S/PV.2352 Security Council

1 should like to inform members of the Council that 1 have received from the representative of Jordan a letter dated 13 April [S/I49701 which reads as follows: Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2352) 1. Adoption of the agenda “1 have the honour to request the Security Council to extend an invitation to the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in the consideration of the item entitled ‘The situation in the occupied Arab territories’, in accordance with the Council’s usual practice.” 2. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 12 April 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/ 14967): Letter dated 13 April 1982 from the Chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/14969) 3. The proposa1 of the representative of Joidan is not made pursuant to rule 37 or rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure, but, if approved by the Council, the invitation to participate in the debate would confer on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) the same rights of participation as those conferred on a Member State pursuant to rule 37. Does any member of the Council wish to speak on this proposal? Adoption of the Agenda

The United States delegation has on many occasions explained the reasons why we oppose the special procedure that appears to give the PL0 the same rights of participation in the proceedings of the Council as if it represented a State. The PL0 is not a State; it is a political movement which presents its claims in the name of a collectivity whose members live under various political jurisdictions. No formula justifies this departure from the rules of procedure. The formula proposed seems to us to seek without basis to enhance the prestige, and indeed to falsify the status, of those to whom it is directed. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 12 April 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/14967); Letter dated 13 April 1982 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/14969)

1 should like to inform members of the Council that I have received from the representatives of Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey letters in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, 1 propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure. 5. We have always stressed-and 1 stress todaythat we have no objection to the Council’s hearing the PL0 representatives. lndeed, we have no objection to the Council’s hearing the representatives of any political group with a stake in questions discussed here. But we consider that this cari be accomplished legally only on the traditional basis of rule 39, which empowers the Council to grant hearings to persons speaking on behalf of non-governmental entities.

If no other member of the Council wishes to speak, 1 shall take it that the Council is ready to vote on the proposa1 of Jordan. In ~~woI//.: China, Guyana, Ireland, Jordan, Panama, Poland, Spain, Togo, Uganda, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Zaire Agoimt: United States of America Alxtaining: France, Japan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

1 should like to inform members of the Council that 1 have received from the representative of Jordan a letter dated 13 April [S/1#97/], which reads as follows: “1 have the honour of requesting the Security Council to 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 the provisional rules of procedure.” 9. If 1 hear no Ob*jection, I shalf take it that the Council decides to accede to this request.

The Council is meeting today in response to the request contained in the letter dated 12 April addressed to the President of the Council by the representative of Morocco [S//4967] and the letter dated 13 April addressed to the President of the Council by the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Iraq [SII4969]. II. The first speaker is the representative of Morocco, on whom 1 now call.

