S/PV.2605 Security Council

I should also like to inform the Council that I have received a letter dated 12 September 1985 from the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the.Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which reads as follows: Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2605) 1. Adoption of the agenda 2. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 11 September 1985 from the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/17456) “I have the honour to request that I be allowed to participate in the Security Council’s consideration of the item entitled ‘The situation in the occupied Arab territories*, in accordance with the provisions of rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure, in my capacity as Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people.** The meeting was called to order at 3.55 p.m. Adoption of tbe agenda 4. On previous occasions the Security Coun:il has extended invitations to representatives of other bodies of the United Nations in connection with the consideration of matters on its agenda, In accordance with past practice in this matter, I propose that the Council extend an invitation pursuant to rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people. The agenda was adopted. The situation in the occupied Arab territories: Letter dated 11 September 1985 from tbe Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/17456)

In accordance with the decisions taken at the 2604th meeting, I invite the representative of Qatar and the observer for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to take seats at the Council table; I invite the representatives of Israel and Jordan to take the seats reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber. It was so decided.

I should like to draw the attention of members of the Council to document S/17462, which contains the text of a letter dated 12 September 1985 from the representative of Jordan to the Secretary- General. At the invitation of the President, Mr. AI-Kawari (Qatar) and Mr. Mansour (Palestine Liberation Qrganization) took a place at the Council table: Mr. Netanyahu (Israel) and Mr. Salah (Jordan) took the places reserved for them at the side pf the Council chamber. 6. The first sneaker on my list is Mr. Clovis Maksoud, Observer of the League of A-mb States, to whom the Council extended an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure at the 2604th meeting. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic in which he requests 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 that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in 7. Mr. MAKSOUD: I should like to convey to you, Mr. President, and through you to the members of the Security Council the deep appreciation of the League of Arab States for the kind invitation extended to me to make a statement today. I I 9. That view has been expressed to us, in one form or another, throughout the past months in order to limit the usefulness of this body as the proper mechanism for conflict resolution, especially in the Middle East, but also with regard to the questions of apartheid and of Namibia. In other words, some-particularly in some Western countries-would prefer that the anachronistic Israel and apartheid South Africa were provided with an immunity which would prevent the imposition against them of the necessary sanctions flowing from condemnation of their behaviour, practices and racist policies. 10. I want to make that statement in order to impress upon members of the Council that we-whether PLO, Lebanon or any other Arab country-are aware of our responsibilities when we come to the Security Council to seek redress for some of our legitimate grievances. 11. It has been said-indeed, it was said in this Chamber yesterday--that from the complaint to the Security Council one would think that we had turned to the Council because hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had been expelled. Let me make it very clear that this was done upon the initiative of the,collective Arab Group. All the Arab States met and decided to come to the Security Council. Of course, we know that the expulsions, the restrictive measures, the deportations and the coercive measures that have been undertaken in the occupied Palestinian territories are part of a pattern. The measures taken in the last few weeks are probably the latest manifestation of an unfolding process. 12 For us, the question has been: Do we arrest this process? Can we invoke the authority of the Security Council and the United Nations and its machinery to arrest Israel’s continued arrogation to itself of the right not only to undertake the demographic and geographic mutilation of the West Bank and Gaza, but also to deny the people in these areas a territory within which they can articulate their national identity and their political -rights? 13. The question is much more profound than mere acts of deportation-than mere acts of destroying houses. It reveals a situation which is pregnant with great dangers for the future. We see today a growing polarization, with colonial settlers in the West Bank and Gaza undertaking militaristic activities. Not only are they seeking to annihilate the integrity of the territory on which the Palestinians can express self-determination, but they are also proceeding to establish new facts. 15. We have seen how exuulsion becomes a matter of * ideological fulfilment. That is why, when we have recourse to the Security ,Council it is in order to arrest this process. The prospects for a just and comprehensive peace in the area are undermined if there is a certain level of permissiveness’ for one single settler. If these militarily-equipped settlers in the various occupied territories of Palestine are the target of guerrilla acts from within the occupied territories, the Israeli representative calls them “civilian targets”. What constitutes a civilian target? Is not the establishment and ‘proliferation of settlements in the occupied territories illegal? Is not the object of those settlements to preempt forever the right of the Palestinians to self-determinationa right which has been recognised by everybody? 16. When the Israelis label resistance activities in the West Bank and Gaza “acts of terrorism”, it is identical to Mr. Botha in South Africa denouncing acts of legitimate resistance as “terrorism”. Israel and South Africa are the two remaining entities in the world able to defy the United Nations, international law and the Charter of the United Nations; this is because they feel that they arc shielded and immune from any sanctions against their actions. 17. Thus, unless the situation heats to the boiling point, it is the intention of the Arab States to resort to the Security Council in order to prevent the further escalation of a pattern which provokes a cycle of violence. We do so, not to devalue United Nations resolutions, but to enhance the value of the Security Council. We do so, knowing full well what awaits us; knowing full well that there are members of the Council reluctant to accept our assessmentalthough they might accept it when it is too late. There are members which intend to block any deterrence that this Council can apply in order to establish a climate of peace conducive to a just and comprehensive peace in the area. 18. We in the League of Arab States are aware that what is taking place today exemplifies what has been done in the past by the Israeli occupation authorities and, more important, is a sample of what might take place in the future if the process is not arrested at the proper moment. Inherent in this situation are incalculable dangers, with crisismanagement becoming more and more difficult and ultimately impossible, with polarization reaching acute dimensions which could threaten not only peace in the region, but the basic rights of peoples everywhere. The ideology of violence has been spreading like an infection, and we have been trying to halt it. The resolutions of the Arab League summits are an investment in the option of peace. 25. I also thank all the members of the Council for having permitted me, as Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to take part in the debate on Israeli practices against the population of the occupied Palestinian territories. 26. For all the members of our Committee the question before us, which goes to the very heart of our mandate, is all the more a cause of concern because it directly affects not only the future of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories but also international peace and security. The very fact that the Security Council is meeting to consider those practices confirms the profound concern of the international community about what is happening in the occupied territories and its consequences, which are very serious, to say the least. 20. However. if that uath is not taken, if there is further escalation, the-problems will become more complex, and what we are witnessing in what I call the “Kahanimtion” of Israel might continue, because the whole evolution of . the Israeli body politic has proved that what is apparently perceived to be extreme to&y becomes the policy of tomorrow, unless it is arrested by the invocation of the credibility and effectiveness of the machinery of the United Nations and particularly of the Security Council. 27. In my letter to the Secretary-General of 11 September [S/174553, I gave details of the serious measures recently taken by the Israeli military authorities against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. In an earlier letter, &ted 8 August [S/1739z], the Acting Chairman of the Committee had already expressed the Committee’s deep concern about the decision taken by Israel to reinstate its policies of “administrative detention”, detention that can last for as long as six months without trial, deportation of those considered to be a “threat to security”, the tightening of censorship and other repressive measures against the Palestinian population.

The next speaker is the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Mr. Massamba SarrC. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

“United Nations for a better world” -what a fine theme. In a few days’ time, at the opening of the fortieth session of the General Assembly, we shall begin our work with that as our theme-a theme, but also a fine. ideal, and, as with every ideal, it is rather asymptotic, but what is important is that we should do everything in our power to achieve it. That means putting aside passion and confrontation and trying to solve every conflict, whatever its scope, in a spirit of cooperation and understanding, In his report on the work of the Organization,’ the Secretary-General has already set that tone, and I am sure that the ideas he has developed will be very much borne in mind, not only by the General Assembly, but above all by the Security Council, which is holding its last meeting before that great event to which we all look forward. 28. According to several recent press reports, the military authorities have launched a.massive campaign of detaining Palestinians under the policy that I have just described, and they are currently holding more than 50 people on the West Bank, 20 of whom were arrested on 2 September. Several people have also been arrested in Gaza. A curfew has been imposed in a number of towns-Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Hebron, Gaza and others-and in a number of Palestinian refugee camps. 29. Three days ago, again according to press reports, Israeli army soldiers fired on four young Arabs, including a boy of 12, in Hebron; all were wounded. 23. I wish first, Sir, to congratulate you most sincerely on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of September. We are personally familiar with your qualities as a diplomat well versed in international relations, coming as you do from a country that has shown the way as regards democracy and respect for human rights. We are also personally familiar with your devotion to the ideals of the United Nations. I am therefore convinced that under your leadership our work will be successful, 30. Those measures have been taken in an atmosphere of growing provocation by Jewish settlers living in the occupied Palestinian territories, provocation clearly aimed at forcing the local population to emigrate. In all objectivity, we are compelled to point out that those acts of provocation have even been denounced by some of the occupying authorities. 31. After that brief survey of the situation-which has already been also made by preceding speakers-I wish simply to say that in the current year, in accordance with its mandate, the Committee has continued to follow 24. I wish also to take the opportunity, Sir, to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Oleg Troyanovsky, representa- 32. As Chairman of the Committee, I have repeatedly and urgently drawn the attention of the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council to violations of the fundamental rights of the Palestinians by the Israeli authorities, in defiance of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. , 33. It is high time that the facts were faced. In the absence of any just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question-indeed, to the question of the Middle Easttension and violence will only increase in the Palestinian territories and the other occupied territories. The Committee has constantly stressed that the situation will only continue to deteriorate as long as the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are not fully recognized. The United Nations without any doubt has the responsibility to ensure the fulfilment of these rights, as well as the physical protection of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and of other peoples of the region. 34. We believe that it is now up to the Council to give effect to the recommendations of the Committee and the recommendations adopted by consensus at the Intemational Conference on the Question of Palestine, held at Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983. We would recall once again that these recommendations are solidly based on the internationally recognized fundamental principles regarding the Palestine question, which is the very heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. s 35. That is why, in its programme of work for this year, our Committee decided to continue, as a matter of priority, to do everything in its power to bring about the rapid convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, in accordance with the recommendations of the Geneva Conference and General Assembly resolutions 38158 C of 13 December 1983 and 39/49 D of 11 December 1984. 42. My delegation also wishes to pay a tribute to Mr. Oleg Troyanovsky, the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for the excellent manner in which he conducted the affairs of the Council during the month of August. 36. With that aim in view, the Committee, as the Council is aware, sent delegations to the capitals of several States members of the Council to consider the best ways of furthering the implementation of these recommendations. During those exchanges of views with Governments, the Committee stressed the overriding necessity to convene the Conference as soon as possible, and laid stress on the important role to be played by the Council in this field. The Committee was very much encouraged by the positive reaction of the Governments concerned, by their understanding of the need to take concrete measures urgently, and by their determination to contribute actively to the efforts to bring about a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestine question, under the auspices of the United Nations. 38. On behalf of the Committee, I stress that the Palestine question has now reached a critical phase. We urge members of the Council to redouble their efforts to produce a just and lasting solution to this question. 39. For that purpose, what is needed is a debate free from all passion connected with immediate self-interests. First and foremost, this debate should be about the ways and means of convening the International Peace Conference on the Middle East. 40. The Committee is convinced that the International Peace Conference on the Middle Fast, which enjoys almost unanimous support, offers all the interested parties tremendous possibilities of participation in negotiations, which in their turn should lead to a just and lasting solution to the question. In the face of the constant deterioriation of the situation in the occupied territories, we appeal once again to the Council to take appropriate measures to revive, on the basis of the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant resolutions of the Organization, the policy of dialogue among all the parties, in order to put an end to this tragic situation that has lasted all too long and to establish the just and lasting peace so long awaited by all the States and peoples of the Middle East.

