S/PV.2413 Security Council

I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of Algeria, Cuba, the German Democratic Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in which they request to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I 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. The meeting was called to order at 4.05 p.m. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Sahnow (Algeria), Mr Ron KOIIH (Cuba), Mr. Ott (German Democratic Republic), Mr. Rajaie-Khorussani (Islamic Republic of Iran), Mr. Ablrlhassun (Kuwait), Mr. Labaki (Lebanon), Mr. Kirqa (Turkey) and Mr. Al-Amri (Urzited Asab Emirates) took the places reser~vd fos them at the side of the Council chamber. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 5 November 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/15481); Letter dated 9 November 3982 from the Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/15483); Letter dated 8 February 1983 from the charge d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/15599) 3. Mr, SINCLAIR (Guyana): Sir, I congratulate you most warmly on your accession to the presidency for the month of February. My satisfaction at seeing you presiding over this body now is all the keener wlien 1 consider that you are the worthy representative of a country with which Guyana enjoys relations of solid friendship and fraternal co-operation, one with which my country shares a firm commitment to the goal of iasting peace and the strengthening of security among nations. 1 need not express my confidence that under your guidance the work of the Council will be efficiently managed. 1 am certain that this is the unanimous feeling and expectation around this table. I, The PRESIDENT (interpretatiorl J+orn Russian): In accordance with decisions taken at previous 5, It is most appropriate that the Council, at the request of Jordan on behalf of the Group of Arab States, should have resumed consideration of Israel’s persistent policy of establishing settlements in the occupied West Bank and the escalating violation of the human rights of the populations of those territories. 6, It is an instructive coincidence that this series of meetings was resumed only a few days after the publication of the report of a special commission set up to investigate the massacre of Palestinians in Beirut last September. In that report we see responsibility attributed to high-ranking Israeli civilian and military leaders, especially Ariel Sharon, for the massacre of those unfortunate Palestinians. That report merely serves as additional confirmation of the genocidal attitude of the Israeli leadership towards the Palestinians. It is that same attitude of callous indifference pn the part of those leaders to the life and well-being of the Palestinians-an attitude that the report makes so clear-which lies at the root of the brutality and the repression about which the representative of Jordan, on behalf of the Group of Arab States, has complained to the Council. 7. It is with much anguish that my delegation has been reading, during the past weeks, reports of consistent complaints against Israel for arrests of students and faculty members, closures and blockades of institutions of learning, the fencing in of Palestinians like animals in a corral, the closure of health clinics, the demolition of homes, the confiscation of private lands and the establishment of yet more settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank. 8. MY delegation strongly condemns these actions, which 11~ in the face of every norm of peaceful, friendly relations among States and peoples and blatantly defy the Charter of the United Nations and the decisions of the Organization, which have on numerous occasions condemned Israel’s aggressive, expansionist pOkieS and reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to their own independent homeland. g. The Policy of the Zionists towards the occupied territories is clearly one of creeping co]onization combined with violent suppression of the rights of t& 10. Attempting to liquidate the Palestinians or to erase the Palestinian national identity will not bring peace. In Guyana’s view, the manifest basis of any lasting solution to the Middle East question remains a clear recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and to establish their own independent sovereign home. Peace and security in the Middle East demand that Israel come to terms with the Palestinian people. Il. Guyana recognizes the right of all States in the region to Iive in peace and security. But Israel’s peace and security and its neighbours’ peace and security are two sides of the same coin. The first requirement, therefore, for any such rCgime of peace and security is that Israel cease forthwith its policy of territorial expansion and annexation. Israel must withdraw completely from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. 12. The enemy of peace in the Middle East, the State which is most vocal in its professions of a longing for peace with its neighbours yet which systematically pursues towards them policies which themselves lead to greater tension and instability, is Israel. It is not without significance that Israel’s acts of aggression against the populations of the occupied West Bank and its expansion of settlements there coincide with the displacement and murder of Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon, with the intensification of Israeli occupation of that country, with its refusal to withdraw its troops as called for in Council resolutions 508 (1982) and 509 (1982), and with the increased repression in the Golan Heights. Do we need any further evidence of where the obstacle to peace in the Middle East lies? Is there no end to the permissiveness being shown towards Israel? 13. The arrant defiance being displayed by Israel is made possible only through the assured support, both political and material, which the Israelis receive from their powerful friends. Like the racist rigime in Pretoria, Israel, secure in the protective embrace of its principal supporter, is buttressed and encouraged in its repeated flouting of decisions of the United Nations and in its continuing aggression against the inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories and against neighbouring Arab States, all of which only serves to make more difficult the goal of a secure and lasting peace, 14. In this regard, the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Organization comes immediately to mind. Members of the Council will recall that in that 15. Guyana believes, and we have so stated on numerous occasions, that it is high time that the Council was allowed to rise out of the paralysis imposed upon it and become responsive to the demands of crisis situations, such as that in the Middle East, which threaten a confrontation extending well beyond the confines of the region. It is time that the Council ceased being a mere spectator and was allowed to become meaningful and relevant to those people, such as the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, who look to us to guarantee their safety against the forces of foreign occupation. The recent actions by lsrael in the occupied West Bank and the annexationist threats hanging over those territories have made more urgent the need for effective action in accordance with the provisions of the Charter to compel Israel to abide by the decisions of the Council. 20. Israel has ridden roughshod over all of the resolutions of the United Nations and especially over Council resolution 465 (1980), which calls upon it to stop establishing settlements, Instead, Israel has expended tremendous efforts at various levels to legitimize its occupation of the Arab territories. It has pursued that policy by creating llew fuits nccomplis, both within the occupied territories and in the framework of its relations with its Arab neighbours. In so doing, it has intensified its settlement activities in the occupied Arab territories; it has attempted to fragment the Palestinian Arab people and monopolize military superiority; and it has maintained the drastic imbalance of power vis-d-vis the Arab States. 21. Israel has violated the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949,’ especially paragraph 6 of article 49 of that convention. That provision would prohibit the introduction of any alterations in the demographic nature of the occupied Arab territories in any circumstances. It would prohibit the occupier from undertaking any settlement activities in the territories it occupies.

