S/PV.2316 Security Council

The Security Council is meeting today in response to the request contained in a letter dated 14 December 1981 from the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic addressed to the President of the Security Council [S/147YI]. Tile meeting was called to order ut 11.25 um. Adoption of the agenda 4. The first speaker is the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic, on whom I now call. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 14 December 1981 from ihe Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the - United Nations addressed tee the President of the Security Council (S/14791)

1 should like, Mr. President, to express to you my sincere congratulations upon your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. My delegation wishes also lo thank the previous President. I. The PRESIDENT: I should like to inform members of the Council that 1 have received letters from the representatives of Cuba, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia. the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and Viet Nam in which they requesl to be invited IO participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council. to invite those representatives 10 participate in the discussion without the right to vote. in accordance with the rclcvant provisions of th: Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of proccdurc. 6. We are confident that under your dynamic leadership the Council will apply itself to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Middle East and will once more shoulder the responsibilities and duties assigned to it under the Charter of the United Nations. 7. On Monday, 14 December. the Israeli Government decided to annex the Syrian Golan Heights, occupied since June 1967, by enacting legislation imposing Israeli “laws, jurisdiction and administration” on that part of Syria. There is no doubt that these sinister measures constitute outright annexation, and it is an established principle of international law that both occupation and annexation are prohibited. Yet the entire history of the State called Israel has run counter to the purposes and principles of the Charter, as well as to the principles and norms of an international system which forbids the use of force and totally rejects Ihe acquisition of terr::ory by force.

1 should like to inform members of the Council that 1 have received a letter dated I6 December 1981 from the represe+tive of Tunisia (S//4795], which reads as follows: _ “I have the honour to request the Security Council IO invite Mr. Clovis Maksoud, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States, to participate in the consideration of the item entitled ‘The situation in the occupied Arab territories’ in accordance with rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure.” Unless 1 hear any objection, 1 shall take it that the Council agrees to this request. II wus so decided. 8. We bring our case to the Council today in the understanding that the acquisition of territory by force, inherent in this Israeli annexationist decision, is agrave violation of the Charter, which we so value, and an act of blatant defiance of international order, which we have all vowed to respect and to protect as our legal. binding obligation. 9. This new violation of international law perpetrated by Israel illustrates that, owing to its very nature and objectives, Israel does not and cannot distinguish between occupation and annexation, for Israel occupies in order to annex, and then it occupies more and more in order to annex. For Israel the decision as to when its de facto annexation should be converted into a de jure annexation is a question of convenience and timing. The annexation of the Golan Heights comes in the wake of the Memorandum of Understanding containing the agreements on strategic co-operation between the United States of America and Israel. its declared favourite surrogate. Similarly, the annexation of the Holy City of Jerusalem and its -surroundings materialized in ail ils aspects as a result of the Camp David accords’ and the ensuing Washington Treaty. 10. It is my duty to draw the attention of the Council to the fact that this latest annexationist enisode in Israel’s record epitomizes a process of coionization beeun in June 1967_with a twofold objective: first, the &&ion of a de facto settler-col&ialist situation based on false pretences varying from the occupier’s claims of security and its claims of a visceral hatred to Pretexts amounting to mythological theorizing and fantasies. and, secondly, the prevention of the displaced Syrian Arab citizens-who by now number approximaiely 200,000 men, women and chiidrenfrom returning to their homes and property. That process of Judaizing the Syrian Golan Heights has been aimed at erasing every Arab trace from that Arab land. Il. And yet the 12,000 Syrian Arabs, both Muslim and Christian, who have resisted deportation and forcible displacement have daily endured humiliation, oppression and persecution, the latest manifestation of this being the imposition of Israeli identity cards and nationality, both of which this valiant people proudly rejected. . ” ‘It is a black day,’ said Sheik Mahmoud Hassan Sadafi Abu Adnan, an aging centre of power in this Druse town perched on a steep hillside. ‘We are occupied, and we are part of the Arab nation. We were surprised by this law. Even as they taik~about peace, they put barriers in front of the peace process. You can go outside, you can feel it-the mood is not so good.’ “In the village square, young men stood in clusters, talking among themselves. telling visiting reporters how they felt. ” ‘It is like announcing a war against Syria,’ said one young man. ” ‘It is against our duty and our honesty,’ said another. ‘We regard ourselves as Syrians.’ ” ‘I think the Israeli Parliament doesn’t have any right to decide these things for us,’ said a third. ‘With every possibility we’ll fight against it.’ I, . , I “In a stone trilla across the street, another voice was heard. ‘When a man believes in his dignity, in his values in life, he cannot be a traitor,’ said Sheik ~Kamal Kanj, twice imprisoned by the Israelis, most recently released in October after 5 months and 16 days of being jailed on no specific charge. He had organized Druse to ostracize those who accepted Israeli citizenship being offered-or imposed, as I prefer to say-by the authorities.” 13. The urgency of the matter demands that I should not prolong-my -intervention, because we expect an exneditious discussion and consideration of the 14. The Syrian Arab Republic will not bow to this most recent Israeli diktat. We consider the Israeli decision a flagrant violation of the Charter and of the resolutions of the United Nations, including Security Council resolution 338 (1973), and a grave violation of the cease-fire. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic also considers this lawless act not only as a breach of the cease-fire. as I said before, but as constitudng an act of war against our country; nor shall we spare any effort to defend our territory as well as our vital national interests. 15. We have come to the Council with this case, confident that it will not delay, and will not fail to take the required measures which, at this crucial stage, 16. We believe that urgency is of the tssence at this juncture. Israel must retract its irresponsible, foolish decision without delay, dismantle its colonies and withdraw from our occupied territories. The Council is likewise requested to keep the situation under close and constant scrutiny, for we in the Syrian Arab Republic believe that Israel is doing its utmost to ignite a situation already fraught with manifold dangers, dangers that threaten, as we have already stated, not only our region but the peace and security of the world at large. ~~ 17. Believe me. these are not emotv words. Let me conclude by urging the United Staies, Israel’s closest friend and ally, to bring Israel back to its senses. We 23. Until 1967, despite the General Armistice Agreement, whose preamble indicated that its purpose have no doubt that any leniency on the part of the United States will again be interpreted by the Israeli was “to facilitate the transition , , . to permanent Fascist eitablishment as an encouragement of its peace”, Syria adamantly refused to conclude peace Bdventuristic and aggressive policies in the region. with Israel and instead constantly harassed Israel from the Golan Heights. The Syrians had within gunshot not 18. The PRESIDENT: The next speaker is the only much of what is called the Galilee Panhandle but representative of Israel, on whom I now call. also much of northern Israel in general and no small part of Israeli territory in the upper Jordan Valley as 19. Mr. BLUM (Israel): Mr. President, at the outset, well. let me pay my compliments to you on your assumption ~~~ -of the presidency of the Council for the month of 24. From its positions on the Golan Heights, Syria December. Your diplomatic skills have already been frequently bombarded Israeli towns and villages below tried earlier this month and, as we were all witnesses, and attacked Israeli farmers tilling their land. The you came through with flying colours. I should also situation between our two countries reached one of its like to take this opportunity to pay my respects and worst points when, in 1964, the Syrians decided to compliments to the President of the Council for the interfere with the construction of the Israeli national month of November, the representative of Tunisia. aqueduct which draws water from the Sea of Galilee. 20, -By way of orientation, let me try and describe the Those endless incidents initiated by Syria were regarea which is at the centre of this debate, the Golan ularly~brought to the attention of the ,Zouncil. Heights. We are talking about a minuscule area which is only about 450 square miles in all. But the strategic 25. It is sometimes easy to forget the circumstances importance of the Golan Heights is out of all proporwhich brought Israel onto the Golan Heights in 1967. tion to their size. They are situated about 3,000 feet Syria had turned the Heights into a vast launching pad and more above the territory around the Sea of Galilee containing huge reserves of artillery and armom and the Hula Valley below, which for all practical poised for an eventual descent on Israel. In the course purposes sit in the palm of their hand, as it were. of the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel was ferociously bombarded from the Golan Heights. Israel fought back 21, Ever since 1948, Syria has claimed that there is in self-defence because, had the Syrians been able to no international border between it and Israel. Thus, come down from the Heights, the possible outcome during the negotiations which preceded the signing of was and remains too terrible to contemplate. the Israeli-Syrian General Armistice Agreement’ in 1949, Mr. Tarazi, one of the Syrian negotiators, 26. The Israel Defence Forces stormed the fortified declared: Heights in the face of lethal tire in order to eliminate the entrenched positions Syria had constructed there. “There is no international border between Israel We paid a heavy price in that campaign, but the and Syria. There was a political border between Heights were captured after two days of heavy 22. Moreover, in an explanatory letter dated 26 June 1949 in conjunction with the General Armistice Agreement and addressed to the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel by the United Nations negotiator, the late Mr. Ralph Bunche wrote as follows: “Questions of permanent boundaries, territorial sovereignty, customs, trade relations and the like must be dealt with in the ultimate peace settlement and not in the Armistice Agreement.” -27. For the last fourteen and a half years since June 1967, Israel has repeatedly appealed to Syria to come to the negotiating table and make peace with Israel. Syria refused adamantly. Peace with us is unthinkable. -For that reason, Syria refused also to accept Council reso!ution 242 (1967). 28. Then, in 1973. Syria launched the Yom Kinnur War against Israel from the Golan Heights, Indeed; in the early stages of Syria’s sneak attack, on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, the Syrian advance columns broke through the Israeli defences and at one point even looked-as though they might succeed in advancing further. If the Syrian army had still been in control of that strip of territory in October 1973, it -would have been able, with relative ease, to nenetrate deep into Israeli territory, and Israel would have then been forced to wage a bitter defensive battle within the populated areas of Upper Galilee and the valleys. 29. Syria accepted Council resolution 338 (1973) only because, having been defeated in the Yom Kippur -War, ir was greatly interested in regaining the territories which it had lost in that aggression against Israel. In the signing of the Agreement on Disen- .gagement between Israeli and Syrian Forces [S/11302/ Add-f, annex I] at Geneva in 1974, the Syrians were careful to be represented only by army officers so as to emphasize the fact that, from their point of view, there could be no negotiationsbey& a militancy agreement -with Israel. 30. The Syrians went even further: they refused to -sign that Agreement on Disengagement and requested that the Egyptians sign it on their behalf. It must be pointed out that that Agreement-which is still in effect-did not relate to the subject of the international boundary between our two countries, and thus has no bearing on it. 31. Syria’s bellicose attitude notwithstanding, Israel has persevered in its repeated calls to Syria to make peace with us. And what has been Syria’s response? It has been to spearhead the rejectionist Arab camp against Israel. It has consistently tried to outrival rejectionist Arab States such as Iraq in their subversive activities against the Camp David framework accord for peace in the Middle East.’ 32. There were also other actions by Syria of which the Government of Israel was bound to take serious note. On 8 October 1980, Syria signed in Moscow a treaty of friendship and co-operation with the Soviet Union. That treaty, a stock item of Soviet diplomacy -or, rather, one of its standard weapons-guaranteed 33, Israel was also bound to keep a wary eye open to Syrian activities in Lebanon for, quite apart from what the Syrian army of occupation has done to that country since 1976, it has been perfectly clear to US that Syria has designs to threaten Israel’s northern border by outflanking, if possible, the Golan Heights and attacking Israel through southern Lebanon. Whilst Syria keeps the terrorist PLO [&~/esrirre Librratintr OrEurrizoliorrl as a buffer between it and the area of operation of-the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). in southern Lebanon. it controls the PLO completely, just as it controls almost everything else in Lebanon. 34. More than that, this year Syria made two further worrisome moves, from Israel’s point of view: first, it stepned LID its subversive activities to incite the local Dr&e population of the Golan Heights against Israel; secondly, it has been tiahteninc its links with Libya, with which it is now in-the process of establishing a confederate union. In this it no doubt has the blessing of the Soviet Union which has a clear interest in promoting the Tripoli-Damascus axis. 35. Only last month, Svria was the prime mover in bringing -about the collapse of the’ Arab League Summit held at Fez, and we all know precisely what the problem was. On the agenda of the Summit was the “Fahd Plan”, which essentially was an assault on Israel’s existence and the prescription for the dismantlement of Israel in stages. However, there was one point in the plan which some could possibly construe, by a wide stretch of the imagination, as implying the most indirect form of acceptance of Israel. But even that very oblique point, negated by the rest of the plan, was none the less too much for the Syrians to stomach. 