It is indeed a pleasure for my delegation to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of September. Your well-known diplomatic skills, together with your experience, will serve us in good stead this month. 43. The Security Council and the General Assembly have been seized of the problems of the Middle East for decades now. There is need -for a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East. We believe that two essential elements of such a settlement are the right of the Palestinian people to statehood and a corresponding right of all States in the Middle East to live in peace and stability within secure borders. My delegation is of the view that positive efforts should be made to attain these objectives and we are concerned and disturbed by recent evidence which indicates that certain actions being taken would frustrate their attainment. My delegation considers such actions to be a threat to international peace and security and as such to require the attention of the Council. 51. Therefore, we Arabs find ourselves in a life-anddeath conflict with Israel, which still occupies our territories, displaces our people and seeks by every means to expel the indigenous population from their territory through the creation of circumstances which Israel believes-mistakenly-will force the Arabs to forego their struggle, surrender and leave their homeland. However, this Israeli wish is not being realized, since the popular uprising we are witnessing in occupied Palestine, the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon is but the natural response to the policy of invasion, expansion and occupation, with its accompanying practices, the like of which have not been seen since the expansionist and racist nazism during the Second World War. The only similarity at present is the war being’ waged by the white minority regime in South Africa against our African brethren, who form 90 per cent of that country’s population, and the revolt of its masses against the settler colonialists is escalating and broadening day by day. 45. My delegation calls upon Israel to abide scrupulously by the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.2

The next speaker is the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 47. Mr. EL-FA’ITAL (Syrian Arab Republic) (inferpretarion from Arabic): I have the pleasure at the outset of conveying to you, Sir, our best wishes and congratulations on your assumption of the presidency for this month. In view of your country’s great knowledge of the problems of the Middle East and of the crises that beset this vital region, we are confident that you will impart your wellknown wisdom to the Council’s business. 52. One wonders why millions of Africans have still not succeeded in destroying apartheid and dismantling the minority rGgime and why the Arabs-with their great potential in every field-cannot confront the persistent Israeli invasion, despite their recognized absolute rights to self-defence and the liberation of their land which they can exercise by all means. The answer is that the two racist regimes in Pretoria and Tel Aviv are protected, supported and financed by United States imperialism, whose reach extends to many regions of our globe. Thus we Arabs in our region and the African people in South Africa find ourselves in an ongoing confrontation with those who support and protect those racist regimes. 48. We have the pleasure also of expressing our deep appreciation to Mr. Troyanovsky, representative of the Soviet Union-a country with which we maintain strong bonds of friendship and mutual respect. We congratulate him on the exemplary and objective manner in which he guided the Council’s work during the past month. 53. The patriotic uprisings in the occupied Arab territories, on the one hand, and in South Africa, on the other, constitute the beginning of a full-scale struggle by the peoples of those two regions to rid themselves once and for all of injustice and foreign domination, regardless of the power of those protecting the racist regimes. Resistance, martyrdom and the protection of rights by all means available are the only alternative in opposing the racists, be it in South Africa, occupied Palestine, the Golan Heights or southern Lebanon, in order to defeat the invaders and occupiers. 49. The subject before the Council is not new. It is closely connected with the racist expansionist nature of Israel. Every racist expansionist entity must use violence, terrorism and repression in order to achieve its sinister objectives. Undoubtedly Israel, as its spokesmen themselves state, is the embodiment of settler colonialism, which can be carried out only through expulsion and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs from the territories Israel occupies and the subjugation of those who remain by means of the iron fst, enslavement and humiliation. As members are well aware, such expulsion and displacement and the Judaization of these territories to create a so-called exclusively Jewish State have formed the ideological basis of the Zionist movement since the middle of the past century. 54. We are proud to pay tribute from thii rostrum to the struggle of those who fall on the battlefield, be it in South Africa, Palestine, the Golan Heights or southern Lebanon. We pay tribute also to their determination in opposing invasion regardless of sacrifice. Victory shall reward those who fight in defence of their homelands, their existence and their dignity. Victory for the peoples is a historic inevitability. 50. Since its establishment through aggression, and in pursuit of this ideology, Israel has consistently perpetrated the most heinous crimes so as to create an exclusively Jewish State which, in the view of Israeli theoreticians and 56. As for the Middle East-where resistance is intensifying,and expanding-imperialism is trying to deflect the Arab national revolution by putting forth ideas intended only to preempt that revolution and that of the Palestinian ‘people against the Zionist settler invasion, from which the region has suffered so much. But the struggling masses will continue their tight for liberation, because they are well aware of the nature of the racist aggressor and of the schemes to sow despair among the Arab people, thus putting out the flame of resistance in its soul. What is taking place in the West Bank, Gam, the Golan Heights and southern Lebanon shows that the determinations to resist is stronger than ever and follows the logic of history. 57. It is regrettable ‘that successive American Administrations-in particular the current Administration, which has failed abysmally in its African policy-have made attempts at salvaging aparrheid while keeping Israel-the equivalent of South Africa-afloat by marketing Israel under the guise of “democratic values*‘. But that racist entity has been forcibly transplanted into our region by means of trampling underfoot the Palestinian people. In the Senate, the House of Representatives, all the branches of Government and the well-known media, Washington is widely propagating the lie of wide-scale democracy in Israel despite the fact that that “democracy*’ has displaced and continues to displace millions of Arabs, is occupying their territories, has besieged Beirut and still occupies parts of Lebanese territory and is planning more aggression and expansion, not to mention the killings, displacement, expulsion and exile. Perhaps one of the virtures of the socalled Israeli democracy is its endless greed for Arab territory and its unquenchable thirst for Arab blood. One example of the marketing of Israeli “democracy”, so as to deceive the American people and take more of its money in taxes to support the racist, expansionist entity is what the United States Secretary of State said in Crystal City, Virginia, in a statement on 21 April 1985 at the Annual Conference of the American-Israeli Committee on Public Affairs. Mr. Shultz referred to one of the greatest American Presidents and said: ‘When Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg of rededication to the cause of freedom, he was saying that the survival of liberty .depended on people’s faith in liberty.‘** That is true, but he went on to say: “Israel’s success as a thriving democracy helps sustain our faith in the democratic way of life not only in Amer ica but throughout the world. Today, the principles of freedom and democracy are more alive than when *Quoted in English by the speaker. 58. What can we deduce from the words of Mr. Shultz? We know what to deduce. But what does an American layman deduce from what was said by the United States Secretary of State? What he deduces is very dangerous; it harms the Arab and Arab-American relations and also undermines international peace and security. What Mr. Shultz is driving at is that the more Israel expands and the fiercer it gets, the more it becomes free and democratic. The more the status of democracy improves in the world and the more Israel practises the policies of oppression, occupation, displacement and aggression, the more similar to the United States Israel becomes, for they are both democracies. Mr. Shultz continued: “No wonder, then, that the friendship between the American people and the people of Israel has grown so strong over the years.“* 59. According to him,, one of the most important aspects of the consolidation of this special organic relationship with Israel is that the latter is “‘a vital.strategic ally in an important part of the world. The moral and personal bonds that tie us together have strengthened us both”.* What democracy indeed if they are mutually strengthened by oppressing and killing others? 60. The Secretary of State of that super-Power continued to emphasize the organic relationship of his country with usurper Israel and its unlimited commitment to the expansionist and aggressive Israeli policies. He went even further and said: “Through our material’and moral support for Israel, our votes in the United Nations, and our efforts for peace . . . we are a permanent, steadfast and unshakeable ally of the State of Israel. “Every year we provide more securitv assistance to Israel than to any other nation. We consider that aid to be one of the best investments we could make-not only for Israel’s security but for ours as well.*‘* 61. As opposed to the absolute support for Israel, we find in the same statement made by Mr. Shultz a remarkable contempt of Arab reason and of the dignity of all Arabs when he says: “Both Arabs and Israelis trust us, and they seek our help.” I wonder, is there an Arab who had asked for their help to consolidate the occupation of our territories and the humiliation of our citizens? We answer Mr. Shultz by saying that we cannot place our trust in the United States, which, as is well known, has made available all its unlimited resources for the consolidation of Israeli 65. We should like to remind the Council that honesty dictates recognition of the fact that Israel caused the forced exodus of about a million people in 1948 and of half a million people in 1967. It forcibly removed about 128,000 citizens from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and 30,000 people from the Demilitarized Zones which were under the supervision of the United Nations. Up to now these people have not been allowed to exercise their right of return in accordance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. 62. In answer to Mr. Shultz’s comment about the expansionist, racist nature of Israel-the Israel which the American Administration is trying to protect and market in the United States and in other places-1 would merely quote the Israeli journalist, Danny Rubinstein, who wrote in 2% New York Zmes of 16 July 1985: “The truth is that there is no consensus on the fundamental question facing Israel today: whether we are willing to sacrifice democracy for the sake of holding on to the territories. The national consensus for condemning Rabbi Kahane and teaching democratic values merely allows us to evade this more difftcult issue. 66. The statement of the representative of the enemy in his letter dated 9 September [S/17448] was only an attempt to categorize Bethlehem, El-Bireh, Jerusalem, Nablus, and Tulkarm, as Israeli cities, faking forgetfulness of article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which strictly prohibits the annexation of occupied territories, in whole or in part. We suggest he read page 275 of the 1958 edition of the Commentary on the Fourth Geneva Convention-specifically article 47, which sprang from the con_science of the nations as a result of Nazi Germany’s annexation of a number of countries during the Second World War. “Meanwhile, daily life in Israel teaches just the opposite of democratic values. The 1.5 million Arabs in the territories have been living under Israeli occupation for 18 years-living alongside Israelis without sharing their rights. Our young people have grown up believing that nationalist struggle, terrorism and lawful discrimination are facts of life. Under such circumstances, how can one hope to teach democracy?“* The same journalist revealed the racist prejudice in Israel against Arabs by recounting an incident that occurred during the strike of the stevedores in Israel: 67. Israel is responsible not only for its crimes resulting from the expulsion of the inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories, but for the crime of transferring the foreign settlers to the occupied territories. That, too, is a war crime, under the provisions of the aforementioned Convention and its Additional Protocol I.3 “Several years ago, during a crackdown on a stevedore strike, the leader of the striking union appeared on television and criticized the police. ‘How dare they treat us like this. ,Are we Arabs from the territories?“** 68. One of these days we must apply against the Israeli officials, whether individually or collectively, the punitive measures envisaged in articles 146, 147, and 148 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. 63. There is a un&sally recognized principle according to which occupation in itself is an act of aggression, in addition to its being a blatant violation of human and national rights in occupied territories. Therefore, whatever is taking place under the Zionist settler occupation must be seen through the inevitability of this oppression, which is in fact the reactor, the dynamo that moves the instincts of the racist society that is built on hatred of its victim. Therefore, an unconditional, speedy end must be put to the occupation. Thii necessitates the full Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories and the exercise by the Palestinian people of its inalienable rights, foremost among which is its right of return, its right to selfdetermination and its right to the establishment of an independent State on its national soil. Until then, the international community must support the struggle of the Palestinian people to restore its usurped rights. 69. The Security Council must once again compel Israel to respect the Fourth Geneva Convention whose applicability Israel altogether denies and yet its representatives turn round and invoke it at the Security Council. By not acknowledging that it applies to the occupied Arab territories, they threaten the international legal structure which is universally applied to civilians under occupation, Selective invocation and quotation of portions of articles of ,the Geneva Convention shows a lack of respect for the intelligence of the international community and constitutes a violation of the Council’s norms of behaviour and morality. 70. We wish finally to observe that the provisions of the draft resolution before the Council [S/17&q, are not commensurate with the gravity of the situation created by Israel in the West Bank, Gaza and other occupied territories through its oppressive measures, which violate the most elementary rules of international law governing foreign occupation. We believe that the draft resolution should have contained an explicit condemnation of Israel for its actions, and a strong condemnation of all acts of 64. We say to the representative of the enemy that his invocation of articles 49 and 78 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949: was specious-a mere attempt at misleading. The Council is duty-bound to stress to him *Quoted in English by the speaker.