At the outset, Sir, I should like to extend to you sincere congratulations and deep appreciation on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. Your presence in the Chair is a source of pleasure and satisfaction to us; your well-known diplomatic skill and expertise will enable the Council to achieve the most effective results. It is gratifying for me to refer to the friendly relations which link our two countries, and especially for me to recall your country’s firm support for Arab rights in the face of aggression and domination. 22. Moreover, Israel has striven by every means and by employing the most drastic methods of violence and terror to destroy the moral and material existence of the Palestinian Arab people. Its recent invasion of Lebanon and the acts of violence by its military forces against defenceless civilians in the refugee camps in Lebanon proved beyond a doubt Israel’s deliberate intent and persistent endeavour not to recognize the rights of the Palestinian Arab people. 17. I should like to extend deep thanks and appreciation also to your predecessor, Mr. Amega, of Togo. The skill and effectiveness with which he guided the work of the Council last month won him the admiration of all. His diplomatic expertise and experience played a vital role in the achievement of tangible progress and in crystallizing substantive principles for the work of the Council in particular and for the work of the United Nations in general, as regards the effective maintenance of international peace and security. On behalf of the Jordanian delegation and on my own behalf, I extend sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Amega. 23. That policy, which is based in essence on an attempt to make the entire region prey to the aggressionist and expansionist nature of Israel, has led to the bloody wars that have broken out in the area and to the intense terror and tension that prevail today in the Middle East. That tension jeopardizes not only the security and safety of the region, but also international peace and security. 24. Adding to the gravity of the situation is the fact that Israel, within the framework of justifying the policy it is pursuing, has at times fabricated Talmudic historical pretexts and at other times false security reasons based on its claim of its absolute right to assimilate the occupied Arab territories and to direct military blows at will against the Arab nation. The first fruits of that policy are the inflated security interests claimed by Israel, which include an area extending 18. Despite the fact that 15 years have elapsed since the beginning of the abominable Israeli occupation of the Arab territories, despite the proliferation of forms of aggression, of the many methods of achieving hegemony, of the variety of the means of oppression, and of the arbitrary acts committed by Israel against the Palestinian Arab people and against the Arab nation, the essential question remains: “When will Israel end its occupation of these Arab territories?” 25. Linked to this theory of Israeli security is the pursuit of an Israeli foreign policy with regard to the Palestinian Arab people in particular and the Arab nation as a whole that is based solely on the principle of power and devoid of any moral or human foundation. It is a policy whose only pillars are destruction, domination and hegemony, instead of coexistence and understanding, It is a policy based on fanaticism and terrorism rather than on moderation and the peaceful settlement of disputes. 26. Israel has striven to achieve one of the basic aims of that policy, namely, to portray any concession or recognition of the rights of the Arabs and the Palestinians as a threat to its existence. Under the pretext of that claim, it has sought to justify its absolute intransigence with regard to the legitimate demands of the Palestinian Arab people, to resist any international pressure aimed at prevailing upon it to recognize those rights. and to justify its concept of security based on aggression and expansion. Within this framework, Israel has sought to uphold the premise that the State may place the requirements of its own survival above the interests of the international system in order to justify a raw drive for power by Tel Aviv and the achievement of regional gains. In a nutshell, Israel has sought to portray unjustly the Arabs as working for its destruction, in order to justify its own plans for their destruction. In that light we can understand the Israeli Claim that it is pursuing a policy of self-defence while engaged in acts of domination over its neighbours and waging wars against them, as well as its use of the pretext of security in consecrating its settlement Policy. The Israeli propaganda machine has fabricated the Palestinian and Arab threat to its security and has exaggerated that fabrication in an attempt to justify Israel’s pEiCtiCeS in assimilating the West Bank, Gaza and all the other occupied Arab territories and its acts Of aggreSSiOn against the Arabs and against the Palestinian people, 27. That pre-ordained policy has resulted in the stagnation and fanalicism that is being inflicted On the Middle East region and that has become a stumblillgblock in the path of every attempt and sincere effort to

Sir, on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Malta, I should like to associate myself with previous speakers and offer our sincere and warmest congratulations on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of February. The high post which you now occupy is an honour not only for you personally but also for the great country you represent. 29. My country looks upon your presidency as another inspiring link in the development of the relations of friendship and co-operation which our two countries greatly cherish and which culminated in the agreement on the neutrality of Malta, signed between our two countries in 1981. We assure you of our continued co-operation and support in your endeavours. 30. I also take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Amega, of Togo, for the wise and excellent leadership he manifested during the deliberations of the Council last month. 31. Mr. President, you and the other members of the Council may perhaps recall that my delegation had the honour on a previous occasion, some seven years ago, to address the Council on the question now before us. Our delegation spoke then in its capacity as Rapporteur of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. On that occasion, we explained the legal and political foundations on which the Committee’s recommendations were solidly based and asked that the Council use them as a basis for progress. 32. Since then, as we are unfortunately only too well aware, Palestine has burned while the Council has fiddled. 1 doubt that any other region in the world is better equipped than Palestine is for the proverbial ploughshare; but the area has instead received in recent decades the modern version of the sword -napalm and cluster bombs. If we in the Council continue inactive, last year’s most recent horrors may unfortunately be repeated. 33. We should not be facing this prospect. In our statement to the General Assembly on 30 November 1982, we quoted official records of the voting pattern on the question of Palestine over the past seven years, from which it clearly emerged that the community of nations earnestly wishes to respond to the just and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to selfdetermination; that has so far been denied them. That is the single and essential element we are called upon to remedy. The Committee could not agree more. 40. The Committee itself, as long ago as 1976, expressed the view that the Council 35. Too many dreary statistics can be quoted of Israel’s violation of its responsibilities under the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949,’ of Israel’s defiance of numerous Security Council resolutions and of Israel’s unrepentant attitude with regard to the rights of the Palestinian people. The statistics make for sorry reading, for they are the seeds of future strife and conflict. Israel’s repressive measures range from land confiscation to transfer of population, to use of force, to different laws applied to people of different racial origin and to illegal occupation of territory. These have been described by Natan Donvitz, a writer on moral problems and human suffering in Israel, very succinctly but with uncompromising frankness as a policy “to expel all the Arabs of the occupied territories and to kill those who resist”. It also stated that: 36. If is, of course, highly commendable that these policies can be criticized openly. But the fact of criticism does not justify the original acts of inhuman repression and the insidious policy, behind them. 41. Those recommendations have remained unchanged, their value uncliminished by the passage of time. In the mean time, the Committee has not ceased its indefatigable pursuit of a just solution. On the Committee’s suggestion, the United Nations is engaged in much preparatory work on this question. Between now and August, practically every week will see some United Nations activity in preparation for the forthcoming International Conference on the Question of Palestine. The ob.iectives of the Conference have been overwhelmingly endorsed by the Assembly; and so have the Committee’s recommendations for seven consecutive years, faithfully based, as they were and still are, on the previous decisions of the Organization. 