36. At the Summit Syria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Khaddam, made it perfectly clear where his country stood. Thus he declared that: “To speak of coexistence with Israel would be tantamount to granting Israel legitimacy, and talk of withdrawal to the 1967 lines would be tantamount to recognizing Israel’s right IO four fifths of Palestine.” He therefore suggested that the Arabs should wait IO0 years or more until Israel is weakened, and then they could act. In fact, he was only echoing a similar statement that had been made some two weeks before by his Prime Minister, Mr. Al-Kassem, at a ceremony inaugurating a dam in the Euphrates basin. On I7 November, as reported on Radio Damascus, the Prime Minister declared: “The Syrian masses and the whole nation declare: no recognition, no peace and no negotiations with Israel.” 38, There is a limit to how long any country can live under such threats, particularly military threats backer’ up not only by a sizeable arsenal but also by the pclitical will to use it. For 14 years. Israelis and Druse inhabitants of the Golan Heights have lived well together there. And I do not think anybody will be taken in by the selective quotations from today’s issue of 7/n> h+n >‘or/, Tires by our Syrian colleague. What he forgot to ouote are some rather revealing passages in the-same article. Thus. for instance, reference is made there to Mr. Salman Abu Salah. a Druse resident of the Golan Heights, who pointed out: “In order to make the people feel free and express their opinions openly. . . . the Israelis should treat the Golan Druse just like any other citizens of Israel . . . The state of Israel should forgive the :Druse who oppose yesterday’s decision, because in the situation they are in, they had to oppose it.” Then he went on to say that after 1967 he realized: “that it’s good for me to live here, and that we can integrate into the state of Israel. The Syrians treated the-Druse in a cruel way. From little issues they made big issues in which they could hang per*le, deport them and maybe hang them before trial. ’ It would have been nice if our Syrian colleague had been kind enough to quote also those passages from the article which he brought to the Council’s attention. 39. All daily life on the Golan Heights. both of the Israeli residents and of the Druse inhabitants. is with Israel. The authorities on the Golan Heights. military and civilian. are Israelis. They certainly cannot wah 100 years and more, as the Syrian Minister for Foreign Affairs would wish, in order to register births. marriages and deaths. When. for example, matters of law, both civil and criminal, were brought before the courts, it became progressively more incongruous to apply Syrian law. The policemen to whom the local residents turned, the lawyers who represented them and the judges who sat in the courts were all Israelis. 40. For all those reasons, the Government of Israel and the Knesset decided last Monday to regularize the situation on the Golan Heights by applying Israeli ln,~, jurisdiction and administration to the Golan Hei8hts?” 41. It has been suggested that the law adopted by the Knesset on Monday does not accord with the provisions of Council resolution 242 (1967). We believe this to be incorrect. Resolution 242 (1967)--which, as “Historically there have never been secure or recognized boundaries in the area. Neither the armistice lines of 1949 nor the cease-fire lines of 1967 have answered that description , . . Now such boundaries have yet to be agreed upon? [1377ttl meetitlg, pm. 65.1 42. Indeed, the pre-1967 armistice demarcation lines were an open invitation for Syria to attack Israel, which, as I have pointed out, it did regularly. Since 1967, the range and accuracy of the modern weaponry in Syrian hands have been greatly extended. No responsible Government. whose first duty is to preserve the lives and safety of its citizens, would agree to return to the totallv insecure armistice lines which obtained before 1967. Countless visitors to the Golan Heiehts. includinn former Presidents of the United Stat& have bcenimpressed by the strategic importance of the area and have urged Israel never to give it up. Certainly every Government of Israel since 1967 has declared that it would be Impossible toretuT to the pre- 1967 lines. 43. I should like to fake this opportunity to appeal once ngain to Syria IO start negotiations with us directly with a view to achieving an agreed settlement on all the oustand:l.: issues between our two countries. including th: question of the international boundary between Illem. 44. Before concluding, I cannot refrain from remarking that the Council has once again been convened i% something of a hurry in a matter concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict. 1 say “in a hurry” advisedly, because the sad fact is that in the course of this year the Council has not met once to discuss the ongoing threats IO international peace and security in, for example, Afghanistan and Kampuchea. It has never met to discuss the situation in Poland. It has not met once this year to consider the unabated hostilities between Iraq and Iran. It did not bother to deliberate openly on Libya’s invasion of Chad and its direct attacks on the Sudan. Similarly, it evinced no public concern about Syria’s unending rape of Lebanon, epitomized this year in the siege of the town of Zahle, which, by the time it was lifted after some months, had resulted in over 1,000 casualties. 45. The reason why the Council is not galvanized into action over any of these mr\ior crises involving 46. Any action or decision taken by the Council in the present matter will inevitably have to be seen and weighed against its inactivity with regard to the real threats to international peace and security which 1 have just mentioned.