Mr. President, permit me first to convey to you and the honourable members of the Council my thanks for having acceded to the request by His Majesty King Hassan II, who, in his capacity 13. 1 should also like to’ tel] you how pleased my country is to see you presiding over this discussion, because of your qualities as a skilled diplomat, whose contribution is greatly sought after and highly appreciated in the most delicate situations at the United Nations: but, in addition, my country is proud to have close and fraternal relations with Zaire-a mutually fruitful co-operation in domains which, for your country as well as for mine, are of major importance, especiaIly as regards safeguarding peace and stability in Africa and defending and strengthening the values of the unity and harmony of our continent. 14. 1 also wish to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to Mrs. Jeane Kirkpatrick, who last month, on behalf of the United States, was a brilliant President of the Council at a time when this body was considering, as is also the case today, situations that are SO troubling and that present such a danger to international peace and security. 1.5. Having paid my respects to you, Mr. President, and to the members of the Council, 1 should like to inform the Council that, given the gravity of the events which have taken place and which continue to take place in the Holy City of Jerusalem, His Majesty Hassan II, King of Morocco and Chairman of the Al- Quds Committee, has vested in me the great honour of reading out the message which His Majesty has addressed to the honourable members of the Council and, through you and the members of the Council, to the whole of the international community. The royal message reads as follows: “Mr. President, if we have taken the initiative, as the head of a Muslim State Member of the United Nations, of asking for the Security Council to be convened, our request is also justifïed by the fact that we are Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee of the Islamic Conference. The letter which all representatives of States participating in that Conference have addressed to you in support of our action [S//4969], while expressing the support of the Muslim world as a whole, bears witness to the depths of its emotion at the very serious events that occurred in Jerusalern on 11 April. “Once again, a bloody and sacrilegious action has rendered more dangerous a situation that aiready endangered international peace. The facts are well known. “An Israeli soldier in uniform burst into the square in front of the AI-Aqsa Mosque-the venerated Mosque of Omar, which is among the most venerated Holy Places of Islam-and, using a rifle, opened fire on a crowd of Muslim worshippers. ” We wish on our own behalf and on behalf of 41 Islamic nations solemnly to protest against an attempt that has but plunged Israel further into international illegality and provocation. This new kind of.fuit uccotnpli has never been recognized by the international community. If we refer to the reactions of Governments, we cari see that they consider it unacceptable for the status of Jerusalem to be the abject of unilateral action. “The responsibility Israel bears cannot be disputed. It cannot maintain, in order to attempt to free itself from that responsibility, that the perpetrator of those crimes was acting on his own initiative. Even supposing that that were established, Israel would not be the less guilty for not having been able to prevent, or wanting to prevent, such criminal acts. “That was the reaction of the Federal Republic of Germany, which viewed it as an act contrary to international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations; and of France, which saw it as a decision that was one of a series of measures aimed at once again calling into doubt the status ofJerusalem. This opinion was shared by the spokesman of the United States Department of State, who stated that the United States considered unilateral acts aimed at changing the status of Jerusalem outside the framework of a negotiated régime to be without any effect. “Indeed, the international press on this occasion has noted the extreme passivity, not to speak of collusion, manifested by the Israeli Government in Jerusalem in regard to various Zionist terrorist movements. These actions, following a whole series of hostile acts committed against the Holy Places of Islam in Jerusalem and against the worshippers who crowd there, recall those which in 1969 were marked by the burning of the AI-Aqsa Mosque. “Let us recall that the Netherlands and 12 Latin American States having embassies in Jerusalem decided to indicate their disapproval of the Israeli designs by immediately transferring those embassies to Tel Aviv. “That indescribable act aroused the indignation of all Muslims throughout the world and led to the establishment of the Islamic Conference, whose first meeting was held in Rabat in September 1969 and brought together a11 the Islamic heads of State. The Conference set up a committee whose task it is to protect the presence of Islam in Jerusalem: the Al-Quds Committee, of which 1 became Chairman in 1979. 1 was confirmed in that post at the Taif summit in 1981. “Finally, through the United Nations the various reactions of States were consecrated by the organized international community. On 3 1 July the Secretary-General made it known that any measure intended to change the status of Jerusalem had no legal validity and on 20 August the Council condemned the Israeli measure by 14 affirmative votes to one abstention [,.csu/l,tiolz 478 (/980)]. “That grouping of Islamic countries vis-à-vis Jerusalem cari be explained on the basis of the violation of international law to which that city has been subjected since the Israeli occupation on 7 June 1967. That act is dealt with in relevant Security Council resolutions concerning the illegality of the occupation of the territories acquired in the war launched by Israel; moreover, it was specifically condemned as an assault upon a city venerated by three revealed religions, a city whose status cari be determined only through negotiation and not through ajXt ncwmpli. “The unilateral action taken by Israel is fraught with political consequences; it also seriously affects the peaceful coexistence of cultures. No one cari be surprised that at its General. Conference held in Belgrade in Octobet 1980, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a resolution condemning Israel for its decision to take over Jerusalem. “That non-recognition on the part of the international community is based on law and justice, but also on reason. Indeed, the ,frrit trccotnpli created in Jerusatem by Israel in violation of the law of nations is being consolidated by bloody acts that are in themselves flagrant violations of the fourth Geneva Convention’ on the protection of civilian Pei-sons, and it fundamentally affects the specifïc nature of Jerusalem as the Holy City in which the three monotheistic religions coexist. “The situation thus created by Israel in Jerusalem cari only lead to further tension, and especially because of the aggression against Muslims that it makes possible, it gives them the feeling of being the victims of discrimination, an insult to their faith. Israel’s contempt for the peaceful religious coexistence that Jerusalem had enjoyed throughout a long history was manifested once again, inadmissibly, in the Knesset vote of 30 July 1980, which ventured “For its part, Islam Will never abandon one of the basic principles of its holy book, the Koran, which 1 shall now quote: L’ ‘Act in the best way possible until your enemy considers you his friend.’ ”