37. If Israel continues to refuse to heed the calls for restraint or to see the soundness of reason, then the residual responsibilities of the Council must be utilized in the overall interests of peace, Israel can no longer be allowed to hold to ransom the peace and economic well-being of its region and, indeed, of the entire world. The carnage of Beirut should never have taken place; most certainly, it should not be allowed to be repeated either in Beirut or elsewhere. 38. Even as Beirut burned, amid the stench of death, the seed of hope was never completely extinguished. It is in the interests of all that it should be nourished to healthy growth. But action cannot be postponed indefinitely. 42. The Conference provides a unique opportunity lo take into account the events of the past decades and to devise a permanent and equitable solution with universal backing which corresponds to modern realities and which the Council would then, acting in concert, oversee and implement, That is the hope of the Committee. That is the wish of the Assembly. That is a resolute expression of the yearning for peace-at long last-in the Middle East. 39. The Council has a paramount role to play in any attempt to lay the foundations of peace. As the Committee on the Exercise of the Inahenable Rights of the Palestinian People observed in its 1977 report and as the Secretary-General noted in his report to the Assembly last year: 43. The position of my country as regards this issue is well reflected in the following statement contained in the address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta to the General Assembly last October: “the Security Council [is] the only place in the world where all of the parties concerned can sit at the same table”.? The Secretary-General also stated in his report: “Let us consider what is perhaps our most formidable international problem-the Middle East. “might be more actively utilized for constructive moves towards a settlement”.J “Against the background of the reported difficulties in the search for a peaceful solution to the Middle East question, the members of the Committee, within their more limited terms of reference, considered that the recommendations which follow would, in their implementation, constitute a contribution within the framework of the United Nations and would complement efforts towards the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region. ’ ‘4 “For the Palestinian people the road to dignity and freedom is proving particularly tragic, as the recent events in Lebanon have shown, These events “The threat to the peace and stability of the Middle East and the Mediterranean which arises out of the Palestinian and Lebanese tragedies constitutes a direct threat to peace and stability even outside the region. European nations should play a major role to help bring about a solution which both respects the inalienable rights of the Palestinians and at the same time safeguards other legitimate interests in the region. Malta is proud of the role it has played in supporting the Palestinian cause and pledges to continue steadfastly in this course.“’ 44, It is therefore essential that all members of the Council should join ranks in this common endeavour. At this stage, surely we can all see that Israel’s settlement policy and present repression in the occupied territories represent a clear obstacle to the prospects for peace. If we do, then we should say so, singly and collectively, and ask Israel to desist from its present unacceptable policies; instead, Israel should be encouraged, persuaded and convinced to join the rest of the world in a resolute search for justice for the dispossessed Palestinian people, within a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

First of al], Sir, I should like to offer you our congratulations on your assUmPtiOn Of the presidency for the month of February. We greatly respect your wide experience and knowledge of international affairs, which will be a great asset in guiding the important work of the Council this month. 46. I also wish to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Amega, of Togo, who steered the work of the Council with great dedication, distinction and success. 47. The Council is meeting once again to consider the grave situation in the occupied territories, in particular the lsraeli policy of establishing illegal settlements in its relentless pursuit of expansion and consolidation of its occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands, The situation inside the occupied territories, which continues to deteriorate, must not suffer neglect on account of the broader issues resulting from the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, its continuing aggression in the area and its defiance of all efforts aimed at achieving peace. 4X. At the [2412th Council’s meeting last Friday ,rreefing], the Observer of the PLO, Mr Terzi provided us with details of the latest acts of Israeli 49. In the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, Israeli policies and practices have the single objective of the annexation of those territories in order to build a Greater Israel. Those policies and practices take the form of repression and harassment of the Arab and Palestinian population, forcing them into exile; alteration of the historical and cultural complexion of the occupied territories; usurpation of land and resources; implantation of Jewish settlements to change the demographic character of the territories; and, finally, steps towards their juridical annexation. The relentless process of the setting up of new settlements is the primary instrument for the achievement of this final goal. 50. The authoritative report of the Security Council Commission established under resolution 446 (1979) determined that by 1980 about 33 per cent of the occupied West Bank had been confiscated by the Israeli authorities [S/14268, para. 1701. It is now estimated that 55 to 60 per cent of the area in the West Bank has been usurped by the occupying Power and more than 139 settlements have been created on that land. Israeli leaders also make no secret of their designs to settle nearly 400,000 immigrant Jews in the West Bank within the next five years and 1.4 million over the next 30 years. 51. The meaning of this massive colonization of the occupied territories becomes clear from the description of the occupied territories as Judea and Samaria, in a totally impermissible attempt to integrate the territories with Israel. 52. It is nniversally recognized that the Israeli policy of settlements has the gravest juridical and political consequences. 53. Juridically, these settlements constitute flagrant violation of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949’ and open defiance of Council resolutions, particularly resolution 465 (1980), which determined in categorical terms that: “all measures taken by Israel to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional 54. Politically, the Israeli pursuit of systematic annexation of the occupied territories strikes at the very basis of international efforts for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including those undertaken by the United Nations. It is designed to create fbits accomplis which would close all avenues towards peace. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon is the sine qua non for the success of any peace initiative. However, it is unimaginable that any progress towards peace in the Middle East will be possible unless Israel halts all settlement in the West Bank. The realization of the hopes for peace offered by the Fez plan [S/15510, RnnCX, sect. 11 depend entirely on whether Israel responds by desisting from further usurpation of Arab lands. The United States Administration, which has put forward its own peace proposals,” has also acknowledged that calling a halt to the setting up of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories is the indispensable condition for the continuation of the peace efforts. 58. Almost two generations of Palestinians have been subjected to violence and terror or to the rigours of exile. Their tragedy is epitomized in the massacre of thousands of innocent men, women and children in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The courage and restraint shown by the Palestinians and their leadership in the face of unbridled repression have won universal acclaim. Their pain is deepty felt throughout the world; yet nothing has been done for the restitution of their national rights and the restoration of their homeland. 59. The Coulicil has a historic obligation to fulfil towards the Palestinian people: to close their tragic chapter of suffering and travail. Failure to do so will result in the complete erosion of international confidence in its role as the primary instrument for the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of a world order based on justice and the principles of the Charter. 55. In contemptuous disregard of this prerequisite for peace, the Government of Israel has approved the establishment of more new settlements in the occupied West Bank. In the face of this open defiance of its decisions, the Council cannot escape its responsibility to act firmly and decisively under the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. Within the Council and outside it, those Powers which bear special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, particularly the United States, need to take credible steps to force Israel to rescind its recent decision to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Only in this way can the expectation of peace aroused by the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, held at Fez in November 1981 and September 1982, and other peace initiatives be sustained and the opportunity for a just and honourable solution of the Middle East conflict be seized.