The next speaker is the representative of Kuwait, who wishes to make a statement on behalf of the Group of Arab States at the United Nations, I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

1 have the honour to address the Council in my capacity as Chairman of the Group of Arab States at the United Nations for this month. 44. First of all, allow me, Mr. President, to express to you my warm congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. I should like also to express my deep thanks and appreciation to Mr. Slim of Tunisia, President of the Council last month, for a job well done. 50. Israel has struck again, and once again the world community finds itself, as a result, facing yet another situation wherein the lawless Israeli aggressors are trying to impose their will on the world and, by so doing, create anotherfair accompli. The latest episode of the continued Israeli lawlessness will definitely not be the last. It is in line with the total Israeli masterplan aiming at the annexation of all the occupied territories, a plan which the Israelis no longer keep secret. 51. The timing of the sudden and abrupt Israeli decision would only indicate that the plan to annex the occupied Golan Heights was there all the time and that the Israelis were only waiting for a favourable international atmosphere to carry it out. Most probably, the Polish situation. which has had the world’s attention in the past few days, may have provided the Israeli leaders with the desired international atmosphc ‘.e to launch their latest act of aggression. 52. Another indication that the Israelis had planned to annex the occupied Golan Heights a long time ago is the fact that they have been attempting for quite some time now to convince the Syrian inhabitants of the Golan Heights to become Israeli citizens or, at least, carry Israeli identification cards, a move which had 53. The annexation of the occupied Golan Heights by the Israeli authorities violates the Charter of the United Nations, which stipulates that the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible under international law. It also violates the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.’ It again gives the world community another manifestation-of -the Israeli’s grand expansionist designs as well as of their real intentions for all the occupied territories. But, above all. this blatant act of aggression creates a very serious situation which can only aggravate more and more an already explosive situation in the Middle East. 54. The Security Council is called upon, therefore, to act promptly and effectively to put an end not only to the continued Israeli aggression but also to the unacceptable Israeli behaviour at the international level. This continued Israeli policy of gradual and piecemeal annexation of the occupied Arab territories should be stopped. These continued Israeli wanton challenges to the international will should be stopped. This continued Israeli tampering with the peace and security of the Middle East in particular and of the whole world in general should be stopped. 55. And last but not least. this Israeli madness, which can no longer be tolerated even by the closest friends of Israel, should be stopped before the whole region explodes and thus brings more misery and bloodshed into, an area which has already had more than its share of both. 56. These are all dangerous elements which should be taken into serious consideration by the world organization. particularly by its instrument of peace, the Security Council, before it is too late. But it is the conviction of the Arab delegations that the most dangerous of all the elements is the fact that Israel has reached the conclusion that it can do whatever it wants to do with impunity and that United Nations resolutions are not worth the ink with which they are written. This “I-don’t-care” attitude should have our utmost attention when we are dealing with this situation. So, while discussing the steps which should be taken to meet the urgent and dangerous situation created by the annexation of the occupied Syrian lands, we should not lose sight of the most disturbing element, namely, the general Israeli lawless behaviour and the parallel Israeli feeling that such behaviour is sanctioned by the failure on the part of the international community to put an end to it. 57. This blatant Israeli act of lawlessness should not go unpunished for the reasons I have already mentioned. Yesterday it was Jerusalem. Today it is the Golan Heights and tomorrow it will be the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and God only knows what will bc next.

The next speaker is the representative of Egypt. 1 invite him to take a place at the Council table !nd to yake h& @tern-em.