Mr. President, a mere two weeks ago the Security Council convened [2344tlz /nc~ting] in emergency session, under your wise guidance, to consider the sinister and provocative Israeli occupation acts of dismantling the structures and functions of duly elected municipal institutions in the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands. They carried out those bestial acts at the point of a gun in a wilful and self-deceptive attempt to break the Will of our heroic people and complete the incorporation of their ancestral homeland. With bare hands and chests, the Palestinian people fought it out with the occupation’s heavily armed troops and proved to them that brute force, terrorism and lawlessness cari never break the indomitable spirit of a proud people struggling for survival and freedom from the yoke of foreign invaders, whatever the cost in lives, injury and suffering. 17. On Sunday, II April, at 9.20 a.m., a gang of armed Israeli troops directed heavy fïre from various directions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first Kiblah in Islam and the third holiest shrine, and the magnifî- cent Dome of the Rock from which the Prophet Muhammad-upon whom be peace-made his noctural and spiritual ascension to heaven. This great monument had been painstakingly constructed by artisans to the glory of God over many, many centuries, 14 in all. 18. That Israeli carnage was carried out to give caver to an Israeli soldier-or is he an American? He is in fact both-by the name of Alan Harry Goodman, who was on a murderous journey of death and desecration. He killed in cold blood a 65year-old unarmed Arab guard at the Bab al-Magharibah-Moroccan Gateevidently unchallenged by the armed Israeli trooper who sits there. He murdered in cold blood two othei unarmed guardians and seriously wounded a third at the entrante to the Dome of the Rock Mosque; and, havingforced his entry into the Dome of the Rock, opened up his fire-arms at the worshippers in every 19. Fearful that the highly provoked victims would capture that gutter terrorist, his accomplices-the Israeli so-called anti-riot troops-imposed a total curfew on that historic and ancient City, demolished a part of one of the walls of the holy sanctuary, stormed the Dome of the Rock and ensured the safety of the criminal by fïring at the crowd, and then whisked him away to safety in a closed military van. 20. Those are but highlights reported truthfully and without the manipulations and censorship which have attempted, in vain, to belittle the “Easter Sunday massacre” at one of Islam’s holiest sites and one of humanity’s great legacies by the very same people who owe their very existence to massive acts of terror and destruction, as well as terrorism against the people of Palestine as far back as the mid-1940s-acts which are too numerous to enumerate. 2 1. 1 should like now to draw the Council’s attention to the real objectives of the Easter Sunday massacre -for the Palestinian people have never been sparing in shedding their blood in defence of their national homeland, their deep religious beliefs and their millenia-old glorious legacy. 22. The Israeli racist, exclusive and blood-thirsty ends and objectives are the following. 23. The first is to complete the incarceration, strangulation and expulsion of the lawful Palestinian owners of Palestine. They succeeded substantially-and, 1 am certain, only temporarily-in achieving this objective in 1947 and 1948 by unlawfully seizing four fifths of Palestine and expelling the majority of the inhabitants by abominable terror and massacres in defiance of the relevant United Nations resolutions. And now, having seized and colonized 40 per cent of the tiny West Bank, including Holy Jerusalem, a mere 5,500 square kilometres, and having armed to the teeth the illegal settlers and confiscated Palestinian lands, the Zionist aggressors of all shades of opinion evidently bave decided that the time has corne to expel the rest, As 1 stated in the course of a previous debate on the situation in the occupied Arab territories, the Countdown in this final process of liquidation has begun, The Easter Sunday massacre is but one manifestation of this series of acts of cannibalization. 24. Secondly, there is a determination by a racist Zionist entity and ideology to tolerate no faith or exist- 27. Indeed, a photostat of one of those threats has been printed in our press, copies of which, though unclear and in Arabie, 1 put at the disposa1 of Council members. 1 shall make arrangements for the translation. The Israeli occupation authorities were furnished with the originals. 28. Having in mind that this criminal murdered in cold blood many innocent people and wounded many more others, and knowing the background of this bestial act, the Council would agree with me that it was highly inappropriate to exonerate the criminal while deploring the act-as the State Department spokesman did when, in effect, he absolved the crimina1 as lone and deranged. This is prejudging an issue which is whjudice, if not a caver-up, to say the least. The Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem, which has called a seven-day general strike throughout the occupied territories, denounced a statement issued Sunday by the office of Prime Minister Menachem Begin which described the Israeli soldier as mentally ill, The criminal, Alan Harry Goodman, formerly of Baltimore, was inducted into the army last month for the brief service customary for immigrants. Of course, he has a dual nationality. 25. A State Department spokesman has described the abominable crime against the Islamic Holy Places and God-fearing worshippers as an act of a “lone, deranged individual”, oblivious of the fact that there are documents available which prove beyond any shadow of doubt that the heinous crime was carried out after a series of threats addressed, over the past several weeks, to His Eminence Sheikh Saddruddin Al-Alami, President of the Supreme Muslim Council in Jeru- Salem. The threats and warnings bore the signatures of the leaders of the Gush Emunim terrorist gang, the so-called trustees of the Temple Mount and Rabbi Meir Kahane’s terrorist gang, whose exploits in New York itself are well known and which advocates the total forcible expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homeland and the destruction of the holy Al- Aqsa Mosque. 