At the very outset I should like whole-heartedly to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency for the month of February. We are happy to see in the President’s seat the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a brother, socialist country with which Poland has relations of friendship, alliance and cooperation. Your extensive diplomatic experience and abilities are well known; they have been demonstrated many times in the Security Council and in other United Nations ‘forums in the course of often difficult and most demanding negotiations. We know that you will guide our proceedings towards the successful discharge of the duties before us, and we wish you every success in your important and difficult work. 61. 1 should like also to express our appreciation of the contribution made by the outgoing President, Mr. Amega, of Togo, who, with wisdom, remarkable skill and dedication, led our work during the month of January. 56. Speaking of a lasting peace in the Middle East, we remain of the firm belief that a just and peaceful political settlement of the Middle East conflict cannot be achieved without the total withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon, as well as from all the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, and without full respect for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to establish their sovereign State in Palestine. 62. Barely half a year ago the Council, appalled at the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Beirut, met to condemn that criminal act [2396t11 meeting]. During the debate that preceded the adoption of the resolution calling for respect for the rights of the civilian population [resoiution 521 (1982)], all the speakers 63. Today we SlI’C JW.Xthg UgEliIi lo continue the discussion of the policy of creeping annexation of the occupied Arab territOrieS that iS being pursued by the Israeli authorities, CoIltIX’Y to international law and numerous Jx%dlltiO~S Of the council and other United Nations organs. 64. One need not argue that the expanded construetion of new Israeli settlcmcnts, the eXpr0pri:~tioJ-J of Arab property to carry OlJt those projects and the application of SUCK methods a~ demolition and sealing of habitations and commercial premises constitllte integral parts of thut policy. It is being conducted in defiance of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in flagrant violation of Security Council decisions and with total disregard for international law. 65. Also, there is no need to argue that these notorious activities are directed nt changing the status of the occupied Arab tcrrituries. Proof of Israeli expansionism is offered by its unilateral annexation of the eastern part of JC~XJS~CIII, a deliberate CoIonization effort leading to the gradual economic and administrative integration of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with Israel, the extension of the Israeli juridical and administrative system over the Golan Weights, and practices of a dubious character in the southern part of Lebanon. Evidence provided in some statements by high-ranking Israeli officials is further testimony to the expansionist policy of Israel. Those practices, accompanied by various l*orms of repression and terror, permit the harbouring OF no illusions a.s to the true intentions of the invaders. Last Friday, the Council heard the stntcmcnts in this respect made by the representatives of Syria and the PLO [24/2th mectingj. The cases presented illustrate shockingly that policy of the Israeli authorities. 66. Poland’s position concerning the Israeli policy of setticments on Arab lands in particular and the situation in the occupied Arab territories in general is well known. It has been prcscntcd on numerous occasions in the course ofdcbales in this chamber and in other forums as well. It was given, inlet* nlict, in our reply to the Secretary-Genc~~l’s note concerning General Assembly resolution ES-9/I of 5 February 1982. 67. We have always resolutely and consistently condemned the policy of Israeli ilggression and annexation in all its forms. WC have always strongIy opposed the Israeli policy of interference in the internal affairs Of Arab countries. For years now we have been pointing out that a settlement which would bring lasting peace and security to all the States and peoples of the region can be reached only through a comprehensive and just 68. For years now, we have been pointing out that the policy of the Israeli authorities, supported by their strategic ally, the United States, can lead only to a deepening of the crisis. It can only intensify threats of conflagration in that very sensitive area on a wider scale, bearing disastrous consequences which are difficult to foresee. 69. The continued Israeli aggression in the Middle East which is reflected, inter nlia, in the persistent occupation of parts of Lebanon by Israeli armed forces-not without the assistance of their proxy, the so-called de .fcrcto forces-should be seen in much broader than regional dimensions, for it constitutes a part of the confrontational course of the imperialist policy conducted from a position of strength and leading towards further destabilization in the world and an increase in international tensions. It is a policy that violates the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition and occupation of foreign territory by force, a policy of imposing upon others unjust, separatist solutions, under the alibi either of Camp David or of the more recent plan which, though rejected by Israel, is designed to promote United States interests in the region. And these have nothing in common with the interests of the peoples of the Middle East or with the interests of strengthening international peace and security. 70. Addressing the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly in the general debate, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Polish People’s Republic, Stefan Olszowski, said, inter nlia: “Peace in the Middle East cannot be a sum total of separatist endeavours and agreements but a collective and comprehensive settlement that respects the fundamental and just rights of all its parties, and in particular the right of the people of Palestine to establish its own State.“’ 71. The dust and the gun smoke of Israeli aggression have not yet settled in Lebanon. The Israeli forces are yet to be withdrawn. Peace is still awaited in the Middle East. The problem of the Middle East can be solved only on the basis of a comprehensive approach. Today, as the Council takes up the issue of the illegal construction and expansion of Israeli settlements on Arab territories, we should realize that this very important issue is part of the problem.

At the outset, Sir, I wish to congratulate you on behalf of the Chinese delegation on your assumption of the presidency for this month. 73. I should also like to express sincere appreciation to your predecessor, Mr, Amega, whose diplomatic 79. The question under consideration today not only concerns the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people but also affects the evolution of the Middle East situation as a whole and the comprehensive and just solution of the Middle East question. The Council must therefore unequivocally condemn the aggressive ‘and expansionist conduct of Israel, consider effective measures to stop Israeli expansion in the occupied territories and compel Israel to withdraw from all Arab territories occupied by it since 1967. SO. The PRESIDENT (inter~retation~om Russian): The next speaker is the representative of Algeria. 1 invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 75. Recent developments in the occupied West Bank and Gaza are a cause for deep concern. The Israeli authorities have refused to implement relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council, have intensified their expansionist and colonial policy in the occupied territories, and have adopted high-handed repressive measures against the Palestinian civilians in the We’st Bank, in an attempt permanently to .occupy and annex that Palestinian territory. In defiance of unanimous condemnation by world opinion, the Israeli authorities have recently accelerated the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Not long ago they approved the establishment of four additional settlements in the West Bank and declared their intention to bring in hundreds of thousands of settlers within the next five years.