Permit me first of all, Sir, to congratulate you on behalf of my delegation on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of September. Your qualities as an able diplomat and negotiator are well known to all, and in our view guarantee the success of our deliberations. 72. I wish also to express my delegation’s thanks to Mr. Oleg Troyanovsky, representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for the skill, wisdom and ability with which he presided over the Council last month. 73. It take this opportunity further to welcome, on behalf of the delegation of Burkina Faso, the representatives of the People’s Republic of China and Peru, countries with which Burkina Faso maintains excellent relations of cooperation. 74. For some weeks now, the violence of the Israeli occupation has again had a brutal impact upon the civilian population of the Arab territories illegally placed by Israel under its domination, particularly the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza. 75. After having reinstated in those territories the law of so-called preventive detention, the Israeli military forces have since 4 August been engaging in a series of repressive measures, including the imposition of curfews, arbitrary arrests, expulsions and administrative detentions without trial. 76. Moreover, the Israeli authorities have announced their intention to take military action against countries in the region harbouring offices of the PLO. The detailed information provided yesterday [2604th meeting] by the representative of Qatar and the observer for the PLO clearly shows the seriousness of the situation which brings us together here today. With its measures and its threats, Israel is seeking by intimidation totally to destroy the will to resist in the populations of the occupied territories. Their resistance is a legitimate one, which Israel and its friends stubbornly liken to simple acts of terrorism. 77. No one can honestly describe as terrorism the struggle of an oppressed and exploited people against its oppressor. That was true during the Second World War, when resistance movements were formed all over the world to tight against nazi domination and oppression. It was also true of colonized peoples in their liberation struggle against the colonial Powers, and is true today in South Africa, where 24 million Blacks, Coloureds and Indians have mobilized to rid South African society of racism and exploitation based on the vile system of apartheid. This 78. The establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East requires, first of all, the solution of the Palestinian problem. To that end, Israel should be realistic and courageous and decide to recognize the identity of the Palestinian people, and should negotiate with it through its sole, authentic representative, the PLO. Once that prerequisite is satisfied, we can hope at last for an end to the violence and insecurity which are the daily lot of the States and peoples of the region. 79. On the basis of that conviction, we have joined other non-aligned countries members of the Council in sponsoring the draft resolution contained in document S/17459. In that text the Council deplores the measures recently taken by Israel against civilian Palestinian populations in the occupied Arab territories, and calls upon Israel immediately to cease all repressive measures in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 That is the least the Council can expect of any State, including Israel. For that reason, my delegation hopes that the Council will be able without any difficulty to adopt this draft resolution unanimously.

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

As the Security Council considers the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, which is deteriorating as a result of the intensification of Israel’s arbitrary practices against the Palestinian population in that area, it should not lose sight of two fundamental facts. 82. First, Israel’s occupation of these territories is entering its eighteenth year. The nature and philosophy of this occupation are different from those of any other similar occupation, owing to the fact that by this philosophy the Israeli occupation authorities consider the indigenous population, to which the territory legitimately belongs, to be foreigners, with no right to their own country and land. The Palestinians’ presence there being merely “temporary”, the Israelis therefore have the “right”-in their view-to make free with those territories and settle them by force, encroaching on the inhabitants’ means of livelihood and even on their very existence on their own land. The escalating provocation against those Palestinians has reached such a level that groups of Israeli fanatics, led by a member of the Israeli Knesset, have called publicly for the expulsion of all Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 83. Secondly, there is a new generation of Palestinian young people who were born under that hateful occupation and have lived under it; and some of them are already 18. They know only the Israeli military authorities, the forces of occupation and the extremist settlers, who deal 84. In that connection, I wish to quote the Israeli professor Mark Heller, of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the University of Tel Aviv, in a recent interview with an American newspaper: 87. We believe that if the Council had insisted on Israel’s compliance with those resolutions it would not have found itself facing such a deteriorating situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The only solution to the suffering of the Palestinian population in those territories is an end to the occupation, through the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace, as called for by all international resolutions. “But Professor Heller added that perhaps the most important factor, and the one that explains why so many young Palestinians seem to be ready to take up violence against Israelis without any apparent directives from the PLO, is the coming of age in the West Bank of a new generation of Arabs that ‘has known no other administration than the Israeli military government.‘*‘* 88. Jordan, which real&s more than others the magnitude of the suffering of the Palestinian people under occupation, has emphasized consistently and continuously the necessity of achieving a comprehensive, peaceful settlement. Jordan seeks actively to revive the peace endeavours, which would put an end to the continued Israeli occupation and guarantee the rights of the peoples of all the States of the region to live in security and peace. The Jordanian-Palestinian agreement, which was based on the principles acknowledged by the Council and was ratified by Jordan and the PLO on 11 February 1985, was the embodiment of that faith and a commitment to achieving a comprehensive settlement, with the participation of the PLO, as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, in the peace process. Professor Heller came to the following conclusion about that generation: “They are themselves in a direct political conflict with Israel. It is not that they believe what they are doing will necessarily make a difference; it is rather that they don’t have any faith in anyone else anymore or have any other methods.“* 85. One can understand the truth of the situation of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only by realizing the magnitude of the frustration, suffering and despair it is experiencing as a result of the continued brutality of the occupation and the weakening of its belief in the possibility of its salvation through a just and comprehensive peace. Despite those self-evident facts, the Israeli officials continue to adhere to their usual tactic of blaming others and considering them to be responsible. The least that can be said about such a policy is that it is the policy of burying one’s head in the sand and failing to face up to reality. Persistence with such a policy leads to obstruction of the peace endeavours under way and the creation of tension and turmoil in the region, which serves only the enemies of peace and the forces of extremism and terrorism. 89. We hope that the Council will adopt the draft resolution [S/17&j, since that is the least it &n do to maintain the security and safety of the population of the occupied territories at this stage.

I warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency for this month. I have no doubt that, with your outstanding diplomatic skills, you will be able to guide the Council efficiently to accomplish its tasks. I also thank you and other representatives for the welcome extended to me. In discharging my duties and functions as a member of the Council, I shall spare no effort to cooperate closely with you and my other colleagues. 86. I shall not recount Israel’s practices of oppression, which have escalated recently in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Previous speakers have spoken about them, and the details of those practices are to be found in numerous letters distributed to members of the Council. But I wish to point out that the Security Council and the General Assembly have already adopted a number of resolutions on the situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and on the Israeli practices. Those resolutions emphasize the following points and principles: first, the illegality and illegitimacy of the Israeli actions aimed at altering the demographic and geographic status of the occupied territories, including the building of Israeli settlements, which were declared to be a grave obstacle on the path to peace; secondly, the necessity of Israel’s fully complying with the 91. Your predecessor, Mr. Troyanovsky, presided dynamically over the proceedings of the Council last month, and I take this opportunity to thank him. 92. Since 4 August this year, when the Israeli authorities declared the reintroduction of administrative detention in the West Bank and Gaza, they have taken a series of repressive actions in the occupied territories, trampling on the fundamental right to survival of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples and intlicting loss of life and property. 93. In his statement on 12 September [260&h meehg] the observer for the PLO thoroughly exposed and denounced these illegal activities of the Israeli authorities. ,* Q&ted in English by the speaker. 94. The Chinese delegation holds that the decision by Israel to carry out administrative detentions and deportations is in violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,’ and should therefore be repealed immediately. The Israeli authorities must also stop forthwith all their repression and intimidation against the Palestinian and other Arab peoples and ensure to them their legitimate right of existence. 95. It is both reasonable and justifiable for the Palestinian people and the Arab countries to demand that Israel stop its illegal activities in the occupied Arab territories and implement the relevant provisions contained in’ the aforementioned Geneva Convention. The Security Council should render them its support in this regard. The Chinese delegation therefore supports the draft resolution on this issue proposed by the non-‘&gned caucus [S/Z7459). 96. It is our consistent’belief that the Palestinian issue is thecrux of the Middle East problem, having a direct bearing on peace and stability in the Middle East region. The key factors to the solution of the Middle East question are that the national rights of the Palestinian people must be restored and that Israel must withdraw from all the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, including Arab Jerusalem. This is the only basis on which a comprehensive, just and durable peace can be achieved in the Middle Past. The Security Council should make further efforts towards this goal.

I do not necessarily wish to surrender to a tradition that could. easily become a mere ritual, but I wish in all sincerity and simplicity to say how happy my delegation is, Sir, that you have assumed the presidency of the Council for the month of September. It is said that history is strewn with imponderables. If a century ago your Government had not shown such a predilection for the spices of Zanzibar, I should perhaps have been able to address you today in the language of Shakespeare. However that may be, and without wishing to harm the excellent past and present relations between our two peoples and Governments, I would ask you to allow me to make my observations and to express our best wishes to ‘you in the language of Comeille and Racine. 98. Mr. Oleg Alexandrovich Troyanovsky, the representative of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, we express our gratitude for the equanimity, objectivity and method with which he discharged his functions aS President of the Council last month. We found in him a very. attentive listener to our ,aspirations and concerns-always out of a concern to preserve concord among us. 99. Finally, I take this opportunity, on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, to bid welcome to the new 100. The decision taken on 4 August by the Israeli authorities to apply once again in the occupied Palestinian territories a series of measures already regarded as illegal has led to the foreseeable reactions and, because of their nature and scope, has threatened international peace and security. The representative of Qatar,’ Chairman of the Group of Arab States for the month of September, therefore quite rightly requested, in his letter of 11 September, the immediate convening of the Council. 101. The facts are known. They have been reported in’ detail by previous speakers, in particular the.Observer of the PLO [260&h meeting]. The measures taken by the Israeli occupying authorities include administrative detenc tion that can last as long as six months and the deportation of persons considered to be a threat to security. But it would seem that the judicial protection against arbitrary action that has been set before us is only illusory, because recourse to it can be considered bnly as suspensions of. these measures. 102. In fact, the Israeli authorities could have confined themselves to police measures to keep the peace and maintain order. But, as was to be expected, they chose-faithful to their policies of escalation and extremism-to engage in the military or paramilitary operations which have resulted in a systematic campaign of massive detention of Palestinians on the West Bank and’in Gaza and iti the establishment of curfews as well as the carrying out of collective punishments. 103.. Together with this, there is the Israeli threat to launch direct military operations against the offices of the PLO in Amman and other places, as well as growing provocations by the Israeli settlers, encouraged by extreme statements by some Israeli authorities with regard to the very presence of Palestinians in Palestine. All those measures, the members of the Council will understand, serve only to exacerbate tension in. the region, and it is quite clear that the Palestinians are in no way responsible for this. 104. The General Assembly, particularly in resolution 35/122 of 11 December 1980, as well as the Security Council in its resolutions 468 (1980), 469 (1980) and 484 (1980), confirmed the’applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Tie of War, of 12 August 1949,’ to the Arab territories that have been occupied by Israel since 1967. The first paragraph of article 49 of that Convention expressly states that: “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as ., deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Qccupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.” ‘,. and I stress the words “regardless of their motive”. _. 10 I 106. We remain convinced, in spite of explanations put forward, that Israeli practices have affected the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and constitute repeated grave and flagrant violations of international law, in particular of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention. That is why we believe that the Council must take action to prevail upon, Israel to comply strictly with the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and desist immediately from administrative detentions, internments, forcible expulsion and imposition of curfews, which serve it only the better to carry out its policies of repression and oppression. 114. I take this opportunity also to associate myself with the welldeserved tributes paid by previous speakers to your predecessor, Mr. Oleg Troyanovsky of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for his highly competent and dignified stewardship of the Council during the month of August. We note in particular the fact that the Council’s plan to convene a commemorative meeting was finalized and agreed upon during his presidency. 107. Israel must put an end to its defiance of intemational public opinion and understand that a comprehensive, just and lasting solution that will make it possible for the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights is the only alternative to a situation of arbitrary rule, abuses and injustice. 115. I wish also to extend a warm welcome to Mr. Li Luye and Mr. Carlos Alzamora Traverso, who have recently taken up their assignments as representatives of the People’s Republic of China and Peru, respectively. With their wealth of diplomatic experience and extensive knowledge of international affairs, they should prove to be distinct assets not only in the conduct of diplomacy of their respective countries but also for the Organization.

I had the pleasure yesterday of telling you, Sir, how pleased I was to join the Council under your very able presidency, and I repeat that sentiment today. I want also to express my delegation’s appreciation of the excellent work done by my good friend, Mr. Troyanovsky, as President last month. I also wish cordially to express my thanks for the words of welcome extended to us today by fraternal delegations. 116. The question of the plight of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories is indeed not a new question before the Council. The Palestinians have long been victims of arbitrary measures by the occupying Power in the occupied territories. Moreover, the question of Palestine constitutes the core of the Middle East problem and holds the key to peace and security in the region as a whole. The position of my Government has been consistent in support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and in the eamest hope of achieving a peaceful and just solution to the problem. Therefore I should like once again to reiterate Thailand’s policy on this matter as follows. 109. As co-sponsors of draft resolution S/17459, we want to express our concern over the worsening of the situation in the occupied Arab territories by virtue of the measures taken by the occupying military authorities against the civilian population.- 110. Interested in contributing to the establishment of conditions that can lead to a just peace for all parties in the Middle Fast, Peru has participated in all attempts to stem the process of deterioration, of which the recent events are an additional serious factor. 117. First, Thailand fhmly supports all relevant United Nations resolutions on the question of Palestine, in particular Security Council resolution 242 (1967) on the Middle East, which constitutes the only agreed basis for solving the problem peacefully. 111. As part of that same desire for peace and justice in the area, we reiterate that concern and the urgent need for an end to the measures taken against the Palestinian population and for the occupying forces strictly to observe the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Tie of War, of 12 August 1949: which it is our duty to ensure. 118. Secondly, Thailand supports unequivocally the legitimate aspirations and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty and the right to return safely to their homes and properties. 119. Thirdly, Thailand holds that any acquisition of another State’s territory by force contravenes one of the internationally recognized principles. In this connection, 112. Therefore the nonaligned countries are submitting ‘the aforementioned draft resolution, whose adoption 121. To name a few: administrative detention is in violation of the third paragraph of article 5 of the Convention which stipulates that in case of trial the-protected persons shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed by the Convention. Article 49 of the Convention prohibits individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, regardless of their motive. Such measures and actions taken by Israeli authorities, if they should continue, would not only exacerbate tensions and conflict in the area but also constitute a serious obstruction to the efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, with serious implications for international peace and security in general. 122 My delegation also listened with attention and interest to the statement of the representative of Israel yesterday [ibid.]. However, my delegation is still of the opinion that in the situation under consideration, namely, in the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank and Gaza, the parties concerned, particularly the occupying Power, must strictly observe the relevant provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Moreover, the burden of proof should not rest on the occupied population but, rather, on the occupying authorities. In short, Israel has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that no measure prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention has been taken against the Palestinian people. In the absence of such proof, any benefit of the doubt should be conferred upon the people who are living under the yoke of foreign occupation. 123. In this connection, it should also be noted that the prolonged occupation of those territories by Israel is responsible for the actions of the people cited by Israel as the cause for its repressive measures. Indeed, the occupying Power has made an admission that the deportation of Palestinians has actually taken place. That measure is 124. In the light of the aforementioned, my delegation will vote in favour of the draft resolution contained in document S/17459.

We congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council and wish you success in your conduct of its proceedings, particularly in such a difficult and arduous month. 126. We wish also to oav tribute to the representative of the Union of Soviet Social&t Republics, Mr:Troyanovsky, for his skilful conduct of the Council’s work during August. His vast diplomatic experience and erudition promoted solutions to many difficult problems. 127. The delegation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic also associates itself with the congratulations extended to the representatives of China and Peru. 128. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic supported the request for the emergency consideration by the Council of the repressive measures by the Israeli authorities against the Arab Palestinian population of the occupied territories. The dangerous nature of the situation which has arisen as a result of those measures is demonstrated by the statements in the Council of the observers for the PLO and the League of Arab States [ibid J, as well as the alarming reports which have been coming in. 129. Our attention has been drawn once again to the explosive situation in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel and the need for taking of immediate and effective measures to put an end to the violence of the occupationists. 130. As emerges from the reports we have had, the occupy&g authorities have created a situation of terror and opened fire on helpless Palestinians, including women and children. They are carrying out mass arrests in accordance with the 4 August 1985 legislation on administrative detention. The authorities are inciting hatred. towards the Palestinians among the Israeli settlers. There can be no doubt that these actions are a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949: and of the decisions and resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. 131. The scale of the arbitrary implementation of that legislation in the occupied territories is demonstrated by many reports in the press which have repeatedly been quoted in the United Nations. Suffice it to point out that 87 per cent of the adult population in Palestinian refugee camps have been subject to arrest or detention. Thousands of times the occupationists used their weapons, resulting in 138. I am sure no one in the Council or in the audience can deny the significance or the appropriatene&af these verses with regard to the issue under consideration. The verses I just recited contain the divine mandate, the powerful and most valid, and as a matter of fact the only valid permission for the Palestinian Moslems to tight against the Zionist occupiers and in defense of their God-given rights, In addition, in verse 190 of surah II of the Holy Koran, we have: “Fight in the way of Allah against those who tight against you . . .‘*. 133. The delegation of the ‘Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic categorically condemns the aggressive expansionist policy of Israel and its most recent acts of repression’ against the Palestinians in the occupied territories. We are in favour of the immediate cessation of those actions and support the draft resolution contained in document s/17459. 139. These verses are addressed not simply to the Palestinian Moslems, who happen to be the most appropriate example of these verses, but to all Moslems, to all the millions of Moslems. To defend the holy land of Palestine, to liberate the Islamic sanctuaries from Zionist occupation, to re-hoist the flag of Palestine and to revive the State of Palestine under the banner of Islam are all Islamic duties which apply to all Moslems. The Holy Koran commands and orders all Moslems, in verse 60 of surah VIII; 134, The PRESIDENT: I should like to inform members of the Council that I have just received a letter from the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative 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. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Rajaie-Khorassani (Islamic Republic of Iran) took the place reserved for him at the side of the Council chamber.

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

I should like to thank you very much indeed, Sir, for allowing me to speak during the final moments of these meetings of the Security Council. I congratulate you on the manner in which you have presided over these meetings. I also congratulate and thank your predecessor for the valuable services he offered to the Council last month. 137. In the Holy Koran, verses 39 and 40 of surah XXII, we read: “Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and Allah is indeed able to give them victory; “Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah- For had it not been for Allah’s repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories “Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom ye know nor. Allah knoweth them.‘* 140. Instead of unifying all their resources and. the present-day strings of horses against the Zionist usurpers, some members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference-by that I mean some of our Islamic countries-resort to the Security Council and remain satisfied with draft resolutions, many of which-all similar to each other-have so often been adopted in the past, in order to cool down the champions of support for Palestine and also to please the Zionist enemy by that cooling-down process. 141. The history, and even the contemporary history, of Lebanon and Palestine has convinced even the Council members that what has been taken by force must be taken back by force, the only language that the Zionist enemy understands. 142. It is a waste of time to elaborate and to enumerate what the Zionist usurpers have done in the past or in recent days in the occupied territories. We have to finish the occupation, not analyse.the terms and the modalities of it. But regrettably it has been most difficult to bring our Moslem brothers together under the banner of Islam on this issue. 143. Ever since we forgot our Islamic identity and emulated the circular, satanic models of secular society, we have been forced to do things as they please and as their norms want us to do; therefore we waste our time in the Council waiting for it to restore justice for us-at least, in terms of resolutions. 145. Mr. President, as you know very well, by entering’ into negotiation with the illegal, illegitimate enemy, one gives recognition to oppression, to occupation and to ihegitimate, lawless practices. ~ 146, .!n this body, .the aggressor and the victim, the. oppressor and the oppressed become equal and equally legitimate. The illegitimate Zionist base of imperialism becomes a party to negotiations. This is .wrong. 147. But in an Islamic struggle the case is’different. There the oppressed race to eradicate injustice, not to negotiate. They race to demolish illegitimate editices and in so doing to try to carry out a divine spiritual obligation; this leads to justice and provides.for further spiritual enhancement. Justice is the natural equilibrium which the divine hand has inscribed for our social order. It is the social equivalent of the equilibrium which exists throughout nature: in the heavens, in the stars, in the moon, in the sun, in .&the galaxies, and in the ‘beauty of flowers-everywhere. Just as no one.can deny that equilibrium, no one can deny the prescriptive equilibrium which must be maintained in human’ society on the basis of divine prescriptions. 148. Those who ignore divine law and seek justice in the trivial secular artificialities on which we have been wasting our time for the past 38 years of the occupation of Palestine deserve the humiliation which ‘they proudly claim for themselves. 149. “I am sure we all know what would be involved if the Arab world really wanted to act according to Islam and were to make ready for it all the forces and the strings of horses of today’s Islamic countries. All the assets of the Moslem countries in the Zionist banks in the United States; all the resources, the oil, the manpower of Egypt, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Morocco, Algeria and so many other military and other .Powers; all their markets and economic resources; and, above all, their hands and brains-all would be mobilized and utilized according to the way of God. Our strings of horses and our present-day forces ,would be mobilized against the enemy. /, 150. If ,they could co-ordinate.only one fifth of all those resources, I am sure that the Zionist occupiers would find it absolutely uneconomical to stay in Palestine any longer. They wouid just go. But when the Islamic dicta and rulings are forgotten, the-Zionist enemy can occupy and expand its occupation; it can deport, destroy and kill: And we sit in the Council chamber fighting for a draft resolution. That is the tragedy of the Moslem world. 151. To please our brothers who have appealed to the Council, my delegation supports draft resolution S/17459, in which the Council only deplores the crimes of the Zionist usurpers. It even begrudges a stronger word-quite apart from the fact that even this petty offering might be vetoed. We, and the members of the Council, should see that it is a 152. The struggle of the Lebanese people has made it evident that this once-invincible enemy-an enemy which in 1967 the entire Arab army could not resist for more than six days-can be defeated, and even with a small army. But where are the wise eyes and ears to see and listen to the best lesson of our contemporary history? 153. Like many good members of the Council, we too believe in justice, but we do not believe that justice can be achieved simply by the Security Council. 154. Our position is quite clear. We believe that the Moslem world must conduct itself according to Islam in order to restore its rights and to hoist once again the flag of Palestine over the entire Islamic land of Palestine. I beg our Moslem brothers, Arabs and non-Arabs, to join hands on the basis of Islam and to establish a united Islamic front. 155. Just as we are ready to join them in the Council, I ask our brothers please to join us to defeat the enemy and to defend our Palestine at the battle-front. I assure them that if they do so this very Council will happily adopt any resolution that pleases them, because they will be powerful and victorious, and ‘worthy of respect and reverence from those who recognize no right but power. I believe that many in this Chamber, including members of the Council, agree with me. 156. The Zionist non-entity is really nothing. It must be defeated, and it can be defeated very easily. Tbe Moslem nation is really a great, superior and able nation. I am sure that it is capable of eliminating the cancer of zionism from the Middle East and, that it will do so very soon. ‘.

I hope that in his speech the representative of the ‘Islamic Republic of Iran was not advoc&ng courses of action contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the acceptance of which is a condition of. membership of the Organization. If he wishes to do so, the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be able to spe;ik in reply in due course. 158. The next speaker is the. representative, of Israel. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his ‘statement. 159. Mr. NETANYAHU”(Israe1): It is instructive sitting here this afternoon, receiving lectures about human rights, democracy and democratic values from’ the: likes of the representatives of Syria and a few other countries. We owe a special, warm debt to the last speaker, the representative of Iran, who grew tired of the dissimulation of some speakers and called the proceedingsand the statements of those 160. We are talking here about deportation. I have heard that word come up several times during the present discussion. The representative of Iran unabashedly tore the mask off what some representatives have been calling for-the deportation of a State, of an entire people, a holy war. 161. I heard the representative of Syria speak on behalf of the tortured Palestinians. I ask him: who is killing Palestinians in the Bekaa? Who is killing them in Tripoli? Who is killing them in Beirut? Who is killing them in Sidon? Who is killing them in Damascus? Yasser Arafat is very specific about that, and at least he deserves to be heard on Syria. He said, as reported in Der Spiegel in July: 167. Nothing justifies the deliberate murder of children. Nothing, not “national 1iberation”;not fighting for “legitimate rights**-nothing. If we allow ourselves to become conditioned, horribly conditioned, to the idea that such terrorism, such violence, such systematic and deliberate killing of civilians, is permissible, ‘not merely will (those particular victims suffer, but it will opeh up the intemational arena for a period of lawlessness and a return to the savagery that we witnessed earlier ‘in the century. “In Damascus, in .the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk ‘alone, 22 Palestinians have been killed and more than 80 wounded in recent fighting with government forces. . . . The same thing is happening in the Palestinian camps in Haleb and Darah, also in Syria. Moreover, hundreds have been detained.** The Voice of the PLO from Baghdad is quite specific. It says that “the PLO holds Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad responsible for the bloody incidents”. , 168, I asked yesterday how many deportations we were dealing with. The figum, that ,I gave has not been challenged. The number was one expulsion of an active terrorist in the past four years. Some representatives, including the Syrian representative, said that “mass killings*’ j of Palestinian Arabs were taking place right now. Mass killings, I suppose, by Hama rules would be, say, 20,000. That is the number of. Syrian civilians killed in Hama. Take half of that-10,000: that would be mass killings. But I shall be lenient and say perhaps 1,000, perhaps 100: it is still a mass killing. I shall be more lenient-lo. How about five? How about naming five Palestinian Arabs who have been killed-we can argue later about whether they were innocent or not-by Israeli forces in the past year? I shall be more lenient. How about fewer than five? I suggest we have the names of .those people presented here. Just like yesterday’s figure, today’s challenge says ‘it all. 162.‘, I shall be happy to supply the numbers, because what is important is not only who is doing the accusing, but the numbers involved. Medical Aid for the Palestinians, a British-based charity whose sympathies are very clear, reported this summer, after a trip to Lebanon, that 14,000 Palestinian Arabs had fled the Syrian carnage to southern Lebanon. It is evidently much safer for Palestinians to be closer to Israel than to Syria and Damascus. 163. The representative of Syria evoked, by my count, at. least a dozen times the word “democracy*‘. What kind of democracy is he suggesting-the farcical parliaments of Damascus, perhaps democracy by what is known in our, region by everyone-and by now, surely by the members of the Council-as democracy by Hama rules? He evoked other calls-and I was touched to hear them-about concern for Israeli democracy and its future by various Arab representatives: I am’encouraged by that concern, because I hope it will translate into their own countries and into a new agethat we can look forward to. 169. We are dealing here not .merely with the abuse of the Council and its convening for an absolutely preposterous and irrelevant reason, but with a distortion, because those very people who have been engaged in mass killings, in mass attacks, in the deliberate and systematic murder of the innocent, are usurping the purpose and meaning of this body, and it would be a terrible continuation of the degradation they seek to inflict on ‘it if the draft resolution that they have presented were adopted. 164. But I am most grateful to the Syrian representative for his quotation from Lincoln. To give another ouotation from him, Lincoln once said: “Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold on a silver platter*‘. .