1 am sure that some of my colleagues must have read Rabbi Meir Kahane’s book, which was recently published, advocating this expulsion. His Eminence Sheikh Saddruddin Al-Alami had notified the occupation authorities of the dangers posed to these Holy Places and had requested the withdrawal of the Israeli guards inside the Holy Sanctuary and the intensification of measures to safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of these Holy Places. His requests-attached to which were the threats-fell on deaf cars, went unheeded, because of the undoubted collusion between these terrorist gangs and their godfather, Begin, and his henchmen. They are the supporters who tip the scales in the maintenance of his Cabinet. 29. The Islamic Council said it was absurd of the Prime Minister’s office to describe the assailant as deranged, because soldiers were supposed to undergo physical examinations. Moreover, the Islamic Council added, the assailant was not alone. It asserted that he had been covered during his attack by fire from many directions. How else could he have continued his shooting spree within the Dome of the Rock for half an hour until he had expended all his bullets? 30. The Zionist designs against the Islamic Holy Sanctuary are long and infamous. A chronological survey of these activities includes the following. 26. Indeed, as may be seen in the Verbatim record of a Security Council meeting held as recently as 1 April, 1 found it imperative to read out the text of the threats addressed to the Director of the Islamic Foundation and the Director-General of Religious Instruction and Guidance [ibid., prr,.a. 131, in which the aforementioned terrorist organizations had threatened to blow up the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the surrounding area, with the attendant substantial number of Arab dead and wounded. 1 stated then that Council members might think that this was just another one of those threats emanating from terrorist organizations, but that we know full well how blurred is the line between so-called unofficial terrorist organizations and the Government [ibid., ptrrcr. I Il. We have had a long expefience in this field. 1 concluded, right here in the Council, by expressing the hope that the President, on behalf of the Council, 31. First, continuous and sustained deep digging under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and, the Holy Sanctuary as a whole-structures which are 14 centuries oldbegan immediately after the Zionist occupation of the Holy City, in addition to the demolition of hundreds of buildings in the area adjacent to it. These deep diggings have reached such depths that entire structures are threatened with collapse. The diggings are still continuing. 32. Secondly, on 2 1 August 1969 the Zionists carried out a plot of arson to set the entire Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire. The fire resulted in the total destruction of an 800-year-old magnifîcent Salahaddin pulpit, handmade over seven years by highly-skilled artisans in Aleppo, and other sizeable sections of the Mosque. The arsonist, Michael Rohan, an Israeli Australian, 34. Fourthly, repeated attempts have been made by Israeli groups to force their way into the mosques of the Holy Sanctuary, leading to numerous clashes. 35. Fifthly, last year the Israeli Gush Emunim started digging a tunnel leading to the Dome of the Rock. The attempt was discovered and foiled by the civilian inhabitants. 36. Sixthly, last Thursday, 7 April-that is, three days before the Easter Sunday massacre-explosive charges placed by the same Israeli terrorist gangs were discovered at the entrante to the AI-Aqsa Mosque and dismantled. Beside the charges were pamphlets threatening to blow up the Al-Aqsa Mosque and physically liquidate the religious dignitaries. The threats were written in broken Arabie and issued from the Kiryat Arba illegal settlement overlooking the city of Al-Khalil (Hebron), 37. More revealing about the character and orientation of the culprits are a few sentences of an article dated 11 April from Jerusalem, reporting on the events, an article by correspondent David Shipler, which appeared in Thc~ NPII~ York Times of 12 April. He said, referring to the Disraeli troops, that “Just before going, one of them, with a laugh, threw a tear gas grenade near the [Al-Aqsa] mosque, upwind of the main door. Smoke from the perfectly placed cannister blew into the mosque, and worshippers came out coughing and wiping their eyes. One elderly man was carried to an ambulance. A few of the troops walked away laughing.” 38. If the spot is as sacred to those troops as they cIaim it is, it is truly incongruous that the soldiers could have behaved with that bellicose and nauseating meanness which trufy reveals what lies deep in their sick hearts. It is not a lone deranged soldier: it is a deranged society, the more dangerous as it is being armed to the teeth by its strategic ally and mainstay, the United States. 39. But, as in all encounters throughout history, the spirit is afways more formidable than the machine, for 40. His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan, in response to a cal1 from His Majesty King Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, has directed the Government of Jordan to declare tomorrow. Wednesday, a day of solemn protest throughout the Islamic world. All work Will be suspended throughout the public and private sectors in solidarity with the struggling Palestinian people and the sanctity of the Holy Places. This is a step which Will no doubt be followed by many others, until afl Israeli occupation forces have been withdrawn from all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories -foremost among which is holy Jerusalem-and Ehe full rights of the Palestinian people have been fully restored. That is the only way by which the historical serenity, the magnificence and the eternal, universal message of holy Jerusalem cari be restored and assured.