AlIow me first to extend to you, Sir, on behalf of my delegation, the most heartfelt and sincere congratulations on your accession to the presidency. My pleasure and that of my delegation is all the greater since you represent a country which maintains exemplary relations of friendship and co-operation with Algeria. The competence that. you have already demonstrated in many situations, as well as your indepth knowledge of international problems, guarantees the success of the work of the Council. 82. I also take this opportunity to address the congratulations of my delegation to your predecessor, Mr. Amega, the representative of Togo, who last month conducted the work of the Council with his well-known keenness, skill and tact. 76. In order to realize this wild scheme of expansion, the lsraeli authorities are illegally appropriating large tracts of the land of the inhabitants of the West Bank, seizing and demolishing civilian dwellings and displacing hundreds and even thousands of Palestinian families, which are now deprived of the land they have worked for generations. 83. My delegation is particularly happy that countries with which Algeria maintains special relations, such as Malta, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe are now sitting in the Council. We wish them every success in their difficult and inspiring task. 77. In addition, the Israeli authorities have subjected Palestinian workers, teachers, students, writers and journalists who oppose their colonial rule in the occupied territories to arbitrary arrest and unreasonable interrogation; they have wilfully closed down Palestinian schools and have even used troops to crack down on demonstrators, plunging the Palestinian people in the occupied territories into a state of outright terror. Ail this has exacerbated the already tense situation in the West Bank. 84. The delegation of my country has repeatedly had occasion to express in this forum and elsewhere its serious concern and profound disquiet over the particularly critical situation prevailing in the occupied Arab territories. 85. A Council meeting was convened, it will be recalled, last November [2401st meeting], after the announcement by the highest official organs of the Israeli administration of a plan to establish dozens of settlements with the avowed intent of changing the demographic nature of the Arab territories and of rendering irreversible the process of expropriating 78. It must also be pointed out that the Israeli aggressor troops that invaded Lebanon have taken barbarous and ruthless measures of repression against 87. Likewise, the feeling of horror prompted by the terrible act of aggression carried out against Lebanese territory and the ghastly massacres which followed could have led one to believe that the impact of that tragedy would prevail upon the Zionist leaders to exercise greater restraint and greater consideration and respect for human rights. Unfortunately, the Israeli leaders-scorning the condemnation of the international community, including those giving them financial, military and diplomatic support-have been pursuing with the same contempt and with the same. cruelty their policy of conquest and aggression against the Arab peoples of the region, and in particuIar against the Palestinian people, which have been driven to the wall. 88, The pursuit of the policy of settlements knows no respite. Recently again, on 2 February to be precise, the Israeli military authorities seized 2,800 hectares of arable land adjoining the village of Salem, near Nablus, in the north of the occupied West Bank. In the same week, 400 hectares of land adjoining the village of Dayr Dibwan, near Ramallah, were simply confiscated from Arab families which rejected the compensation that the Israeli authorities wanted to pay them. The daily newspaper Ha’aretz announced on Sunday, 30 January, the seizure of 2,000 hectares of land in various sectors of the occupied territories near the frontiers which antedated the war of 1967-land to be used to expand Israeli settlements, 89. Furthermore, the repression of the inhabitants of the occupied territories and the very serious violations of human rights which have been admitted by Israeli officers and soldiers and in which the Head of State himself has been implicated ase now well known. 90. The recent discovery of mass graves where several people were summarily massacred near the refugee camps of El Ansar and Air Heloua, in southern Lebanon, and the multiple searches and arrests of Palestinians in Sidon and elsewhere are surely stages in a policy of annihilation and of a final solution to the Palestinian problem, to use a phrase of sad renown. 91. It is understandable that the findings of the socalled Commission of Inquiry into the massacres at Sabra and Shatila were met by the Palestinian people with indifference and a general feeling of disappointment. As was quite frankly said by the Mayor of 92. For some decades that philosophy has sought, on the basis of theses which arc as absurd as they are aberrant and which we are told are inspired by Holy Writ, to expand the sphere of Israeli influence to the whole of the region and to that end to maintain a permanent climate of insecurity and war. ‘“We found an Arab country and we have made it a Jewish country”, said Moshe Dayan proudly in 1972 when he was Minister for Defence. Begin himself, who speaks glibly of Judea and Samaria, has been saying since 1967 that the occupied territories should be Judaized as were Jaffa and Haifa before. Mr. Halevy cites the following formula used by a Zionist activist that is very eloquent about the profound thinking of the Israeli leaders: “we cannot bear the sight of a land that is not inhabited by Jews”. And further on he said: “with the help of God we will manage to settle not only Mount Ararat, in northern Turkey, where Noah’s ark ran aground, but also Yemen, the beloved fatherland of our King Solomon”. 93. The newspaper Ha’awtz gives precise details about the mobilization of the diaspora to finance the colonization now under way. Its 19 January 1981 issue reported that: “At the present time a plan to finance settlements is under way among the Jewish communities of the diaspora. In the United States, the inhabitants of Kiryat Arba have set up a special fund for settlements in the Al-Khalil district. In South Africa, a campaign is being waged by Tsi Salonien, an activist of the Gush Emunim. The creation of a city of donors is envisaged, and efforts are under way to seek immigrants to people it.” 94. The Zionist leaders stop at nothing to achieve their ends. A few moments ago we cited here some of their methods, which include intimidation; expulsion; massive internments; expropriation; the use of an arsenal of repressive laws, some of which date from the British Mandate; punitive operations; summary measures; and, finally, the slaughter and massacre of Palestinians-whom they have pursued in Lebanon and elsewhere-to which the whole world was witness, thanks to the mass media. 95. Today Palestinians, oppressed or ousted from their homeland by the champions of a racist ideology, are turning to the international community and finding a conspiratorial silence, in particular among the IO 96. The arbitrary measures taken in violation of conventional international law by the Israeli military authorities against the inhabitants of Syrian Golan, measures which seek to complete the process of zionization of that territory and to change its juridical status, are ample proof of the profoundly chauvinistic character of the Israeli leaders and their inflexible determination to pursue the realization of their Greater Israel.

