S/PV.2808 Security Council

I thank the representative of Soma14a. for fhe k9nd words he addressed to me. “. The next speaker is the, representative of Kuwait. I invite>c hSm. to take a. the Council table and to make his 6tatement. place at !+% l AEHJLHASAN (KuwaJt) (interpreta tfon from Arabic) : I em pleased, to be. making a 6 ta te.men t once msr 4, Sir, under your able and distinguQsh& presidency of the ,Security Council for this m3nfh. At the end of last week, the Council met to discuss Israel% brutal and savage practices and its use of brute force aga.inst the uprising by the. Pales.ti.n.ian people, a people that, despite ,owning the land and having the right to l$fe and sovereignty, lives under brutal Israeli occupation. Less than a week late-r, the Council is meeting again to consider further aggression committed by that Same outla; entity against the- 6overeXqnty end tert-itorial integrity of a peaceful. independent St6 te,, Tunisia. (Mr. Abulhasan, Ruwait) The q,u.esficn is the same; the accused is the same. The accused has been flouting international instruments, values and laws; it has launched aggression upon aggression internally and externally, unrestrained by legal obligations, moral deterrents, universal norms or the will of the international community. Its goal , has always been and remains the liquidation of the Palestinian people wherever it may be found; the means to that goal is‘brute force in its most abhorrent form; -the arena for its aggression encompasses the entire world; it is motivated by innate. arrogance and a philosophy based on hegemony and expansion. The ccmprehensive statement made yesterday by Mr. Mahmoud Mestiri, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the sister republic of Tunisia r spares me the need to detail the aggression against Tunisia, in which the sovereignty and sanctity Of its natLona1 soil was violated. That aggression claimed the lives of one of the symbols of the legitimate national resistance of the Palestinian people, the late 3 I Rhalil al-Wazir, "Abu Jihad", and of a number of his companions and guards. This latest fsraeli aggression constitutes , among other things, an insult to the Security Council, which embodies international opinion at its highest level. . (Mt. Abulhasan, Kuwait) _ !Wo and a half years ago the Security Council adopted reso1utfo.n. 573 (.lg85).r in which it condemned fsrael’s treacherous act of armed~aggressionaga,inst Tunis&an sovereignty and territor.Sal integrity, in the course of which the headquarters of’ the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Tunis was destroyed. That act of aggression also caused heavy loss of life among innocent persons and extensive material damage. In that resolution the-Council demanded that Israel-refrain fr.o-m perpetrating such acts of aggression or from the threat to do so., and: requested, the States Members of the United Nations to take measures to dissuade WZ?el fromresorting to such acts of aggression. Yet Israel, which was established and has prospered on aggresSLon, has., as is its custom, ridden roughshod over that resolution. It has used) the sworfl of power to realise its expansionist g,oals and policies and to put down the uprising of the Pales tin ian people. It has harnessed all its expertise and the technological eguipment supplied to itto. attack the Palestinian people wherever they exist, pursuing them like a cyclone that ravages everything that stands in its way towdrds its goal, in defiance of all international norms and principles. ‘. ‘. ‘. ‘. ‘, ‘, From its violent act of ag.gression against the sovereignty. of frag in . attacking that country’s peaceful nuclear installation to its repeated taids . . _’ ‘. against Lebanon, from its threats against the Ksngdom of Saudi Rrabia because, Of that country’s legal and rightful possession of a missile force t6 potezzt tts nati.onal security to fts continuous persecution of symbolic figures in the Palestinia~n struggle wherever they may be, following a scheme ofl, official terrorism, Israeli carries out its policies in full view of the: bnternatbonal Community, notwithstanding the flood of resblutions adopted by me Qn5te.d Nations Security Council and. General Assembly condemning them. (Mr. Abulhasan, Kuwa it) In itsla-test operation fsrael has proved that its desire to dominate the region and to destroy Arab capability and potential is really a;. frantic and. unbridled obsession and that nothing can deter the Zionist entity from carrying Out \ such despicable acts of aggression, which are aimed