The next speaker is the representative of Israel, on whom 1 now cal]. 42. MI-. BLUM (Israel): A tragedy occurred in Jerusalem last Sunday. A man who may well be mentally deranged committed an act of lunacy. The crime was promptly and vigorously condemned by the Government of Israel, by the two Chief Rabbis of our country and by the Mayor of Jerusalem. The people of Israel and the Jewish people around the world share the sense of revulsion at this despicable act. The perpetrator has been apprehended and Will have to account for his deeds before a court of law. 43. Today we have been summoned here at the whim of certain countries which seek to exploit in the most cynical manner the misdeeds of one particular individual, acting on his own, in order to fan the flames of religious hatred and incitement. There is a danger-nay, indeed, a certainty-that this debate is intended to be exploited with a view to playing upon religious sentiments of millions around the world. Let me appeal to the Council not to permit the voice of intolerance and prejudice to prevail here. What we are confronted with here is not merely intolerance and prejudice, but also bigotry, bigotry of the highest degree. 44. We did not hear about the sanctimonious Concern of Arab representatives when fil-e was opened by a Turkish fanatic against Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter’s Square on 13 May 1981; no Security COUnd meeting was then requested, and rightly SO. Nor were international peace and security deemed threatened when hundreds of Muslim zealots stormed into the holy shrine of Makkah in a premeditated and wellplanned attack on 20 November 1979. It took more than 49. The considerable efforts made by the Government of Israel, indeed by any Covernment, to protect Holy Places are unfortunately no guarantee against isolated acts of sacrilege by individuals suddenly running amok, as happened in the case before us. That regrettable incident in no way changes the policy basic to the Government and the people of Israel, to strive for tolerance and coexistence in an atmosphere of peace and reconciliation in Jerusalem, whose holiness is great to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Notwithstanding the repeated provocations here and elsewhere, Israel Will maintain this policy, SO unlike the one that reigned under Jordanian control in the city between 1948 and 1967. 45. The reason why we are being assembled here today is precisely to boost the incitement, the violence and the religious tensions being set into motion elsewhere. This is the method that Arab leaders have chosen to distract attention from their own problems -the dreary and cruel oppression of their own peoples, the wanton razing of their own ancient cities and mosques in Syria and in Lebanon and the attempts to blot out the rankling memory of the destruction by Jordan of Jewish synagogues and cemeteries in Serusalem. 46. The countries that are behind the hasty convening of the Council today are of course the very same countries that over the years have not only encouraged acts of terrorism against Israel, but also lent their support-military, financial, diplomatie and othet -to a terrorist organization bent on the destruction of rny country and on the deliberate and indiscriminate murder of men, women and children in Israel and eIsewhere. We have never heard from them a word of condemnation of PL0 banditry. What we have heard over the years has been their rejoicing at the wanton killings of Israelis and Jews by PL0 terrorists. These countries that bear such a heavy responsibility for the scourge of international terrorism in general, and for PL0 terrorism in particular, have the audacity to pose here today as the champions of law and order in international relations. No doubt we shall hear soon from the representative of Syria, who only a couple of weeks ago treated the Council to the startling concept of sacrifïcing 40 million Arabs in order to achieve the noble goal of destroying a Member State of the United Nations. We shall also be subjected in all likelihood to the customary high-sounding sanctimonious nonsense of Mr. Maksoud. And we have already been subjected to the display of supreme arrogance, hypocrisy and mendacity by the representative of the Kingdom of Jordan, which is the Palestinian Arab State and which over the period of 19 years of Jordanian control of Jerusalem’s Holy Places established for itself a dismal record of sacrilege and desecration. When one listens to Mr. Nuseibeh, one frequently has to ask oneself whether- Mr. Nuseibeh himself has become persuaded by his flights of fantasy and outright lies.