The next speaker is the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

I thank you, Sir, for calling upon me, and 1 sincerely congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency for this month, when the meetings of the Council are so very important. I believe that your rich political background and experience will contribute to the achievement of good and successful results at these meetings. 97. The situation of the population of Golan since its annexation in December 1981 by the occupying Power constitutes a grave source of concern because of the risks it entails for a general conflagration of the region. 106. After three months of hard work on and in the demanding General Assembly, we are again back where we have been for the past 35 years, namely, the Zionist invasion of Palestine, As members of the Council can see, in spite of the clever General Assembly resolution 180 (II) of 21 November 1947-the result of a conspiracy against Palestine carried out 35 years ago under the pretext of the maintenance of international peace and security-there has been no peace and security in our area ever since that time. 98. At the time, the Council denounced that act of juridical piracy [resolution 497 (1981)], and it is dutybound to repeat its condemnation of that intolerable failure to obey ethical rules and international law, because it constitutes a grave precedent and a particularly outrageous act of defiance of the United Nations. 99. The United Nations, after a good deal of trial and error and a conspiratorial silence which has lasted for two and a half decades, did identify the original cause of the Middle East contlict. 107. What my delegation understands from this perennial situation is not that the Zionist furuncle was transplanted to Palestine for the maintenance of international peace and security, but that, on the contrary, as a historical fact, the occupation of Palestine by the Zionist aggressors and the formal recognition of that occupation by the United Nations at that time were an imperialist conspiracy against the Muslims of the Middle East in general and against the Palestinians in particular and, as such, constitute a blatant act of violation of international peace and security. 100. At its twenty-ninth session, the General Assembly courageously lifted the veil from a tragedy produced 35 years ago by recognizing that the question of Palestine constituted the Gordian knot of the Middle East problem, by restoring the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and by making official the representation of the PLO [resolutions 3236 (XXIX) nnd 3237 (XXIX) of 22 NovernDer 19743. 101. Since then, the General Assembly has on various occasions reaffirmed by overwhelming majorities the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and has called on the occupying Power to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories. 108. In spite of a considerable-and fortunately increasing-number of individual cases of good intentions in the United Nations, and even in the Security Council, it would be too optimistic to believe that the general trend in the international body has changed considerably. That is so simply because those satanic Powers which have been backing the Zionist aggressors in the area are still supporting them in the United Nations, to the extent that those Powers do not hesitate to threaten the United Nations in order to crush any resistance to the presence of the forged political entity in the international body. 102. The recent tragic developments in that part of the world, with their train of atrocities-the full horror of which has been impressed upon us by the mass media-demand that we once again call the attention of the international community to what remains the cardinal element, the sine qus 12011, of any just, honourable settlement of the Middle East problem: the fact of the Palestinian nation. 1 IO. The United Nations did not and could not end the Viet Nam war; the United Nations is not capable of preventing United States support for the inhuman South African rigime; the United Nations is not capable of forcing the Russian army to withdraw from Afghanistan. Similarly, the United Nations is not capable of restoring the usurped rights of the Palestinian people. We have therefore maintained that any success in the United Nations for the Palestinians would be, at the most, another pacifying resolution which, if’ it were strong enough to count as a political victory, would definitely bc vetoed by the imperialist Power, the United States. I I I. We are also of the opinion that the political history of occupied Palestine is very well known to United Nations offjcials, as well as to Member States. How could it be possible for a problem to become part and parcel of the entire United Nations household and yet for the nature of that problem to remain obscure? 112. Moreover, most of the Member States belonging to the third world have had enough personal experience of imperialism. Therefore, the reason why a serious political decision against the Zionist base is not made here is to be sought in the mechanisms of imperialist manipulation and interference here in the United Nations. Thus, so long as the presence of global arrogance and its lackeys remains as it is now, it will be vain to anticipate a miracle in the United Nations in favour of the Palestinians. When United States imperialism and its servile puppets in the area are defeated, then there will be no need for the generosity of the international body, or-to be optimistic-the United Nations too will enjoy more independence from the super-Power’s influence and will act rationally and correctly. 113. My delegation would only hope that our participation would shed some more light on the issue and consequently affect the international consciousness in such a manner that many more of the oppressed might stand against global arrogance, The present stage of the Zionist plots against the Palestinians is very crucinI. The Zionists, as we have reiterated before intend to annex the VGcst Rank and GaLa Strip to thei; zone of permanent occupation. In an article entitled “Blaming the U.S.” that appeared in T/ZE Jer~l,~ulem ?‘o.s~ of 3 January 1983, Asher Maniv stated: 114. The showmanship of Sharon’s resignation should not fool any realistic person. The criminal policies of the Zionists started long before Sharon’s membership in the ruling body of the usurping Zionist rCgime, and they will continue after him. His resignation is only a pacifier that facilitates the continuation of aggression and serves as a manoeuvre to gain sympathy for the criminal Zionists whose crimes in the Sabra and Shatila camps have broken the Nazi criminal record. 11.5. The Zionists have meanwhile started another conspiracy inside the occupied territories. The same issue of The Je~~~salem Post has another article, this one entitled “West Bankers to Consider ‘Peace Convenant’ “. According to the article, the aggressors are working out a pro-Zionist fake Palestinian political group in order to divide the united front of the Palestinians’ struggle under the leadership of the PLO. They should know, however, that there is no room for such dirty plots to deceive the struggling Palestinians, or even the United Nations. 