directly against the Palestinian people and at denying them their right to live in dignity and freedom and to establish an independent State on their own national soil. However, as the martyred hero Abu Jihad himself stated only two days before his death, the continuing Palestinian uprising against occupation and infringement has created a new reality on the political map of the region. Abu Jihad spoke eloquently about the massive popular uprising in the occupied territories , and his words are a clear message to the enemy that it will not end but that, on the contrary, it will take On new strength and escalate until the legi timate goals of the Palestinian people have been realized. This cr,iminal act of assassination is clear indication that the Zionists realize that they have reached an impasse and that the uprising .is weighing heavily upon them. Hwever , the Zionist entity is still suffering from the delusion that through assassination it can destroy the will of the Palestinian people. It should have realized that the assassination of Khalil al-Wazir would not silence the voice of the Palestinian people but that it would lead to a stronger determination to WIlthUe the struggle until their legitimate rights are achieved and their usurped lands rega ined. We in Kuwait strongly condemn this new act of aggression against Tunisia’s sovereignty and the sanctity of its national soil. We declare our full solidarity with Tunisia. We suffer at the loss of an bon-ourable symbol of the liberation struggle in the world Andy at the loss of the other noble fte.edom-fighters who perished with him. We stand beside the Palestinian people and their leadership, represented by the PLO, their sole, legitimate Cepr-esentative. We support the (Mr. Abulhasan, Kuwait) -. upr.iSing of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as par% Of the national struggle and as a Source of inspiration to all peoples subjected to foreign occupation. After its bitter experiences with Israel the Security Council is more than ever called upon to defend its dignity and credibility before theworld CoqunUnftY by condemning Israel in the strongest possible terms for its latest act af aggression and by exercising all of its authority to prevent Israel fkom repeating such acts of aggression against peoples and States. The Council must be aware that the Palestinian people will continue their legitimate struggle, with international support, until they establish their own independent State on the soil of their homeland, Palestine. . The PRRSXDRNT~ I thank the representative of Kuwait for his kind words addressed to me. The next speaker is the representative of Pakistan. I invite him to take a place at -the Council table and to make his statement. Mr. SHAH NAWAZ (Pakistan)x I have had the privilege of addressing the Security Council under your presidency on another occasion during this month, and 1 take this opportunity to reiterate to you our trust and confidencein your leadership. Once again, we wish you every success in guiding the present deliberations of the Security Council on the situation which has arisen as a result of the assassination of the respected Palestine Liberation Organization (Pm) leader, Mr. Khalil al-Wazir, Abu Jihad, in Tunis on 16 April. We welcome the presenceat the Council table of His Excellency Mr.. t4ahmoud &stiri, Foreign Minister of Tunisia. It is a matter of,deep regret that his return to the united Nations , where only a short while ag-o he Served his Country with such distinction as'its Permanent Representative, takes place in the SOmber circumstances of the tragic occurrence in Tunis. (Mr. Shah Nawaz, Pakistan) The Contents’ of the letter of 19 April addressed to you, Sir, by the Tunisian Permanent RepreSentatiVe and the statement made yesterday in the Council by His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Mestiri clearly indicate that it was Israel which had, indeed, financed and ordered the execution of Mr. Khalil al-Wazir. The letter of the P‘ermanent Representative of Tunisia also says that, apart from’+Eknowledging responsibility for that odious crime, the statements of the I.sraeli authorities amount to an admission that Israel has attacked an independent Country whioh is a member of the United Nations and has violated its territorial integrity and sovereignty in total disregard of the norms of international law and of the Principles embodied in the United Nations Charter. Strong corroborative. evidence is ava ilable establishing Israel ‘6 responsibility for the tragedy in