The next speaker is the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

Once again the Council has been convened to consider a threat to peace and security in our region and in the world at large from the crimes committed by the Zionist Israeli forces of occupation. Although we, the Palestinian people, and the Arab nations have already been the victims of the most despicable crimes and atrocities-and those crimes are nothing new to us, given the racist ideology of the Zionists-the sacrilegious crime committed this past Sunday is of paramount significance. The crime itself was committed on the Christian holy day of Easter Sunday and the target was one of the holiest houses of God, the Haram al-Sharif, the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque. 52. 1 am sure that all the representatives around this table and in this chamber have read the papers or seen television footage giving some of the details of what happened on that Christian holy day in that Muslim holy shrine. And 1 feel compelled to share with them some further information about that crime which the media here were not able or disposed to divulge. 53. At 9.20 a.m. on Sunday, II April, a group of Israeli soldiers passed through two check-points manned by the Israeli army. They entered the area of the Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif. One of the soldiers was later identified as Alan Harry Goodman. This Israeli soldier, brandishing an American-made M-16 assault rifle, took aim at a 65year-old man, Haj Saleh Yaman, sitting on a bench at the entrante to the mosque and shot and killed him in cold blood. Then he shot Yihad Badr, a 22-year-old youth. 47. While the shrill voices of incitement are again filling the air, let me assure the Council that Israel fol its part Will continue to work for the peace and wellbeing of its capital, Jerusalem, and its people, as well as for the preservation of the special place which Jerusalem holds in the hearts of people of diverse faiths around the globe. 55. Immediately after he finished his “mission”, other Israeli soldiers in the area moved in to rescue him. Meanwhile, worshippers in the area and inside the holy place-confused and shocked by the criminal act and the brutal murders-started shouting and protesting. The Israeli soldiers responded with their firearms and tear gas to caver the withdrawal of the “command unit” headed by Alan Goodman. 56. Palestinians-Muslims and Christians alike-in the Holy City of Jerusalem and other cities, villages and towns on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, outraged by the heinous crime, took to the streets to express their anger and to resist the occupation and to tel1 the whole world that we, as a Palestinian nation, shah live. 57. The Israeli leadership immediately ordered the so-called anti-terrorist squad into the area-this was done with expediency and with total disregard of and disrespect for the emotions and feelings of the people and the sanctity of the Holy Places, Israeli soldiers responded with their usual neo-Nazi methods of repression. They shot into the unarmed civilian crowd. On the first day alone, over 100 people were injured. 58. Protests and demonstrations continued throughout yesterday and today in every single village, town and refugee camp throughout the whole of Palestine, in an expression of the anger of the people at the Israeli crime. Palestinians armed only with their faith, their determination and their bare breasts-men, women and children-faced the Israeli Zionist soldiers, soldiers equipped with the most sophisticated instruments of oppression that Western technology has been able to produce. Those soldiers, today alone, shot over 27 Palestinians. Fourteen of those are less than 12 years of age. One 7-year-old Child was shot several times in the head in the Jabaliya refugee camp, assassinated by the supermen of Menachem Begin. 59. That criminal act cannot be seen, nor should it be seen, as an isolated incident, because it is consistent with Zionist Israeli methods and practices in Palestine. And 1 think that it is relevant for us to recall here that on 9 April 1948, about this same time of the year, yet 34 years ago, another man-then also described by his peers as a madman-went into a Palestinian village, the village of Deir Yassin, and massacred over 254 villagers in cofd blood. That so-called madman in 1948 is now, in 1982, thc Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin. Therefore, it should not be surprising to us if at some point Mr. Alan Goodman is rewarded by the Zionists and assumes the office of “The gunman is from the fringe, but it is a fringe sustained politically and psychologically by a far larger and more central body of Israeli opinion. Prime Minister Begin couldn’t resist twisting the knife when he deplored ‘this terrible sacrilege’ at a place holy, as he felt it necessary to say, ‘to Judaism, Christianity and Islam-in that historical order’.” 61. Our people in the occupied Palestinian territory have been victims of Zionist Israeli terror for the past three decades. Only five days ago a Palestinian peasant woman was murdered by Israeli soldiers while she was in the simple act of toiling on her land. Simply working in her field, she was unarmed and unprotected; yet she was openly and brutally murdered. 62. Palestinian youths are abducted and tortured -some to death-by Israeli soldiers and Zionist settlers. Vigilantism is rampant and is practised wantonly by the Zionist settlers against the Palestinians. Crops are destroyed. Homes are fired upon. Cars and property are vandalized by those Zionist Sett]ers, who roam freely and at Will. Zionist vigilantes, armed and under the protection of the Zionist Israeli soldiers, are spreading like a plague through Palestinian villages and towns, intimidating, beating and terrorizing the unarmed civilian population with the purpose of forcing the Palestinians out of their homeland SO that more Zionist Jews cari be brought in from other parts of the world-like Mr. Goodman, who came frcm Baltimore in the United States of America. 63. 1 think it worth mentioning here that over 60 Per cent of the so-called settlers are exported to us from the United States. And the other 40 percent are main1Y from Western Europe. In this sense, the United States not only exports weapons to the Zionist Israeli régirn% but also exports Zionist settlers to use those weapons. 64. 1s it not about time for the United States to start reconsidering its policy and to take some action against those Americans with dual citizenship-those who carry an American passport and practise a PurelY racist ideology abroad, while, at least legally, racism 71. Most of us cari neither give any excuse for such blatant racism or find a response to such stated “logic”. 1 would, however, repeat the response of the dismissed Mayor of Nablus, Bassam Shaka’a, who lost both his legs two years ago in an Israeli assassination attempt. Just the other day he was barred from his office by a soldier who reportedly taunted himfor being “only half a man”. Mr. Shaka’a replied. *‘I may have lost my legs, but you bave lost your mind.” 65. 