116. As we have said before, Palestine is an Islamic land, and as such its occupation is the concern of all Muslims, regardless of their national backgrounds. The Muslims of the Middle East, despite the imperialist hegemony and the servile attitude of some kings and presidents in the Muslim world, will continue their struggle against the Zionist base. It is important at the present stage that the United Nations exercise some independence and take a constructive position in order that the oppressed Muslim nations may have some respect for it and participate in the further liberation of the international body from the domination of the super-Powers. The Muslims would indeed follow the Koranic dictum that says: “If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear God, and know that God is with those who restrain themseIves.“n 117. It is very important that the Council not fall into the trap of Camp David, Fez, King Fahd-or any other trap-and, instead of taking sides with any of these treacherous satanic plots, that it take sides with the Muslim masses in order to regain an acceptable minimum of international prestige. 118. At this stage, United States imperialism is pIeased with a mild and acceptable resolution, to pretend to be on the side of the Arabs in order to deceive the masses of the Arab world and to make the implementation of President Reagan’s plot against Palestine and Palestinians more feasible. A construc-

I wish at the outset, Sir, to convey our felicitations to you on your assumption of the presidency for the current month. Your abilities and skills are, by now, well known to all of us, and we are confident that the deliberations of the Council will once again greatly benefit from your wisdom and experience. In your important endeavours you will have the full co-operation of Turkey. 119. My delegation therefore requests the Council not to compromise. May the Council not forget the massacres of thousands of innocent Palestinians of all ages in the Sabra and Shatila camps. The Council would be responsible for all the Zionists’ occupations and crimes if it were to ignore its heavy responsibilities towards Palestine and the Palestinian people. 128. It is instructive to note the fact that this is only the second question that has come before the Council in 1983, and yet we are again gathered here to consider problems in the Middle East generated or sustained essentially by Israel’s p’olicies. This fact attests to the necessity and urgency of finding a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the question of Palestine. The Israeli policy of establishing settlements in occupied Arab and Palestinian territories continues to be a primary source of tension in the area and progressively reduces the chances for a just solution to the question of Palestine. While, of course, the policy of settlements constitutes perhaps the most serious dimension of Israeli practices in the occupied territories, it is not the only element in the arsenal of Israel’s approach to these territories. 120. The Council needs to show the rest of the world that the United Nations is no longer a private international club deceiving the small nations of the world that come here with so much goodwill and sincerity. 121. The Government and the Muslim people of the Islamic Republic of Iran are fully determined to stand beside their Palestinian brothers and sisters regardless of the cost. I would hope that the Council would act today in such a way as not to regret today’s record in the future. I22. The Government and the Muslim people of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemn the Zionist atrocities in occupied Palestine. We condemn the national and internatiohal conspiracies that have, contrary to all principles of justice, morality and inlernational law, imposed the Zionist base of imperialism upon the Muslims of the Middle East. The Government and the Muslim people of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot recognize such self-refuting devices, which have violated international peace and security in our area under the guise of maintaining peace and security, We strongly condemn any compromise with or concession to the Zionist usurpers, whether it comes from the imperialist Powers or from their agents in the ruling bodies of our area. 129. We are all too familiar with Israel’s record in the occupied territories, and the subject needs no elaboration here. Israeli policies range from annexation of occupied territories to the oppression of the Arab Palestinians living there. Turkey has always taken a resolute stand against Israel’s negativist policies in the occupied territories, in the conviction that any eventual settlement must provide for an Arab Palestinian homeland. Without Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Arab Palestinian territories and their return to the Palestinians, there will be no homeland for the Palestinians, Without a Palestinian homeland, there can be no solution to the Palestinian question. 123. We strongly condemn any concessionary resolution which, under the guise of peaceful coexistence, justifies the preservation of the usurping Zionist r$gime. Today, commitment to the principles of divine morality, to justice and to avoidance of all miserable concession are usually labelled fanaticism and, hence, undermined. Indeed, what count on the side of the IsIamic Republic are the Holy Koran and divine law. 130. Just as it is incumbent upon the international community to remind Israel constantly of its responsibilities under the relevant 1949 Geneva Conventions towards the territories it has occupied since 1967 and their inhabitants, it is the duty of the Council to take appropriate measures when an occupying Power fails to meet its obligations under international law. In the case of Israel, we have a flagrant case of persistent violations of rules and norms of international law and of the inalienable rights of the Arab Palestinian people. 124. Let me remind the Muslim Members of the United Nations that: “If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, They are (no better than) those who rebel.“’ 13 1, The international community has denounced Israel’s actions in the occupied Arab territories and declared Israel’s unilaterat decisions, including those on Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights, to be null and void. The Government of Turkey has, in the context of its Middle East policy, similarly condemned 125. I would want them not to adopt a nai’ve position contrary to the faith and the strong belief of their own people just in order to please others. 133. The Government of Turkey reiterates its firm commitment to the aspiration of the Arab Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate national rights, including the right to self-determination and the right to establish their own independent State. The PLO, as the representative of the Palestinian people, has our full support in its legitimate struggle on behalf of their national cause. 134. It is our view that Israel’s continued policy of illegal settlements affects negatively the prospects of an eventual solution. We call on Israel to put an immediate end to this policy, particularly in the light of the present configuration of the dynamics for peace in the area. This would contribute significantly to the amelioration of the situation. Israel’s persistence in its dysfunctional policies in the occupied territories, on the other hand, will only serve to make lasting peace and security unreachable.

