces of Israel on the international civilian airport of Beirut. At that time Israel was condemned by the Council, in resolution 262 (1968), for its premeditated military action. In August 1969 the Council, in resolution 270 (1969), condemned the premeditated air attack of Israel on villages in southern Lebanon. In 1970 the Council three times considered the acts of Israel against Lebanon. In May, in connexion with the incursion of Israeli armed forces into the territory of Lebanon, the Council, in resolution 279 (1970), demanded the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory. Also in May, in resolution 280 (1970), the Council condemned Israel for its premeditated military action against Lebanon. In September, in connexion with a new incursion. of Israeli armed forces into the territory of Lebanon, the Council, in resolution 285 (1970), demanded once more the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory. 12. However, this shameful list of criminal acts on the part of the Israeli aggressors does not end there. 13. In June of the same year Israel was once again condemned by’ the Council in resolution 316 (1972) for its repeated attacks on Lebanese territory and population. In July the Council considered the question of new, aggressive actions on the part of Israel against Lebanon. In resolution 317 (1972) it deplored the fact that the Syrian and Lebanese military and security personnel abducted by Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory on 21 June 1972 had not been released, and demanded that they be immediately released. 14. In September 1972, for the fourth time in a single year, the Security Council considered further aggressive actions of Israel against Lebanon. At that time [/662n(/ /netting] three members of the Council put forward a relatively moderate draft resolution [S//0784] which contained an appeal for the immediate cessation of all military operations and a demand to the parties to exercise the greatest restraint in the interest of international peace and security. Unfortunately, this extremely modest and moderate draft resolution was not adopted by the Council, since one of the permanent members of the Security Council, the United States, voted against the draft. In other words it applied the veto and in that way made it impossible for the Council to take the necessary steps against the Israeli aggressors. It is quite obvious that this sort of action is simply giving support and encouragement to the aggressor and inciting it to carry out further lawless acts against the Arab States and to use force in any form whatsoever. 15.. In April of 1973, the Security Council in resolution 332 (1973) condemned the repeated military attacks conducted by Israel against Lebanon in connexion with the piratical attack of Israeli forces on the Lebanese capital of Beirut and the town of Sidon, and called upon Israel to desist forthwith from any military attacks. In August, the Council in resolution 337 (1973) condemned Israel for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the forcible diversion and seizure by the Israeli air force of a Lebanese airlines from Lebanon’s air space. In April 1974, the Council in resolution 347 (1974) once again condemned Israel for its armed attacks on the peaceful villages of Lebanon and its abduction of Lebanese civilians. 16. Thus now that we are considering these latest criminal acts on the part of Israel against Lebanon, the Security Council cannot forget that here it is dealing with a State which can only be regarded as an inter- 17. In considering today the question of this new act of Israeli aggression, the Council at the same time should particularly take account of the premeditated, vicious and provocative nature ofthis new sortie on the part of the Israeli aggressors. The present action of Israel is aimed not only at intimidating and terrorizing the peaceful population of Lebanon, but also at striking a physical blow against one of the main parties in the Middle East settlement, that is against the Arab people of Palestine as represented by the PLO. It is, moreover, aimed at undermining the international efforts being made both outside the United Nations and within it in order to promote the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 18. But however much the Israeli aggressors protest, they cannot get around the well-known fact that a just and durable peace in the Middle East can be achieved only on the basis of the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967 and only provided that the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine are taken care of, including their inalienable right to create their own State. Only if these cardinal issues are settled will it be possible to establish a genuinely durable peace in the Middle East and to guarantee sound conditions for the secure existence and development of all States in that region, including Israel. 19. The Israeli aggressors cannot delete from history the fact that these principles for a Middle East settlement are today universally recognized; they are furthermore recognized by the United Nations. In a number of its resolutions, the United Nations has demanded that the Israeli troops be withdrawn from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 as one of the fundamental prerequisites for establishing peace in the Middle East. In a number of decisions of the United Nations, the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine have been recognized. In accordance with United Nations decisions, the Palestinian people is a principal party in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 20. In order to settle the Middle East problem, there is a specially created international machinery, and that is the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East. A necessary prerequisite for the success of that Conference is the participation of the PLO in its work, from the very moment of its resumption, on an equal footing with other participants. Another necessary prerequisite for its success is the consideration and working out by the Geneva Conference of a comprehensive and fundamental 21. The realization of these possibilities is the purpose of the new initiative taken by the Soviet Government, which on 9 November 1975 proposed to the Government of the United States that the work of the Geneva Peace Conference be resumed on this basis. 22. The new acts of aggression by Israel against Lebanon, against the Palestinian refugees, are aimed at complicating the situation in the Middle East and thus at preventing the convening of the Geneva Peace Conference and the political settlement of the Middle East conflict. We cannot fail to notice that this is also a deliberate act of diversion aimed at avoiding an over-all settlement of the conflict in the Middle East by increasing the tension there. 