Tunis. In yesterday’s issue-,’ the Washington Post published a report , based on information compiled from a Tunisian investigation and Israeli sources, which said that the operation was planned and carried out by Israel‘s Mossad agency , army, navy and a ir force, and the actual assassination by a special army commando unit. According to that’ report the raid was overseen by several Senior Israeli military commanders in a specially equipped Boeing 707, who were in constant radio contact with the commando Squad on the ground. It also stated that fZ%ael’s lS-member inner cabinet discussed the assassination twice before approving it. (Mr. Shah .Nawaz:i Pakistan) -. : It is not the first time that TmiSiSn territory and soverei.gnt$? fiatYe been violated by Israel in this manner. On 1 October 1985 slso, Tunis-ia made et similar caaplafnt against Israel when sn Israeli attack on Tunisian soil, caused heavy. lass of human life and extensive material damage. As a result of that complaint the Security Council adopted resolution 573 (1985) , which vigorously con-&+ined Isr-+el&. acts of armed aggression, demanded that Israel refrain from repeating; such acts: of: aggression, urged Member States to take measures to dissuade IsrZ!el fr.om~do$ng so-c. and considered that Tunisia had the right to appropriate. reparations,: ss. Q result. csf. the losses it had suffered and for which Israel had claimed tespZ.Risibllity, Far from being deterred by that resolution - which has remained uni@plex@ented 4 the Israel-i authorities have defiantly repeated with impunity such &cts af.aggr.eSStOn. * On being informed of the latest incident of Israeli aggression. against Tunisia, the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern at Israel’s fur.ther infringement of Tunis$a’s sovereignty and territorial integrity? Be. @calfed. SecurSty Council resolution 573. (1985) and reiterated his condemnat@in Of aCtS. Of assassination. The assassination of Mr. Khalfl. al-Was$r, a highly respected<me-mber. of the: Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (P@) f, was canied.(lut in the presence of his wife and daughter , which shows how predatory: ~$6 the nature. of the act and how the assassins were total strangers to all c-%vSlised noras of behaviour and devoid of the finer feelings of compassion and res-peat for &n.nocent life. His assassination is an act ofstark terrorism whfch should not be. al@wod~ to go unpunished. Terrorism may have a long arm, I but, justice has a longer reach, These acts of barbarity and the unabated campaign. of, cruel. repression-1 against the Palestinian population of the West Bank and,Gaxa arc the. prcducts of the of the Palestln.ian people% right to, self-determina.t$on and continued denial (Mr, Shah Nawaz, Pakistan) ct$tehaod. It is. this denial which lies at the heart of the Middle East problem, as the international community has known it for the past four. decades. Accordingly, it is notenough for the Security Council mereIy to condemn Israel for its failure to heed the Council’s resolutions on the question of Palestine - which it. fdust 4 but also to e%l’dress the problem at its core, . The contents, of the letter. of 19 April addressed by the, Permanent RepresentatLve of Tunisia to you, EIr. President, clearly connect the assassination of- @r. Khalil al-Wazir,. 4 me-mber of the PLO Executive Committee, by a terrorist commando gro.up to the massive repression of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The. Security Council ha.s been continuously seized of the worsening. situation in the occupied Arab territor-ies of the West Bank and Gaza since Decetier of last year,,. when the oppressed; Palestinian population of those areas was driven to t esist , with bricks and, stonesr the vicious campaign of violence and suppression Unleashed. against it by the occupation forces, who are armed to the teeth with the most modern weapons and devoid of any inhibition to use them. The uprising which began on 9 December rem?ins Unabated’and innocent lives continue t0 be lost in the process of unbridled repression by the Israeli occupation forces, Nearly 150 Palestinians have been killed and enormous damage has been inflicted on Palestinianproperty. Wet only have many Palestinians ,been deprived of, their means Of 1ivelihOOd but-,thefri #~O~WS have been deirolished or they themselves have been deported from their land of birth. Not only are all these cruel and heinous acts Of Violence tO@l%y illegal but they cOnstitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of civilian Persons in Time of War and an affront to civildzed ncirms of behaviour. The agony Of. the,people of Palestine wil.1 persist, and,the worsening situation will continue to deteriorate and threaten peace and stability in the entire region (Mr. Shah NaWazJ .Pakistdn) .