It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it [ibid.]. Unless I hear. an objection, I shall put it to the vote now. 165. I do not wish to sav that the’ Svrian renresentative’s other text was a silver plaiter, but hisrquotatibns about the meaning of liberty and the commitment to liberty of the American Secretary of State and his statements about Israel’s resolve to defend liberty are indeed apples of gold. 171. I shall first call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements ,before the voting. _ 173. I would ask you to be good enough to express our thanks also to the representative of the Soviet Union for the remarkable way in which he carried out his task during August, a month in which he presided over the Council with authority and courtesy. 174. My Government has observed with great concern the new rise of tension in the West Bank and Gaza, which has led the administration of the occupying Power to revive special legislation dating from the time of the Mandate. One can only deplore the constraints which that legislation imposes on the civilian population of the occupied territories. Nevertheless, we must remain aware that only a cessation of the escalation of violence, from whatever source, will make it possible to restore the climate of contidence that is ‘indispensable to dialogue. -. 175. You are aware of the particular interest that my Government has always taken in the situation of the peoples of these territories, both with regard to the protection of the persons and to the preservation of resources and respect for the structures of local representation. It is in that spirit that my country has always been committed to the defence of the legitimate rights of the peoples of the territories of the West Bank and Gaza, in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.2 Accordingly, my delegation would have liked to be able to take a position on a text of a draft resolution clearly reflecting the situation with regard to the measures taken by the occupying administration since 4 August last v&d-vis the stipulations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. That Convention clearly prohibits, in its article 49, deportations of persons outside the territories in question, and, in its article 78, subjects internment to precise conditions. There can be no doubt whatsoever that Israel, as the occupying Power, must respect the provisions of that Convention. According to information at our disposal, some of the measures recently taken by Israel in the occupied territories are not in fact in keeping with the provisions of that Convention. But the draft resolution before us suggests that all those measures are contrary to the Convention. 176. In those circumstances, my delegation feels it must abstain on the draft resolution.

First of all, I should like to express the thanks of my delegation for the able, indeed outstanding, manner in which you, Mr. President, have presided over the Security Council during the month of September, and to express our gratitude therefor. 178. I should like also to address to Mr. Troyanovsky our thanks for the businesslike, coherent and fair way in 179. I turn now to my statement in explanation of vote. 180. I must first point out that the confrontational debate we have witnessed yesterday and today has done little to serve the cause of peace. In our view, the often intemperate and unwarranted language used by many members to criticize Israel has tended only to distract and disrupt and to complicate the search for a just solution to the problems of the Middle East. It has been a matter of particular concern to us that this should be taking place when a process of peace is under way in the Middle East. 181. I have to note in particular a number of references here to the Nazis and nazism. One or another contemporary situation has been repeatedly described here as a form of nazism, as being analogous to the crimes of the Nazi period. This is patent nonsense. I can only appeal for an end to this sort of harmful, indeed poisonous, rhetoric. 182 It is particularly distressing to listen to rhetoric charging the United States Government with the “heinous crimes” of responding to public opinion in determining its foreign and domestic policies, helping to provide Israel with a sense of security and attempting to find a way to bring about a just and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbours. I had hoped to listen to and participate in a reasoned debate. I regret that, instead, I have heard the preaching of hate in this Chamber. 183: Coming now to the subject of this debate, let me say that I believe we have another problem here-namely, the selective application of the law. This is a phenomenon which, regrettably, is becoming ever more frequent in the Council and could well be the death knell of any system of law. Any system of law-and certainly that is what the United Nations aspires to be-has as its first rule the equal application of the law. This principle lies at the heart of the Charter of the United Nations. Universality is the very cornerstone of the United Nations. The unfortunate obsession of several States in the Council debate with the selective application of international conventions is destructive to the quest for world order as envisaged by the Charter. This cannot be allowed to continue. Either these conventions apply to all or they apply to none. Selective application of the Charter or international conventions strikes at the very heart of the institution. My Government will continue to oppose such destructivetendencies. 184. I was also grieved by the repeated accusations of hostility toward Palestinians made by those who choose to forget that my country has done more to support the Palestinians through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency since 1949 than any other country. As is well known, the United States is by far the largest contributor to UNRWA. 185. Let me turn now to the draft resolution before the Council [ibid.]. 193. I should like also to record my delegation’s warm appreciation of the skilful way in which the representative of the Soviet Union discharged his duties as President during the month of August. 187. We have made clear in the past that we consider measures such as administrative detention and deportation to be inconsistent with the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.* 194. The Australian delegation abstained in the vote. In considering the draft resolution we have taken into account all the statements made to the Council in these two meetings and our understanding of the situation on the ground in the occupied territories. What is clear to us is the increasing unrest on the West Bank with violence breeding violence, often to the detriment of innocent civilians. Of particular regret to my delegation are the graphic and sad accounts of attacks on innocent women and children, attacks that we find outrageous and repugnant. 188. As we have stated repeatedly, the United States Government is very concerned about the level of violence throughout the area, including Lebanon and Israel. If left unchecked, this violence inevitably leads to a spiral of rep risals. All those truly interested in a just and lasting settlement in the region must work to break this vicious circle. One-sided draft resolutions such as this one, however, encourage the spiral of violence and retaliation by hardening the attitudes of all parties. The party singled out for condemnation naturally concludes it can never get a fair hearing, and the other parties believe that the Security Council has condoned their actions. I might add that there are unfortunately many other peoples in that region, in Central Asia, and in South-East Asia who live under foreign military occupation. Little consideration seems to be given to the plight of these millions who have been driven from their homes. 195. In approaching the issue before the Council, my delegation has been guided by a number of considerations. We cannot do otherwise but note that the persistence of problems of this sort reinforces the continuing need for a just and lasting peace settlement in the Middle East. In the present case, we regard Israel’s continued occupation of the occupied territories as being in breach of international law. Equally, while the occupation continues there can be no doubt as to the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949: to those occupied territories. Israel has understandable security concerns, but it has an obligation to respect the civil liberties of the Arab inhabitants of the West Bank and to refrain from excessive measures. There may be debate as to what constitutes a breach of the Geneva Convention, but it is important that the acts of the occupier conform to the letter and spirit of the provisions of that Convention. 189. In conclusion, let me say that such a draft resolution as the one before us undercuts rather than strengthens the ability of this body to play a positive role in resolving the problems which are the root cause of the violence by exacerbating an already volatile situation.

I shall now put to the vote the draft resolution submitted by Burkina Faso, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, and contained in document S/17459. 196. The facts of the situation in the West Bank speak for themselves. Much has been said here about causes and effects and blame has been directed at different parties. What is clear is that action has bred reaction in a cycle of violence. The result has been a series of events all too familiar, but none the less distressing, to members of the Council. It is the hope of the Australian delegation that we shall see, first, an early end to violence and, secondly, a restoration of calm and peace in the occupied territories. A vote ivas taken by show of hands. In favour: Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Against: United States of America. Abstaining: Australia, Denmark, France; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 197. My delegation regrets that the draft resolution before the Council was deficient in several respects. We would have preferred to see a recognition in it of the rzgrettable escalation of violence in the occupied territories rather than a focus solely on the actions of one party. Similarly, the draft resolution in our view contains unbalanced and, in some cases, less than fully accurate reflections of the situation on the ground in its relationship to the Geneva Convention. It is for those reasons that my delegation abstained in the vote on the draft resolution before us. There were 10 votes in favour, I against and 4 abstentions. 7?ze draft resolution was nof adopted. the negative vote being that of a permanent member of the Council.

I shall now call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting. 199. I should like also to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Troyanovsky,.for the way in which he carried out his duties as President for the month of August. Once again my delegation had the opportunity to admire his qualities as a .diplomat and to appreciate his fairness and sense of humour. ’ 200. Denmark is very concerned about the latest developments in the Arab territories ‘occupied by Israel since 1967. The increasing number of attacks on Israeli civilians has led to a series of Israeli countermeasures, including administrative detentions, curfews and deportation orders. 201. My Government strongly deplores this escalation of violence and tension, which has resulted in a number of innocent civilian victims, and urges all parties to show the utmost restraint. We should like to reaffirm that the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative-to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Tie of War, of I2 August 1949,2 as well as other norms of international law, are applicable to the occupied territories until such time as an, end is put, within the framework of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement, to the territorial occupation which Israel has maintained since 1967. , 202. Denmark, together with the other members of the European Community, has on several occasions stated its position regarding the Israeli policies in these territories and the principles necessary to secure peace in the Middle East. A continuation of the cycle of violence and countermeasures can only undermine the necessary basis of dialogue and trust ‘which is an essential prerequisite for any constructive negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace settlement.Denmark therefore urges that no steps be taken that could lead to further aggravation of tension in the area. 203. The draft resolution presented today did not adequately take these considerations into account. Furthermore, we fear that it might have hampered the moves towards negotiations on the Arab-Israeli contlict. Consequently, my delegation abstained in the vote.