Mr. President. -_. allow me at the outset to congratulate you on you; assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the current month. Your country. Uganda, and my country, Egypt, are linked by historical ties of friendship. We share not only common values and traditions, but also the great Nile river and in this respect our relations are eternal, as is that mighty river, the Nile. 68. By acting in such a way, undermining Council resolutions, Israel is also internationally undermining the framework upon which !he peace process was originally and fundamentally basdd. This is a direct challenge to the provisions of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949,’ which prohibit an occupying Power from introducing any legal change in the status of occupied territories. 61. Mr, President, you have proved to the world your intelligence, wisdom and decisiveness. As Africans, we are proud of you. We should like also to pay a tribute and to address to your predecessor, Mr. Taieb S!im, ou[ !han& for the excellent job he did last month. 62. The recent illegal action by Israel which purports to annex the occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights is not only a blatant violation of all norms of inteinational law, but also a serious challenge to the prospects of stability and, indeed, to the peace process in the Middle East. 69. In this respect, it is the view of the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt-and here I quote from the statement of 15 December by the official spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency-that t!lis decision by Israel constitutes: 63. The news of this creeping annexation has no doubt recalled to our minds the similar action undertaken by the Israeli Government illegally to annex Arab Jerusalem, which has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967 and continues to be so. 64. Such Israeli action, together with other manifestations towards the Arab territories and the Arab people, will adversely affect the chances of peace in the Middle East and jeopardize any hopes of confidence-building and bf -erecting a- ~comprehensive peace structure in this troubled region. I say that while the recent memories of the bombing of the peaceful Baghdad reactor, the attacks against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon. the aggres&E policies towards the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the Palestinian people as a whole, the establishmerit of settlements in the occupied territories and the treatment of the population of those territories, all stand as threatening signs and as a dangerous prelude to a period of increasing tension, 65. Egypt has striven all along and will determinedly continue to do so in order to spare the region the hardships and consequences that may result from such irresponsible and illegal Israeli actions. 66. The law passed by the Knesset to extend Israeli la~l J and jurisdiction over the occupied Golan Heights 67. The latest act of the Israeli Government not only cdntradicts the principles and provisions of the Charter. but also runs counter to the provisions of the Sedurity Council resolutjon 242 (i967), where the Council reaffirms. tr!er ah. the principle of the inadmissibility of ihe acquisition of ierritory by war and as a consequence calls for the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories. It is also a violation of the Agreement on Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian forces signed by the two countries on 30 May 1974 [SIII302IAdd,I, anrre.r I], which stipulated in paragraph H that “This Agreement , , . is a step towards a jtist and durable peace on the basis of Security Council resolution 338 (1973) dated 22 October 1973.” “a direct contradiction to the framework of peace in the Middle East signed on 17 September 1978,’ and Security Council resolutions upon which the Camp David accords have been based, primarily resolution 242 (1967). “This act represents a blow against peace efforts, further increasing factors of tension in the region, which Egypt has always been anxious to remove in order to provide a favourable atmosphere conducive to a durable, just and comprehensive peace. “The Government of Egypt also considers the decision of the lsraeli Cabinet a flagrant violation of the norms of international law and defiance of international public opinion. While fully and vehemently rejecting this act as null and void, Egypt does not recognize any ensuing consequences flowing from this act, which runs counter to the spirit of peace in the region and calls upon the international community, represented in the United Nations, to discharge its responsibilities as far as the cause of peace is concerned. particularly during the debate in the General Assembly on the situation in the Middle East. “The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt draws the attention of all peace-loving forces, both 70. The peace which Israel presumably seeks, and which we in Egypt endeavour sincerely to realizc, -cannot bul remam an unfultillcd delusion if Israel persists in such acts, which dissipate all possibilities, though meagre. of reconciliation or coexistence. -Annexation and colonization of Arab territories will only raise even higher the psychological barrier ,--between Arabs and Israelis and will entrench even more deeply feelings of animosity and irreconcilable positions. 71. WC strongly urge the Government of Israel IO rescind that decision and to desist forthwilh from anv I and all similar measures lhal would affect the status or the future of the Syrian Golan Heishcs. We also call upon the United I&ions and the international community to live up to their responsibilities in defending international law and legality and human rights, and lo put an end to the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Arab territories. 72. The peace between Egypt and Israel is a genuine breakthrough in the history of the Middle East. This has become a reality and Israel has to live up to the challenge of peace. We are aware of the difficulties and pains that accompany the birth of peace, but we are also aware of the potentialities of peace. Thev far outweigh the difliculiies and hardships. Only -with courage. statesmanship and commitment IO international law and legality can we achieve the longawaited comprehensive peace.