- until the Palestine question,has been resolved satisfa?torily. The. Snterna%ion?l. Community must insist on the implementation , wlthout any delay, 6-f the.proposa.1 for the holding of an international conference on the Middle East ~5th the participation, on an equal footing, of the PLO as the sole representative af'the~ ,Palestinian people. This isthe only viable proposal in the field, and the convening of the conference , alone, offers.'the prospect of a. 1askWigpeace Ln. the region, Pakistan has always supported a just and lasting settlement in the Midale- East, on the basis of the principle of self-determination and. statehdod forthe' people of Palestine. It has unequivocally condemned Israeli sots of; aggression against the Palestinian people. . The P-resident and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in separate massages to Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine LiberatiOn Organi%atfon, have. expressed their condolences at the death of the PLO leader Mr. &al%1 al;waz$r.- Tn his message of condolencer. the President of Pakistan has said:: I . . . the news of the cr.iminal and cowardly assassinationafbrother Abu J-ih$d has produced a wave of sorrow and anger in the.heaft of WePakistani people*. Abu Jihad was a valiant son of the Palestinian people who gave.bisprecious life while leading his people in the epic struggle for We 'XiberBtJon.oTtheir homeland. The memory of.Abu Jihad will serve as a beacon for #hosewho.wa% now be .called upon to.carry forward this struggle with reneW5dr~lgour~" Similarly, the Prime Minister. of, Pakistan in his message has express:ed~ his deep: shock and sorfow at the dastardly sot of assassination and has,$aSd:: I . . . the martyrdom of Abu Jihad will reinforce, rxther than:Biminish, the resolve of the Palestinian people in carrying forward thelir. SWuggle for: the liberation of their homeland.“ (Mr. Shah Nawaz; Pakistan) My dt&?gation &ce sga in appeals to the members of the Sfzurity Council to take 8‘. SrZ~fouSview of the, heinous crime that has taken place in Tunis and to adopt the necessary measures that would deter such acts of terrorism and aggression and safe-guard the independence 1 Sovereignty and territorial integrity of States Members of the United Na ti0nS. I thank the representative of Pakistan for the kind words he addressed to. me. The next speaker is the representative of Lebanon. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. Mr. FAKhDURY (Lebanon) (interpretation from Arabic): On behalf .of the delegation of Lebanon, it gives, me great pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month and to express our complete confidence in your capabilities, experience and wisdom in success fully guiding the Council’s work. we are also pleased to extend to your predecessor, the Permanent Representa t5ve of Yugoslavia , our thanks and appreciation for his judicious PJesidenCy, of the Council last month. . It seems that this year is *the year of Israel” in the Security Council: the Council has been convened six times in four months to consider .Israeli acts of aggression andpractices in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon; today it is meeting for.the seventh time in response to a request from sister Tunisia to consider the new act of d99teSSiOn by Israel against its sovereignty and territmial integrity. This is the second time that Tunisia has been the victim of a brutal act of aggression the &tails of which have been very thoroughly and accurately presented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia. 1 shall therefore not repeat the painful facts which led to the martyrdom of a great Palestdnian ~teadom fi’ghfer at thy hands of murderous terrorists. (Mr. FakhourT, Lebanon) Lebanon, which stands in solidarity with Tunisia - is still suffering, from Israel’s persistently violent practices, including the policy of terEor4s.m * appreciates the significance of national sovereignty and territor-JaP‘ inteqr-kty and fully supports Tunisia ‘6 just demands for Israel’s condemnatipn and deterrence, What means of violence have not been practised by Israel in the: occupied., Palestinian Arab territories and in Lebanon, beginning with detenti.onl. abduction., destruction and murder , and culminating in the occupation of ter’riW%y and