23. Obvious attempts are being made by Israel to continue its aggression in order to impede the establishment of a lasting and just peace in the Middle East. The aggressor and its protectors wish to consolidate the present unjust situation in the Middle East which runs counter to international law and the principles of international relations. The essence of this policy, which is opposed to a peaceful settlement, is Israel’s intention to preclude and avoid a cardinal settlement of the conflict on the basis of the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Arab territories and to prevent the removal of the hotbed in the Middle East. 24. Attempts are being made to this end to avoid convening a Geneva Conference on the Middle East and to substitute for it a number of other proposals. If we check, we can see that the whole purpose of these efforts to circumvent the affair is to prevent the participation of the Palestinians in the discussion of the Middle East problem. In resolutions passed at the twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the PLO has been acknowledged to be the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people; and the Palestinian people has been recognized to be an equal party in all efforts, all international meetings and bodies concerned with reaching a settlement in the Middle East. 25. In the decision adopted yesterday, the Security Council also recognized that organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Consequently, for the first time in its 30 years of existence, the Council heard the naked truth about the policy of aggression and international terrorism which is pursued by Israel directly from the representatives of the Palestinian people, who have suffered the most from that criminal policy. 27. As was stated on 2 December by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, A. Gromyko, at a dinner in honour of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait on an official visit to the USSR: “The ‘convening of the Geneva Conference with the equal and full participation of the representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization provides the most reliable means of considering the problem of the Middle East.” 28. The Security Council should decisively and resolutely condemn these new acts of provocation by Israel and take effective steps to put an end to its acts of aggression against Lebanon and the Arab people of Palestine. In this connexion, the Council should take into account the statement made by the Co-ordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Countries in the United Nations, published on 4 December [S/11897]. That statement expresses the common feeling of profound indignation and condemnation by world public opinion and all the peoples of the earth of these barbarous acts of aggression and terrorism by Israel against Lebanon and the Arab people of Palestine. The statement also condemns “most strongly the vicious and terrorist Israeli air raids against defenceless villages and Palestinian refugee camps, killing many innocent civilians, women, children and elderly persons.” In the statement the Committee, on behalf of the nonaligned countries, asked the Council “to condemn this act of aggression and to take steps to restrain Israel from pursuing its policy of launching attacks on its neighbours and terrorizing the Palestinian refugees.‘* That is very well stated; it could not be put better. 29. The imperative need for the Council to take decisive steps, as is quite obvious to all, is of fundamental importance. To fail to resist and rebuff those acts by Israel would be tantamount not only to threatening the further and future security of the peaceful populations of neighbouring Arab States but also to condoning Israel’s desperate efforts at all costs, even at the cost of the blood of Lebanese and Palestinian women and children, to undermine a Middle East settlement. To condone such actions by Israel 30. As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, it has always been and will continue to be on the side of the Arab countries and peoples which have been the victims of Israeli aggression and “will continue to give them comprehensive assistance and support in their just and heroic struggle for the complete elimination and removal of the .consequences of Israeli aggression. t 3 I. Mr. SAITO (Japan): Yesterday [/859th lneetin~] we listened carefully to the statements made by the representatives of Lebanon, Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic and the PLO. 32. My delegation strongly condemns the .recent Israeli air attacks on Palestinian refugee camps in both the northern and the southern parts of Lebanon with the resulting heavy casualties, irrespective of the reasons asserted by Israel. Those attacks, admittedly preventive in nature, were outrageous because they were directed against an innocent civilian population with a large number of women and children among the victims and were perpetrated at a time when hard-won gains in the Middle East situation had just been made. The Government and people of Japan extend their profound sympathy to the families of all those innocent victims. 33. My delegation would like to reaffirm that the basic position of the Japanese Government is that all 34. The situation in the Middle East, as we are all aware, has gradually improved to the point where a second disengagement agreement concluded between Egypt and Israel last September [s/11818/Add.I] is now being implemented. The Security Council has just extended the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights for a further six months [resolvrion 381 (1975)]. A debate in the Council on the question of the Middle East is scheduled for mid-January. All these efforts are being made to create an atmosphere conducive to a just and lasting settlement. All the parties concerned, including the PLO, as the representative of the Palestinian people, are thus seeking to use the negotiating process for a comprehensive solution of Middle East problems. 35. However, the situation in the area is still basically unstable and, with the passage of time, becomes increasingly dangerous. It is therefore imperative that all the parties concerned avoid any action that might endanger this atmosphere or create any obstacles to the further reduction of tension. 36. My Government strongly urges that Israel desist from any further act of violence, especially against civilian populations, and appeals to all the parties to refrain from any action which might e,ndanger the momentum towards a negotiated settlement. The meeting row crt 12.40 p.m. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences depositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressez-vous a : Nations Units. Section des ventes, New York ou Get&e. KAK nOXYYllTb ZlSAAHUfI OPl-AHH 3A9UH OKI~E~IiHEHHMX HAIRMa HJ~LHRR Opraunaauuu Othenmiermbrs HauuR MO)KHO xynmb B KHWXKALIS Mara- JHH~X w areurcrrrax no ncex panouax rdnpa. Hasoztwre cnpamof 0B u3rtanurtx 5s aaruebt KH~IXKHOUI Maraamre HJIH nmurrre no anpecy : Opratiu3auu~ 06%eAWXeHHbiX Haqnif. CeKqHR no npojusxce mnannti. HbIo-Ffopx HJIH )f(eHeaa. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas es& en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en tcdas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, Seccidn de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in UnitedNations, New York ooiso 82-61202-December 1983-2,200