My Government is deeply disturbed by the Israeli Covern- Tent’s action in introducing, and immediately having adopted by the Knesset, a bill to extend the law, jurisdiction and administration of the Stale of Israel to the Golan Heights. .Jur concern has been increased by the suddenness and the haste-with-which this action has been taken. 74. My Governmcnl’s posilion on Ihis issue is clear. The Golan Heights belong lo the Syrian Arab Republic and fijrm part ol. the lerrilorics occupied by Israel in the war of 1967. The area is subject to the principles emphasizcd in Sccurily Council resolution 242 (1967), including (he inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war. The territory of a State is not to be acquired by another by the use of force, We cannel, therefore, accept any unilaleral initiative by Israel to change the status of the Golan Hciehls from occunied tcrritbry 10 an area subject IO Is&Ii Iaw, jurisdic’tion and administration. WC regard such an initiative as conlrary lo international law and as tantamount IO annexalion. We consider that al1 Icgislative and administrative mcasurcs and actions implementing this inilialive have no Iqal validily. 76, This latest decision of the Government and Knesset of Israel to extend Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration to occupied Syrian territory in the Golan Heights comes at the end of a year in which tensions in the Arab-Israeli dispute have been inflamed by several incidents, In a statement issued on 15 December by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the 10 member States of (he European Community [S/14801. my Government joined in strongly deploring this decision. In their statement, the Ministers furlhet took the view that this step by Israel prejudiced the possibility of the implementalion of resolution 242 (1967) and was bound 10 complicate further (he search for a comprehensive peace scttlemenl in the Middle East, to which the Ten remain committed. 77. In conclusion, I should like IO appeal on behalf of my Government (0 the Israeli authorities IO reconsider theirdecision,

I now call on the rcprcsentative of the Syrian Arab Republic. who has asked to make a Slab.zmen( in the exercise of his right of reply.

We have listened to the so-called intervention of the reprcsenlative of Israel who. as usual. circumvcnled the issue before (he Council and Iricd IO cspound (hc so-called right of Israel IO occupation under any pretexl. Israel annexes Jctusalcm and invokes \vhal it claims is a right. II occupies and annexes (tic Gotall Heights, and brings in es~ancous clcmcnts that have nothing to do with the issue ;I( hand. 80. The issue a~ hand is solclv the Council’s concern over the situation created by ;I grave violation of lhc principles of the Charler, parlicularly the principle of the non-validity of the acquisilion or anncxa~ion 01 territory by force. At no time durinc his inlcrvcnlion did thc.lsr;ieli reprcscnlalivc touch in this, and 111at is H’hy I called it a “so-called iiilei.vcnlion”. Israel’s violalion of this leg11 principle thrcalcn:, ~~orhl peace and security, for i( Ihrcatcns the sccurily of an area hicti is already ICIISC. 82. --This applies to Syria-and forcmosl to Syriabccausc i( is-connected with another, no.lcss impor- ~. (ant, issue: the annexation 1~). Israel of the demililarized zones hcyondjhc inlcrnutional frontiers of ~Xdeslinc. 87. -As to the -siluation -during Ihe +criod of the United Nalions Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), Israeli arguments for retaining the Golan Heights. which have been so widely and uncritically accepted in the West over the years, were, firsI, that &fore ~hc 1967 war Syrian guns on the Heights frequently shelled without provocation Israeli farm settlements and !hc Hula Valley below and, secondly. those IHeights were vital 10 Israeli national security, 83. I should like 10 place the Israeli rcpresen(ativc’s s~emcn~ within the conlcxt of a dochine in which annexation and occupalion are inhuih. I should like 10 auoic his Prime Minislcr. and I shall dra\v on the current report of the Special CommiWe IO Investigalc Israeli Practices Affectinp fhe H~rn~m Riah~s of the I~otxJt;~tion of (he Occupied Tcrrilorizs in which he said: 8X. How valid arc these conlcntions and do they give Israel Ihe rigl:t io relain lhc Hcigh(s?The most reliable and auGiori(ativc sources of information about the incidents which look place in the Golan Heights and in the Syrian-Israeli demiiitarized zone prior to the 1967 war came from (he many reports to the United Nations made by UNTSO and the Chairman of the Syrian-Israel hlixed Armistice Commission. All UNTSO officials. that Chairman and the United Nalions observers involved. who were responsible not only for discouraging incidents but also for investigating and reporting IO the U&cd Nations on the incidents. all of them came from pro-Israeli Western countries and were hand-picked by pro-Israeli Governments. None came from any pro-Arab State. As a result. the Arabs have greater reason to he concerned aboul their impaniality than have the Israelis. --“I Menachcm. son of Zc’cv and Hassya Begin. her&!