the exploitation of that occupation as a bridgehead for aggression &id got tramp1 ing underfoot the sovereignty of Lebanon? The most recent example of such cynicism and disregard for the Security Council’s resolutions was the illegal deportation to Lebanonr of. eight Palestinian3 . on Tuesday, l9 April, to join the other 12 Palestinians deported since the beginning of the year. what means of State terrorism have not been employed by Tstiel. in the. neighbouring - and the not-so-neighbouring - Arab countries,,, fr,om- Ifr-aq to Tun%s%3r including Lebanon? The verbatim records of the Council and the hundreds of cmQmplaintS contaLne& in the archives - complaints lodged against Israel by various Arab part&S - furnish conclusive evidence of the Israeli policy of aggression# te~rtorLsm and the forcible acquisition of territory l . It is difficult - nayt impossible - for anyone to defend I’St;bel or to‘ just,Uy its acts of terrorism and aggression aqa inst Tunisia and the v@?la.t-$on Qf its territorial integrity. It is impossible also for the representative..of fS!%el 62 diverk aa @‘ttentTion of the Council from the act of terrorism perpetrated by his State. aigai.nSb a. State Member ‘of the United Nations. Israel has never co-mpl ied with. 4%~ charter c international law and international agreements., It has. never? rz-s%c:ted the (Mr. Fakhoury , Lebancn) c-ivil.&ed norms of conduct and ethics among civil-iced nations. Ratherr it ha always violated them, cynically disregarding international resolutions. and fabricated pretexts to persist in ‘the implementation of its criminal designs and policies. The gravest threat facing the Arab world today on. its eastern and western flanks is this fsraeli defiance which makes free ,wi.th the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity., air space and territorial waters. This challenge be@%nes all the more serious as a result of Israel*& arrogant beldef in its ability to implement secessfully the policy of violence and terrorism, which makes a repetition of Israeli a& such as these not only pc&ible but prcbable, anywhere snd at any time. Indeed, as the Couticfl; was about to convene this morning’s meettng, the Israeli Air Force was bombing. the Lebanese towns of Damour and Na ima, Bituated less than 20 kilometres from the capitol, Ekirut, on the ooastal highway between Beirut anil sidon. The iosses in human life and material damage have not yet been assessed; This new Israeli act Of aggre%sion is a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty. X leave it to metiers to assess Israel*6 defiance of the Council, which has not yet campleted its cdnsidkation of Tunisia’s mmplaint against Israel. The Tunisian compla‘int befoie t&e Council, witi its clear-cut, facts, admits no doubt. fsrael is mistaken if it believes that by equipping its terrorists with forged passports it confu~id~ the investigators and removed suspicion from the’ real murderer 6. All the evgden-oe indicates that this was a premeditated Israeli terror-ist act. The only missing evidence is an outrbght adniission. Israel, which has been #ant to acknaJledge its acts in official statements - and whi.6 has always arrogantly believed. in its ability and superiority - has main~tained’ silence this time as it did in 1973, when it assassinated three (Mr. Fakhoury ) Lebanon) Palestinian leaders in Beirut. It has.delibetately remained silent on both occasions so as not to admit to the practice of terrorism. The Council is responsible for implementing the articles of the Charter and strengthening confidence in its policy of’maintaining international peace and security. This can only be achieved by a full and positive responseto 9unisia’s just demand that the aggressor be condemed and thatit be deterfed from pursuing, ,‘. its policy of violence and State terrorism - the most serious kind of all. The PRRS IDENT: I thank the representative of Lebanon for hx6 kind words addressed to me. . ,. The next’ speaker is the’ representative of Saudi Arabia, I inv$te h-iin. to take -. a place at the Council table and to make his 6ta tement. Mr. SHU$ASI (Saudi Arabia) (interpretation frQI?I Arabic) cft is a great pleasure to congratulate your Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. I congratulate-you as a friend, a statesman, a General, and as an eminent Ambassador proven in diplomacy, You will undoubtedly gu.ide our work in the Council for the teallzation of the aim6 and principles of the United . Nations. It gives me pleasure also to express thanks and appreciation to last month’s Council