Mr. President, my delegation wishes to associate itself with the felicitations that have been extended to you by other members of the Council. We are very pleased that the representative of a friendly country is presiding ove1 the Council at a time when we are deliberating a very important question: the rights of the Palestinian people. 136. We are also very proud of the manner in which our brother, Mr. Amega, of Togo, presided over the work of the Council last month. 137. The purpose of convening the Council at this time should be emphasized at the outset: it is an appeal to the members of the Council for justice and an appeal to their conscience to put a haIt to the systematic dehumanization, dispossession and annihilation of the PaIestinian people. 138. The persistent flouting of international law and of the decisions of the Council by a fellow Member of the United Nations has reached outrageous proportions and strained the patience of this body to the limit. We have been informed that a further 20,000 dunums of Palestinian land have been confiscated by the Tel Aviv authorities. We cannot say that these events 139. Members of the Council are welt informed about the so-called diabolic master plan for the development of settlements in Judea and Samaria in the period 1979- 1983. To us, the plan also came as no surprise, since, according to The Jerusalem Post of 26 July 1973, none other than the Prime Minister of Israel had stated that: “These outposts and settlements are seeds which will develop in the future, growing in population and becoming more firmly rooted. This settlement activity has deepened our roots in the land and strengthened the foundation of the State. Preparations and plans are under way for the continuation of this important activity, whether rural or urban settlements.” 140. Such action has been and continues to be a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949,’ particularly article 47. That provision has been disregarded by Israel. It even has the audacity to dispose of occupied Arab land through private sales. Israel has formally rejected resolutions 446 (1979) and 452 (1979) and has also refused to co-operate with the Security Council Commission established under resolution 446 (1979). Under resolution 446 (1979), the Council upheld the view that the annexation of occupied Palestinian lands has no legal validity and that it constitutes a serious obstruction to achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 141. There is a human element involved which we cannot afford to ignore. Among the recommendations contained in the Commission’s report, it was observed that a correlation exists between the establishment of Israeli settlements and the displacement of the Arab population [S/14268, pnra. 2341. The treatment of the Arabs at the hands of the Israeli Zionists leaves us in no doubt that the legacy of Adolf Hitler is very much alive today. What crimes can one commit against mankind which exceed systematic assassinations, the limiting of the access to water by women and children, the seizure of private property, the destruction of ’ homes and the banishment of persons? One can name any atrocity, any act of genocide, and Israel is guilty of it. What about the recent massacres in Lebanon? 142. It is clear that the authorities in Tel Aviv have lived up to the standards of their Nazi mentors, to the admiration of the Fascist rkgime in Pretoria. 143, The Security Council, in a statement adopted by consensus on II November 1976 [1969th meeting], deplored Israel’s failure to show any regard for Council resolutions and it affirmed the rights of the Palestinians as a people under the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. What surprises us is that certain members of the Council who were party to the 144. We wish to affirm that the present situation, which is a threat to international peace and security, cannot be isolated from the problem of the selfdetermination of the Palestinian people. Israel should withdraw unconditionally from all the occupied lands. The Security Council and the General Assembly have adopted many decisions in this regard. The inaction of the Council seems to suggest that it is concerned about the rights of the Israeli Zionists only. What about the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people‘? 152. Moreover, yesterday, Sunday, the Israeli military tribunal in Jerusalem decided to try a IO-year-old PaIestinian child, named Ma’amoun Daoud Najeeb. He had been arrested and then released on bail on Friday. The allegation was that he had held up Arafat’s picture during the demonstration that had started following the Friday noon prayers. 145. The failure of the Council to act has been facilitated by the allies of Israel. So, for as long as Israel’s allies are not willing to compel Israel to comply with Council decisions, I think the Council has no option but to implement Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. The existence of a threat to peace has already been ascertained, and we submit that the Council should now concentrate its discussion . around the mechanics of Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter. 153. Furthermore, we know that the Israeli occupation authorities have continued to impose a curfew on Zahiriyeh village for 17 consecutive days. The pretext they have used for doing this is that the Zahiriyeh villagers threw stones at an Israeli vehicle passing through the area. 146. The Council has an obligation to reciprocate the faith and the trust which the sole, authentic representative of the Palestinian people has in it. Failure on our part to act and to implement our decisions is tantamount to compromising the Charter and the ideals which it represents. We trust that the present series of meetings will result in a decision which exceeds the customary strong condemnations. The Secretary-General has already made us aware of the consequences of inaction by the Council on the entire system of collective security. 154. Again, Israeli soldiers and gangs of Zionist settlers stoned the Kalandia refugee camp on the 13th and 14th of this month. The camp’s inhabitants, of course, did not stand idly by; they resisted by throwing stones. Apparently a Zionist Israeli officer and a number of soldiers were injured in this confrontation. 155. Today the Israeli occupation authorities decided to extend the school holiday in the occupied West Bank until next Saturday. The reason is that the Palestinian students were demonstrating in support of the meetings of the Palestine National Council. As the Security Council is aware, the Palestine National Council commenced its session today in Algiers. One hundred and eighty seats on that Council remain unoccupied because the Palestinians who live under Israeli occupation are threatened with not being able to return if they go to Algiers to participate in the deliberations on their own future. And yet we heard the word “democracy” used here. 1 do not know what it means in this context. 147. We continue to state that a solution to the Palestine question is inseparable from a comprehensive solution to the overall problem of the Middle East. 148. In conclusion, we should like to affirm our support for the legitimate struggle being waged by the PLO for self-determination. The struggle for the Palestinians’ homeland is also the struggle of the people of Zimbabwe. 156. We are pleased that today, at last, the Secretary-General has made a statement that he is following closely and with great concern the matter of the safety of Palestinians in Lebanon and that, in close co-operation with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), he is stuclying possible action that may be taken by the United Nations in this regard. Naturally, he is also in touch-the statement continues-with the Lebanese Government and with a number of other Governments which have expressed their concern.

The next speaker is the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, upon whom I now call * 1.50. Mr. TERZI (Palestine Liberation Organization): While the Council was deliberating on Friday [24/2r/z mretin~], Israeli troops broke into the Jalazone refugee camp and ordered the residents out of their homes into the main street, where they were forced to remain for several hours. This collective punishment was an official Israeli retaliation for a 158. The UNRWA Commissioner-General further informed us that, on 9 February, 10 refugee families living in Abbdousieh, a village near Sidon, had been warned to leave within 24 hours and go to Ein el- Hilweh or Rashidieh camps, The Commissioner- General’s statement continued: “The potential for further intimidation”-1 repeat “intimidation”-“of refugees in the Sidon area is enormous . . . About 50,000 refugees are receiving emergency help from the Agency there. Only 15,000 are living in Ein el-Hilweh and about 1,200 in the Mieh Mieh camp.” The others will, of course, be driven like sheep into the corral. For what reason? Only God knows. But, from the experience at Sabra and Shatila, we have every reason to fear for the future of those persons. The meeting rose at 6 p.m. NOTES ’ Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949 (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973). ? Official Rrcards qf the Get~ertrl A.s.setnhly, Thirty-seventh Session, Sttpple~~~enf No. I (A/37/1 1, D. 4. ’ Ihid., i%hy,fitw Sessiotl, Sttp~letttem No. 3S (A13 l/35), para. 56. 4 Ibid., para. 58. ’ Qficial Records o,f the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Se.s.siott, Plenary meetings, 32nd meeting, paras. 108-109. ’ Weck/.v Compilariort of Presidetltial Docutnenrs (Washington, DC., Government Printing Office, 1982). vol. 18, No. 35, p. 1081. ’ Ojficial Record.s of the General Assrmhl~, Thirty-sevetztlr Scssiatz, Pkmtty tncefit?gs, 5th meeting, para. 138. H See The Holy Koran, II: 194. ‘See The Holy Koran, V:47. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications ma) be obtained rrom bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations. Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agcnces deposita& du monde entier. Informez-vous auprh de votre libraire ou adressez-vous A : Nations Unies, Section ties vcntes. NW York ou Cen&. COMO CONSECUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones llnidas estdn en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas partes del mundo. Consulte a su librcro o dirijasc a: Nacioncs Unidas, Seccih de Ventas, h’ueva York o Ginebra. - Litho in United Nations. New York 00400 60205~July 1990--2,050