1 stated earlier that what took place in Jerusalem and what has now been taking place for many years is the logical outcome of a system of government, education and information that propagates the inferiority of the Christians and Muslims in Palestine and the superiority of the Jews. 72. Indeed, the Zionists have instituted a policy of driving the Palestinians from their homeland through terrorism, oppression and suppression. Their plan is deliberate. Since the occupation began, more than 20 percent of the total population of the territories has been detained. More than 250,000 Palestinians of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have visited either the interrogation centre or Israeli gaols. More than a third of the land of the West Bank has been illegally seized and expropriated under numerous pretexts. Farmers who have worked and earned their living from the land have been deprived of their only means of livelihood. Some who have managed to retain their land have had their water stolen or diverted, their crops left to die and their income ruined. The Zionist military occupation has extended its military authority to the realms of academia, rendering the proper education of our youth, and even an educational environment, almost impossible. And, in contravention of the laws and norms upheld by the international community, the Israeli occupying Power has expelled outright some of the population of the occupied Palestinian territory. In the fïrst 10 years of occupation alone, the Israelis deported more than 1,560 leaders of the Palestinian community. Only two years ago the Council witnessed the expulsion of the Mayors of Hafhoul and Al-Khalil. Last year two mayors were severely crippled in an assassination attempt. And just last month three mayors were removed from the posts to which they had been elected. Two of them were the very same mayors who had survived assassination attempts against them. 66. Only recently, a noted columnist of Thc NCIV York Tirnw, Anthony Lewis, brought out the message and meaning behind the headlines and news of Israeli Zionists in his column “Destroying the Dream”, published in The New York Times of 1 April, where he wrote: “Israel is trying, by force, to bring a million Palestinians under its permanent control.” The implications of this, as he notes, are alarming: “There could not be a surer recipe for division, hatred, insecurity.” 67. Zionism abolishes equality among all men, and by SO doing worsens the moral injustices that one man cari commit against another man in open brutality. This ideology of inequality cornes to life and practice in the actions and orders of the Israeli soldiers. 68. In the incident of Sunday, a soldier laughed as he threw a tear-gas grenade near the Mosque. Smoke filled the Mosque, and worshippers came out coughing and wiping their eyes. One elderly woman was taken away in an ambulance. A few of the troops walked away Iaughing. This perverted display of “empathy” is backed by clear orders. 69. It was Uri Avneri, a member of the Knesset, who submitted a letter to the Knesset in which he quoted an Israeli soldier on the orders that soldiers receive from their commanders. 1 shall now quote from Uri Avneri’s letter: 73. The Zionist Israelis have claimed that they are at war with the PL0 in the occupied Palestinian territory. Yes, we are at war with the Israelis. It is a war that we Will win, because we represent the national aspirations of our Palestinian people. We represent the Will of our Palestinian people, and we represent not only this generation of Palestinians but even the unborn generations of Palestinians. “Anyone you catch outside, your fïrst beat with the clubs all over his body except the head. Have no mercy. Break all his bones. Give no explanations. First of all, beat. Do not treat this beating as a privilege: Et is a duty. They understand no other way.” These are orders from the military Government to Israeli army conscripts on the West Bank as quoted by the aforementioned Uri Avneri. 74. 1 am sure that all those who are ready and willing to understand Will comprehend the significance of this. It arises from an integral and inextricable composite: the PL0 and the Palestinian people. 70. In an article in the Israeli newspaper Htr’~i~~tz,, Professor Amos Elon recounts his conversation with two soldiers: “Said one soldier, ‘Pity we did not finish them off in 1948.’ The other said, ‘Beasts. It is not too 75. There is no doubt that our region of the world is living a tragedy. Our tragedy originates with the 76. That infamous movement, which was transplanted into the heart of our homeland and formed what is known to members here as the State of lsrael, is the source of the tragic situation that we Palestinians and Jews alike are suffering from at the present time. 77. More than 60 per cent of those who deprive us, the Palestinian people, of being in Palestine were not born in Palestine, including Menachem Begin and his representative Yehuda Blum, while more than 60 pel cent of those of us who are not now living in Palestine were born in Palestine. 78. Resistance to the illegal occupation of our homeland, Palestine, and to the continued denial of ou1 people’s inalienable rights by the Zionist junta is the legal and moral obligation of all the Palestinian people. The world stood with the French and other Europeans in their fïght against Nazi occupation in the Second World War. The Zionist occupiers are for us, 1 assure you, no different from the Nazi occupiers of Europe. 79. I should like to remind representatives that it is enshrined in all human values that violence used by a victim in self-defence cannot be equated with violence used by the victimizer. In fact, it should be recalled here that responsible Governments list in their telephone directories instructions to their people on how to resist foreign occupation in the event that it occurs. 1 recommend that representatives verify that by looking at telephone directories-in Sweden, for example-in which Governments outline for their populations the procedures for fighting occupation, including sabotage against the forces of occupation, Therefore, SO long as we are denied our fundamental, inalienable rights to self-determination and national independence and to live in freedom and dignity in our homes, we have no option but ta continue our struggle and we shall not spare any effort to achieve a peaceful settlement of this conflict, which has plagued us and our part of the world for SO long, 80. A peaceful settlement based on the recognition of our national inalienable right to self-determination, independence and the solution of our refugee problem, all within the rightful context of international legality, is our objective. Schemes that do not meet those conditions cannot be imposed upon us. And the experience of the last four years should be a lesson to a11 those who attempt ta change the course of history from its forward progression to a digressive, unnatural venture back to the errons of the cold war hegemony. 82. As long as the United States and lsrael continue their defiance of the Will of the international community and international legality, further disasters cari and are to be expected. lsrael cannot continue to behave like the little boy who kills both his parents and then goes to the judge and begs for mercy because he is an orphan. 83. Our struggle does not need any legitimization; nor Will we be intimidated. We warn those who do not understand, or are ignorant of, our history to study it. We have outlasted a11 the invaders throughout our history: they have left; we remain.