President, Ambassador Pejic, the Permanent Representative of Yugoslavia, I. for the effective manner in which he. conducted? the work of the Council dur$ng his presidency, and for the great ability and wisdom he showed at a time of \ international crisis. The Council is convened. today to look into the internatIonal. @racy and; terrorism committed by a Member of the pnited,Nations. It has b;een. convened’ to look into .the violation of the sovereignty of m active State Member of; the international Organiza tion , at the hands of’ the Member which iscommitting these acts 6f piracy. (Mt. Shihabi,. Saudi Arabia) We are not discussinq only tie ethical aspects as measured on the scales of the Israeli authorities. Also, we are not disxxssing only the temerity of the Israelf re’gime in confrm-ting, beyond all limits , all the values which. the United Nationshas tjeen established to protect, and to protect, if necessary, even by force . Wit the question now is: what should the United Nations itself, as an international organiiatfon, and the states Members do at a time when we call for the maintenance of world‘ security and the preservation of specific standards in international re%atiOnS, in case of a violation with respect to which the United Nationsshould take measures to stop the perpetra’tor and to curb the aggressor from committing h-is aggression? The Israeli authorities fear , rather cannot face, the international1 penalties concerning such actionsre-ferred to in the Charter. Then why do, they undertake Such actions? ,, Do they bel-ieve that, apart from the .remaining* States of the world, they are immune ,.from punishment and can therefore do whatever they please whenever they or one of their leaders or organs finds it convenient? This crime was committed in br.oad daylight, before o’f the eyes of the world. The Israeli authorities have perpetrated aggression against the sovereignty of the Tunisian Republic, a fully so&zeign State, in which a high official of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, a national organization which has its place in the United Nations, was killed along with other Tunisian and Palestinian citizens. Will Israel and the terrorist authorities now enjoy immunity from punishment at a time when all the voices in the halls of the United Nations have tirelessly been calling for cotiating terrorism and terrorists and for eliminating crimes and criminals? (Mr. Shihab’i-, Sa~udi- .Rrabia) The world expects. us to apply the United Nations Charter and, co abide by the international obligations we. al& uphold in the General. Assembly4-. the Sixth Committee and other organs dealing with the problems and acts a4 teVoriSm.- The killing of Mr. Khalil al-wazir, Deputy, Chief of the Pa$,esti;ne Liberat$on Organization Comm,and, on the soil of: the Republic of Tunisia by ‘fsraelf cpmmandos specialised in international terrorism is,. a terr-orist and pol;itAica$,;p crime of extremely -serious dimensions. A crime. has been committed against ahighofficial of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Permanent Observer in the.. UniI%d. Nations, while the sovereignty of Tunisia and the security. of its territory 6av.e been viola ted. We hope that this crime will not, pass without Israel kn*Xlig that it . . will haveto pay the price in full- : We in Saudi Arabia and,we in: the Arab nation from the ocean, a.. @me.. Gulf, support Tunisia and stand by: it in. protecting f.ts sovereignty @id’Fafegqarding %W security . We SUppor.t the. Pales-tine Liberation Organization in cepuJ$$ng~ aggression and terrorism against its. officials. We support the Palestsnian. people in their great uprising and, 1-n their glorious. struggle, -while they hail the,.Earavans of. martyrs and do not weep over them, finding it cheap to pay the price of struggle and giving. the most glorious example of setf-sacrifice, no matter how dear it may. be to recover their full: rights fn their country , which, God w531ing.r will be vtctor ious in theend. We hope that the Security Council will arrive at a resol&ion that will be fully in keeping with international commitments and deter terrW&sih and curb terrorists, whether author-fties or individuals-. The P&STUDENT: I thank the representative of Saudi MabId for his kind; words addressed to me, In view of the ‘lateness oft the hour , I intend to ad journ the meeting now. The next meeting of the Security Council to continue the consideration agenda will :ake place this afternoon at 3 o’clock. ( We -meeting rose at. 1.05 p.m. (The President) of the item its