Sir, we are happy to see you here as President and we feel that the affairs of the Council are in good hands, We wish you all success in this important month when, among other things, we shall hold a commemorative session of the Security Council with Ministers for Foreign Affairs participating. 21.1: The PRESIDENT: Before I speak in my capacity as the representative of the United Kingdom, I should like to say one or two things. 205. I also welcome the new representatives of China and Peru and wish them success in their important work. - 206. The-Soviet Union voted for the draft resolution submitted by the group of non-aligned States members of the 18 . -, 207. The dangerous situation created as a result of these repressive measures can be seen from the statements of the observer for the PLO, the representatives of the Arab countries and members of the Council at yesterday’s and today’s meetings. Moreover, we would like to stressthat we reject any attempt to equate the occupiers with the inhabitants of the territories who are resisting occupation. We feel that any talk of a “cycle of violence” is quite out of place in this situation. 208. The Council knows that the Israeli authorities have established conditions of terror in the occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaze Strip: the occupiers open fue on defenceless Palestinians and mass arrests are being carried out in accordance with the 4 August law on administrative detention. In a number of cities curfews have been imposed and many Palestinians are threatened with deportation. The fact that these actions are a flagrant.violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 and of resolutions of the Council can be doubted by no one. Nor can anyone doubt that-Israel’s actions and its ignoring of Security Council decisions are possible strictly because of the direct economic, military, political and diplomatic help and support received from its strategic partner. Today we have seen yet another example of that support. 209. The Soviet delegation contirms its unswerving policy on the question of the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. We express our solidarity with the courageous struggle of the Palestinian people for their legitimate national rights and the establishment of an independent State. A comprehensive Middle East settlement can be achieved only through the collective efforts of all the parties concerned, including the PLO, within the framework of a specially convened international conference, on the Middle East. 210. In vigorously condemning Israel’s recent repressive acts against .Palestinians in the occupied territories the delegation of the Soviet Union feels that it is high time for the Council to take the strictest measures to put an end to such activities. 212. I feel somewhat at a disadvantage: Since I have already formally congratulated and thanked my‘predecessor on behalf of the whole Council and also welcomed the representatives of China and Peru, I am left without any 213. I hope that all extreme or abusive statements will be avoided. They are not consistent with the standing and dignity of the Council. In particular, they should be avoided by representatives of non-members who are guests of the Council. 214. I -now wish to make a statement in my national capacity in explanation of vote. 215. My delegation listened with close attention to the arguments put forward in the course of the debate. We also took account of reports from the occupied territories of violent incidents and of measures taken by the authorities. We deplore the acts of violence by whomsoever committed, especially when these cost innocent civilian lives. We feel grave concern for the damage done to the atmos- ?here of calm and restraint which is essential for the success of current efforts to engage all parties in peace negotiations, to which we attach the greatest importance. 216. We cannot ignore the fact that a number of the measures taken by the Israeli authorities in the occupied territories appear to have been extreme’and to have been taken in breach ‘of their legal obligations. The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2 imposes clear obligations upon the occupying Power in its conduct towards the civilian population of the territory. There can be no doubt that deportation of even a single individual would be in breach of the provisions of article 49 of the Convention and, therefore, wholly unacceptable. Nor do we believe that the Israeli authorities have acted with all the sensitivity that is clearly required in the tense and unhappy circumstances prevailing in the occupied territories. 2 17. My delegation considered carefully the draft resolution submitted by a number of member States of the Council in document S/117459. As some members are aware, we indicated that a number of points of difficulty arose for us in its formulations. Despite our unhappiness about certain aspects of the conduct of the Israeli authorities, we were not satisfied that paragraph 2 conformed with the occupying Power’s legal obligations in this case, and we would have welcomed a balanced reference calling for an end to violence by all parties. Only if calm is restored to the West Bank will it be possible to move the peace process forward. We regret that suggestions on these lines were not taken up and we have therefore found it necessary to abstain in the vote on this draft resolution. 218. I now resume my function as President of the Security Council. The representative of Qatar has asked to be allowed to speak, and I call on him. 219. ‘Mr. AL-KAWARI (Qatar) (interpretation from Arabic): On the occasion of the conclusion of the Council’s proceedings on the repressive measures taken by the Israelis against the Palestinians in occupied Arab territories, I 220. I express our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the nonaligned States members of the Council for their efforts in preparing a draft resolution that reflected the minimum aspirations of the civilian population in the Palestinian territories to put an end to the inhuman practices pursued by the Zionist authorities against them. 221. I express the same thanks and appreciation to all those States that voted in favour of the draft resolution. Their affirmative votes reflect their commitment to humanitarian principles and equality among all peoples, as well as the fact that they have expressed their concern for ,a11 individuals without any discrimination. 222. I am confident that the Palestinian people will not forget this honourable position and will consider it as sup port in its efforts to end the occupation. The Group of Arab States, for its part, expresses its appreciation to them for their positive response to Arab demands and will not forget their position. i : 223.. We regret that some States have abstained in the vote. We had hoped that those States, some of which have suffered from foreign occupation and whose peoples have struggled with all courage against the occupiers, would understand the reality of the. situation faced by the Palestinian people and the feelings and reasons behind the Palestinian struggle to end that occupation. We had hoped that the history and heritage of those countries would impel them to vote in favour of that draft resolution. 224. We especially regret that the United States has by its veto defeated the draft resolution. We had hoped that the United States, which takes a pioneering role against colonialism and occupation-which supports human rights and self-determination for. all peoples-principles enshrined in the Fourteen Points proclaimed by President Wilson-would not ignore the rights of the Palestinian people. We had hoped that it would not ignore the most basic human aspirations of the Palestinian people, particularly since the draft resolution was very mild in form and in content. 225. Legally and technically, the draft resolution has failed because of the use of the veto. Morally, however, the draft resolution has given support to our brothers in the occupied Arab territories in their struggle to rid themselves of injustice and heinous occupation. 226. The ‘PRESIDENT: The observer for the PLO has asked to speak. I call on him.

At .the outset I should like, on behalf of the PLO, the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinians, wherever they are, to convey our thanks to all our friends who voted in favour of the draft 228. Israel believes that mankind in general is in the wrong and that people are liars. Israel believes that it and the United States are the only countries that do not lie. Anyway, I shall leave it to the Council to understand the lies and inventions of the Israeli representatives. 229. The position of the United States, which killed the draft resolution, as it previously killed the declaration by the President of the Security Council, automatically stands in the way of any measure taken by this Council on the subject. It is yet another practice in a long list of practices pursued by the United States against the aspirations of the Palestinian people. 230. This position of the United States goes against the minimum standard of human rights because it supports the oppression and the iron-fist policy pursued by Israel. It ignores the most basic human right of the Palestinian people: the right to stand up to aggression. This disastrous veto cast by the United States is yet another challenge to the international will and the will to halt the illegal practices pursued by Israel against the people of Palestine. 231. The representative of the United States said that the United States has helped the Palestinian people. He ignored the fact that the United States was behind the problem of the Palestinians and has opposed the Palestinians’ return to their homeland. The return of the Palestinian people is still being opposed by Israel and the United States, especially the United States, which prevents the adoption of any resolution by the Council. Moreover, Israel and the United States are impeding the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions. 232. Everyone knows who is hindering the attainment of peace in the Middle East. To be hypocritical and yet condemn hypocrisy is the worst form of hypocricy. The position of the United States will encourage our people to go in only one direction: to step up its struggle and end the occupation of our territory. We insist on regaining our territory and establishing an independent State on our own soil, Palestine. 233. As for the lies on the part of the Zionist reprcsentative today and yesterday, and his attack against the Palestinian people in its struggle in the occupied territories, I should like to tell him about some of the opinions in the Israeli press. The Israeli representative believes that anything else is just a lie, a fabrication and invention. He may be convinced by what is being said in the Zionist press and written by Zionist writers. 20 .’ 235. When an Israeli newspaper like Davar admits that fact and devotes to it its edit&d of 20 August, it sends an obvious message to the supporters of “the iron fist policy, the policy of oppression, the policy of besieging Palestinian camps and villages”. The purport of this message is that “that policy might bring about a certain calm, but the next wave of resistance will inevitably come; it cannot be prevented”. The editorial called upon the Israelis to dispel the illusions harboured by those in power who attempt to halt the efforts of those struggling against the occupation, ,and also said that “he who believes that the practices of the occupation authorities can stop protest against the Israeli authorities is deluding himself ‘. 236. Anyone observing the prevailing situation in the occupied territories in the light of the offtcial terrorism against Palestinian citizens may have an opinion contrary to that of the masterminds of Zionist policy, because that policy cannot dissuade the Palestinians from resistance. 237. The newspaper went on to say that: “It is high time that the Israeli Government stop arm-twisting, flexing its muscles and offering deceptive promises that the blood of Jews will not be split in vain. Why do we not speak the truth and say that there can be no secure life for the Jews”-referring, of course, to the Jews on the West Bank and in Gaza--“if more than a million people look upon us as occupiers. Even if we take away their knives, razors and stones, they will still have their fists, nails and teeth to resist with.” 238. I quote again from the newspaper Ha’aretz of 7 August, which said: “The outbreak of a fire within means success for Arafat. We have to admit unequivocally that the inevitable result of all the oppression will be a very harmful one, particularly since confusion and disillusionment will be sown among the Jewish population, which will alter the direction and shape of life even within the green-line area and administer a shock to our society.*’ 239. If our people’s resistance to occupation in the occupied territories amounts to mere acts of terrorism by a handful of people, as was alleged by the representative of Israel, why, then, do they send paratroops to the Palestinian territories? Why do they increase their oppression against the inhabitants of the occupied territories? Why have they persisted in enforcing inhuman laws against them since 4 August 1985? Why do they continue administrative arrests by the hundreds? Why do they deport trade unionists workers, students and heads of municipalities who spent long periods in prison and were freed under agreements with the International Red Cross? Why were they expelled after having spent month after month among their people, as was determined by yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to expel I.1 Palestinians from the 247. I regret that some may have been displeased by that call. The fact is that my statement, the statement of a guest of the Security Council, was not abusive at all. It was full of facts, but facts are not always sweet. They are sometimes very bitter. The facts that are taking place now inside Palestine and Lebanon and elsewhere in the Moslem world are very bitter. The occupation of Palestine, the killing of people, their dislocation, their being led to where they are now, are very bitter facts; they are not sweet. We must however see them as they are.

The representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran has asked to speak in exercise of his right of reply. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 248. We also know that the occupation of Palestine and the violation of the rights of the Palestinians have been tolerated very politely in this chamber. I believe that the bitter facts about those violations and usurpations deserve the same treatment.

1 thank you, Mr. President, for inviting me to speak again, “to exercise the right of reply”. My understanding is, Sir, that in your capacity as President of the Council, you probably did not have the right to make that comment about my statement; and as to your national capacity I think that your comment, since I did not say anything against your country, might not have been necessary. But still I am exercising my tight of reply.

The representative of the Syrian Arab Republic has asked to speak in exercise of the right of reply. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 242. Regarding the substance of your comment, Sir, I say that we are a signatory to the Charter of the United Nations not for the fun of it, but in order to see that the Charter is implemented. I wonder if any member of the Council believes that the Council has been able fully and correctly to defend the rights of the Palestinians or that the struggles of the Council in that direction have not been obstructed. Our problem, Mr. President, is the same as yours: we too want the implementation of the Charter and of the resolutions of the Council.

I apologize to members of the Council for speaking at such a late hour, but I shall be very brief. 251. At the outset, I wish to express my country’s thanks to Burkina Faso, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Madagascar and India for their position of principle on such a vital issue, the protection of the structure of international human law by obliging countries that are occupying others to respect international law. That position shows care not only for international law but for the Charter of the United Nations, which was adopted zifter the Second World War because of the Fascist and Nazi practices to which millions fell victim in Europe. 243. But consistent implementation of the Charter requires respect for the Charter both today and at the time when the land of Palestine was first occupied and divided, with one part of it gradually eroded and nibbled at, which is the case to this day. We all know where we are today: it is the revered Charter itself which has not been able to defend the rights of the Palestinian people, or the rights of the Moslems whose sanctuaries are now occupied by the Zionist forces. 252. The vote on the draft resolution made one thing clear, particularly to all the Arab countries which, represented by the representative of Qatar, came here to request what was their right, not to beg anything of the Council. If the United States veto of another draft resolution put forward to save those persecuted under occupation in Lebanon and elsewhere showed anything, it was its intention to abolish or destroy international law because it applies to the American aggression against the people of Nicaragua. 244. We therefore believe that the Charter has, in very polite terms, not been implemented. We believe that this politeness and lack of implementation will continue. 245. 1 should also say, Sir, without making any comment regarding the substance of the Malvinas war-and I believe you will agree with me-that your country conducted that war under the title of self-defence. Your country believed it was a legitimate war. 253. There are attempts to falsify the description “freedom fighters”. The United States Central Intelligence Agency is working in Nicaragua. Officials at the highest levels of the United States Administration are formally calling the rebels there popular or national liberation movements. However, our sons in Palestine, South Lebanon and other occupied Arab territories are exiled, shot, detained and imprisoned, and we are told that we have no right to resort to the Security Council with a resolution that can include only one party, as if we were on the same level as the Israelis; the usurpers and the occupied are on the same level. 246. Similarly, I believe that if the Moslem world unites in defence of Palestine and against the Zionist usurpers that is quite legitimate under the Charter, and none of its signatories will be in contravention of the terms of membership of the United Nations. Therefore, I am glad that the call for the defence of Palestine, the very comprehen- 255. The right to wage that struggle is enshrined in the Charter. It is a tradition that has been followed since the foundation of the United Nations and since the adoption of the resolution to end colonization. It is just like the right given in Article 5f of the Charter. The struggle is legitimate. All countries under occupation are obliged to use that right to liberate their territories. Therefore, no matter how the United States may try to equate us with the Israelis imported from various parts of .the world, we shall never listen to the United States. We shall never heed its threats and we shall never yield an inch. We shall come to the Security Council dozens of times, knowing in advance that we shall face the American veto, because we know the United States is protecting Israel. 256.’ Israel signed the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Tie of War, of 12 August 1949.2 So far it has not recognized the applicability of the Convention to all Arab territories, but it selects those provisions that benefit its occupation forces while denying those that protect the civilian population under occupation. 257. We have more than once said that what we are trying to tell the Council is that there is an alliance between the United States and Israel and a conspiracy against the Arab nation, particularly in that region of the Middle East. 258. There has been talk about democracy. We talk about Israeli democracy, that racist democracy. of course the Zionists have democracy; they have the right to vote. The white minority in South Africa has the right to vote, but the black majority does not have that right. The two situations are very similar. The Arabs in soxalled Israel do not have the rights given to the Israelis. In order not to prolong the discussion, I shall not give examples. 259. The freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution seems to apply only to those who praise and applaud Israel. I shall give a very small example in this connection. It relates to a professor at the State University at Stony Brook in Long Island. I quote the following excerpt from an article in i%e New York Times on 18 August: “mis professor] who was involved in a controversy two years ago-because a course he taught equated Zionism with racism has been denied tenure and will have to leave the University next year. L‘ -_ . . . l Quoted in English by the speaker. *‘The Israeli professor, Selwyn K. Troen, said he had never talked with Professor Dube nor attended his classes, but based his charge on a complaint by one student and by the course syllabus.” And here is the syllabus: “Fifth week: the three forms of racism and how they have manifested themselves. 1. Nazism in Germany. 2. Apartheid in South Africa. 3. Zionism in Israel.“* 260. The fate meted out to that professor was expulsion from the university. The claim is made that in the United States academic freedom is guaranteed. But because that professor dared to speak freely and honestly and to say what we have said in the General Assembly-namely, that ‘Zionism is racism-he was expelled. This is freedom and democracy in the United States. 261. The representative of the enemy asked for the name of a Palestinian who was killed last year, or during the last two years. But all of us read the newspapers. We know that a large number of persons have been killed; I am not saying that thousands have been killed, but there have been a large number. The Israeli representative used the phrase “in the past year”. But he forgot about the destruction and killing that have taken place since 1948. 262 Through you, Mr. President, we should like to ask the Israeli representative this: Who killed Count Folke Bemadotte, the representative of the Secretary-General in Palestine? Shamir, now the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel. Does that not constitute killing? Shamir killed Count Folke Bemadotte and his.French colleague. 263. Through you, Mr. President, we ask the Israeli rep resentative this: Who killed 300 innocent civilians in Deir Yassin? Who was the champion of that massacre? Well, the champion of that massacre was crowned with the Nobel prize. He became a Nobel prize laureate. The Nobel prize is not an Arab prize. Everyone knows the background of the prize. And who perpetrated the massacre in Deir Yassin? Begin, who went to Cairo and who was visited by Sadat. Begin, who was awarded the Nobel prize, And who perpetrated the massacre at Qibya? It was Sharon, the same person who perpetrated the massacre of Beirut; the same person who masterminded the plan.for the invasion of Lebanon, in which 30,000 Lebanese have been killed and which has left tens of thousands of other victims. 264. ‘And the Israeli representative asks when did they kill people, when did they beat them, when did they expel 265. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which the representative of Israel has falsely invoked, states very clearly in its second paragraph: “Persons thus evacuated shall be transferred back to their homes as soon as hostilities in the area in question have ceased.*‘* 266. The number of refugees has become larger and larger as children have been born. The number has tripled. Each year the United Nations states that these refugees must be allowed to return. The United States representative reminds the Council of the assistance given by his Government to UNRWA. What they are saying to the Palestinians is this: “If you remain outside your territqry, we will give you some dollars, but you must never invoke the right to return”. 269. These questions must be posed, must be thought out and must be directed to the representative of Israel, who is in this Chamber.

The Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on the agenda. 267. Israel has expelled 128,000 persons from the Golan Heights. It has displaced tens of thousands of families in southern Lebanon. Yet the Israeli representative asks when did they touch an Arab, when did they expel an Arab, when did they exile an Arab? There are really limits to this kind of falsification. 268. I am very miserable about the result of the vote on this humanitarian draft resolution. We remind you that the entire world is standing by the people of South Africa. ’ Officiaal Records of the General Assembly, Fortieth Session. Supplement No. 1 (A/40/1). * United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973. 3 Ibid., vol. 1125, No. 17512. * Quoted in English by the speaker. “Yet Israeli-South African relations, especially military ones, are the cosiest of all. .A host of joint research projects bind the countries together. .For instance, South African steel has helped to give the Merkava an extra-strong armour-plating; South Africa now makes its own version of the Ktir. A joint submarine-building project is under way; and-most sensitive of all-South African’ uranium . . . is thought to have been used to develop Israel’s capacity for making a nuclear bomb.*‘* The meeting rose at Z30 p.m. NOTES HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations. Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES l.es publications des Nations Unies sont en vente dans les librairies et les agences dcpositaircs du monde entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adressez-vous i : Nations Unies. Section des ventes, New York ou Gentve. KAK KIOJIYYHTb M3AAHMFI OPPAHM3AlJMM OsbEAMHEHHblX HALJMf-4 ki3llaHkfX OpraHkf3iUWH O6leeAllHWHblX Haurrtt MOXCHO K)‘nHTb B KHHXUILIX MaTa3HHaX H ZIrCHTCTBaX BO BCCX PaROHilX MApa. HaBOnHTe CllpaBKki 06 H39iSHHIIX B BaUCM KHHXCHOM Maraxute snu nm.u~Te no anpecy: Opramtsauea 06beLIWWiHblX HauntI, CeKutia no nponane H3naHHR. kfbto-fiOpK HJ-IW ‘HCeHeBiI. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Naciones Unidas estan en venta en librerfas y casas distribuidoras en todas panes del mundo. Consulte a su librero o dirfjase a: Naciones Unidas. Seccidn de Ventas. Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00400 90-61439-January 1995-1.925