* pledge mv word [hat as long as I scrvc the nation I .I’-- \vt;ich means the nation inside and oulsidc Isra+ “as Prime Minisler. WC shall noI abandon any area in the territories of Judea. Samaria. the (iga disfricl and the Golan Hcigh&.“’ On anolhcr occasion. hc is reported to have stated Ihat =the policy guidelines of his Covernmcnt stipulated that “Israel would ‘raise its claim to sovcrcignty’ over the WCS( Bank after a period of self-rule”.” This is connccred \\ilh ~hc inlcrprclation of the Camp David accords. 84, It would be good (0 refresh the memory of the Israeli reprcscnlative. -By late 1980. according to the I Novcmbcr 1980 issue of 7’1~ Gor~c~isr. lO,O00 Israelis had moved into 28 seltlcmcnts and one town on the Golan Heights, Moreover. Ihe Israeli authorilich have acquired a considcrahlc ;I~~KNJ~~ of land and waler for the use of Ihc scl~lcmenls. They have esWishcd induslrics I appointed municipal X9. Moreover. wo former UNTSO Chiefs of Staff. Lieutenant-General Burns of Canada and hlajor- General Carl van Horn of Sweden. provided furiher details. first-hand and authoritative a(xounts of incidents bctwcen Israel and Syria in their books. Uer~cx~/t A ~b.s rrd I.~di.\ and .So/dir+,g fin P<‘Nw. YO. UNTSO rcpearcdl!: reporlcd that the most serious problem in 10e dcmllirarized mnc developed as a rcsuh of lhc follo\+ing reasons: the Israeli claim IO sovcrcipnly over all of Ihill zone. and ils sending of heavily armed I’ronlicr police and wnw heavy militar! cyuipnicnl into it. conlrary to lhc provisions of hc Armiscicc Agrccmcnt. Not only Syria, bur lhc Unhed Nations and rhc United States. including Ralph Uunche, who helped 10 write the Israeli-Syrian Gcnera1 Armistice Agreement. denied Israeli claims 10 sovereigno’ and held Ihat it had no righr IO forlify and council* for villages and modilied school curricula. tlartl-lint mcmhcra ofrhc Israeli Kn~w~t introduced a hill calling for the formal anncsa~ion of the Golan ilcighlx. IXI~ Ihc hill \\;I’( killcd in hlurch lY8l because ofoutsidc prcssurc. including Unit& Slates illld olhcl prcssurc. NevcrWcss. Israel ndminis~crctl fhe arca Vil3Uilll~ as if il wcrc an inlcgral par{ of Israel, Israeli hs apply lo Israeli sclllcrs and scI~Icnien1s. X5. While mosl Syrians lcfi the (iolan Heights in lYh7. thousands rcmaincd. moslly Muslims of (he I)rusc scc(. and. according 16 ‘17rc h’01, I;4 ‘li’rrrt,s. send mili(;Jry pcrsonwl and eqcJipment into the zone. Illc KllcssCl f%lSWll ;I t:l\V in I%0 \vliich cn;lhlctl Ihc Israeli Govcrnn~cnl lo iniposc Israeli cilixcnhhip on !he rcsidcnls of ‘hc Golalr Ilcighls. III \ummari/ing Ihe siliia(ion. Generat BLJJ’NS MroJe: Y on the specific resGcfions, and so evcmualty 10 free Y2, 1 hope Ihal Ihe Council will be able to ado@ a thcmsclvcs on various pretexts from all of them. resolution which takes into ~ICCOUI~I adcquatcly the .~ The Israelis in fact exercise ~~lmost complete con(rot dangers Ihrealcning our region, over the mJor portion of the zone through theii fronGcr police. This was directly conlrary to arli- 77~ tnwlitig row ill I pm, clc 5 of the General Armistice Agreement and the - authoritativg intc!pretatioii by Ralph Bundie,” NOTES Y I, I am not going to prolong the debale or my right ’ A Framework for IWx io the Middfc Easl. Agreed al Cofllp of reply. given the urgency of the ma&r before the Council. The crux of the matter is thal ~hc Security David. and Fr;~mcww% for lllc Conclusion of it l’cnce l‘reaiy betueen Egypt ;md Isrilel. signed in Washinpm. D.C.. on 17 SCP Council is requested to ask Israel to rescind immelernbcr 1Y78. diately this legislation. which annexes the Golan ! Uflicicrl Kcwrd.~ of I/W Scrctriry C‘mtrcil. Fourrk l’wr. Sprid Heights, and, as a second requirement. this very SujJ/~lmcwr Ml. .?. ’ United Nalions, Twctr,v Scvia. vol. 7% No. 973. p. 2.87. august body is asked to declare this Israeli legislation ’ A136/57Y. para. 56. -gull and void and not @recognjze it. ’ Ibid., psra. 57,