1 have no intention of discussing the merits of whatever issue may in due course be brought before us. But in view of the astonishing characterization by the representative of Jordan of the statement issued by the United States Department of State on Easter Sunday and, further, in view of the astonishing inferences that he chose to draw from that statement, 1 believe that for purposes of the record it is essential that 1 read out the actual statement to the Council. lt was issued on the afternoon of 11 April by the Acting Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary Walter Stoessel, and reads as follows: “We deeply deplore and condemn the senseless violence at the site of one of Islam’s most sacred mosques and extend our condolences for ail those who have suffered physically and spiritually from this outrage. According to the information available to us, this was the work of a deranged individua who has now been taken into custody. We cal1 UPon ail Governments and peoples throughout the Middle East to refrain from any acts of violence which could cause further loss of life and increase tensions in the area.” 85. The PRESIDENT (interpwtation fr-om Fratd~l: The next speaker is the representative of Iraq. I invite him ta take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

On behalf of my delegation and in my capacity as current Chairman of the Organization of the lslamic Conference, 1 should like to thank you, Mr. President, and the members of the 92. Moreover, a11 Islamic nations have declared their solidarity with the Arab Muslims and expressed their outrage at this criminal act. His Majesty King Khalid has declared 14 April a solemn day of protest throughout the Islamic world in solidarity with the Palestinian people. 87. The nations of the Muslim world find it impossible to believe that the terrible crime, which is the subject of this meeting, against peaceful worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque could have been perpetrated without the complicity of the racist Zionist authorities. Otherwise, how cari one explain the fact that an Israeli soldier, carrying a rifle, could pass unnoticed through two Israeli check-points, then enter the Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, one of the most sacred shrines of Islam, and spray the worshippers inside without anyone trying to stop him? 93. My country expresses its deepest concern and indignation at Israel’s defïance of the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. We believe that the time has corne when condemnation and censure alone Will no longer be enough to induce Israel to desist from its present acts of aggression and its continued criminal acts. Strict imposition of the sanctions provided for under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, including interruption of economic and military relations with Israel, is imperative to impress upon Israel the necessity to bring an end to its occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, including the Holy City of Al-Quds. 88. Furthermore, 1 should like to quote the following which appeared in The NPIIJ York Tims of 12 April about this criminal act: “one of [the soldiers], with a laugh, threw a tear gas grenade near the mosque, upwind of the main door. Smoke from the perfectly placed cannister blew into the mosque, and worshippers came out coughing and wiping their eyes. One elderly man was carried to an ambulance. A few of the troops walked away laughing.” 94. Finally, firm and decisive action by the Council would reinforce the faith of the international community in the effectiveness and ability of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security. 1 need not add to this graphie description of the actions of Israel and its soldiers which refutes their claim of protecting and respecting the Holy Places and the Holy City.

1 cal1 on the representative of Jordan, who has asked to speak in exercise of his right of reply. 89. The Council has met a number of times during this year to consider the continuing grave situation in occupied Palestine, the Zionist policy of creeping annexation and the liquidation of the Palestinian people. The criminal attack by an Israeli soldier-who is aIso a Citizen of the United States-against the holy sanctuary, the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque, is a manifestation of the racist, colonialist mentality of the rulers in Tel Aviv. It is sad to see that all those policies and practices are encouraged and protected by the United States, a permanent member of this respected body, through its vetoes and its military and economic support of the Zionist entity.

1 must say that 1 was quite astonished to hear the representative of the United States describe as “astonishing” what 1 had said in regard to the statement of the spokesman of the State Department. Indeed, 1 find no contradiction between what 1 have just said and what he has read out to us-namely, the text of the statement. 97. 1 was right in saying that the spokesman for the State Department, on the spur of the moment and before investigations had been carried out, volunteered the judgement that the man who committed this abominable act was a “lone, deranged individual”. 1 acknowledged in my statement that the State Department spokesman had deplored the act, while describing the perpetrator as a “lone, deranged individual”. But how could he have known? , 90. The criminal, barbarie action of the Israeli forces against the Muslims in AI-Quds has once again thrown out a challenge to the entire Islamic world and has provoked widespread protest in the Muslim community everywhere. We consider that the act is only a logical outcome of a policy that is intended to insult and violate the religious beliefs and institutions of the Palestinian people and the Islamic nation as a whole. 98. 1 am surprised also, as 1 said in my main statement, that the State Department, with the magnitude of its information, was not aware of the background of the crime which had been committed at the Holy Sanctuary. In fact, 1 reminded the Council of the statement 1 had made on I April, in which 1 quoted Verbatim the threats and warnings that had been addressed to the leaders of the Islamic community, that the Al-Aqsa 91. The resistance of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories reflects their determined rejection of the Fascist military occupation. The news dispatches of yesterday and today report that the II 99. Evidence which 1 read out today proves that the perpetrator was part of a gang which gave him full tire caver and made sure that he would be whisked away to safety. 1 cannot see what is astonishing about my statement and in what ways it contradicts the statement which the representative of the United States has just read out to us. 1 stated that while deploring this act the State Department spokesman had ventured the judgement that it was the act of a “lone, deranged 100. It is therefore astonishing to me that what I staled seemed SO astonishing to the representative of the United States. NOTE ’ United Nations, T~ory Seri~.~, vol. 7.5, No. 973, p. 287. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS Unitcd 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 Gcneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et Ics agences depositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous auprès de votre libraire ou adressez-vous (i : Nations Unies, Section des ventes. New York ou Genéve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas estan en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirijase a: Naciones Unidas, SecciOn de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00300 X&f&lR+-Junc I XQ-X’~O