Mideast situation/Israeli Practices – USSR submission to Israel – Letter from USSR

Letter dated 31 January 1990 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i.

of the Permanent Mission of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honor to submit the text of a submission dated 29 January 1990 by the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Y. M. Vorontsov, to Mr. A. Levin, the head of the Israeli Consular Group in Moscow.

I should be grateful if you would have the text circulated as an official document of the General Assembly, under the items entitled "The situation in the Middle East", "Question of Palestine" and "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories", and of the Security Council.

(Signed) V. LOZINSKIY

Acting Permanent Representative of

 the USSR to the United Nations

ANNEX

On 29 January the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Yuli Vorontsov, made the following submission to the head of the Israeli Consular Group in Moscow, Mr. A. Levin.

Recent developments in the Middle East have, not without reason, been interpreted around the world as offering some hope that there may at last be real movement towards a settlement of the long-drawn-out conflict in the region. That this is now in prospect is thanks primarily to the constructive stance taken by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Arab States, which have convincingly demonstrated their desire to put an end to the years of confrontation and arrive at agreements which will guarantee a peaceful and safe future for all parties to the conflict, including Israel.

The position taken by some Israeli leaders is in glaring contrast. There is a growing impression that new obstacles to the peace process are deliberately being created. How else can one interpret statements by a number of Israeli politicians, including the head of Government himself, on the need to retain the Arab lands seized by Israel for settlement by newly-arriving immigrants, including people coming from the USSR?

The Israeli leadership is thus reaffirming its policy of annexing the occupied Arab territories and declining to seek compromise on the Middle Eastern conflict. This "fait accompli" policy is a transparent screen for expansionist plans to create a Greater Israel at the expense, first and foremost, of the rights of the Palestinian people. No less obvious is the aim of opening another front to crush the Palestine intifadah by bringing the interests of the Palestinian population and the settlers into conflict.

Nor can it escape attention that, in seeking to secure its occupation of the lands it has seized, Israel is throwing down the gauntlet to the United Nations, which has repeatedly called on it to prevent any action altering the situation in the occupied territories, including the demographic situation. It is also openly underscoring its contempt for international law, notably the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits the settlement of non-native inhabitants in occupied lands. That Convention has been signed by Israel.

The Soviet Union cannot conceal its alarm at these moves by the Israeli Government, which may seriously harm the cause of peace in the Middle East, disrupt the settlement process and imperil the security of all nations in the region, including Israel itself.

Another aspect of the question is also of some concern to us. Soviet legislation is being brought into line with international standards, including the right to enter and leave the country. We cannot but be concerned, however, lest some fraction of those persons of Jewish nationality leaving the USSR become, under the influence of dishonest propaganda, the agents of illegal schemes condemned by international public opinion. We are firmly against the use, at risk to their safety, of persons leaving the USSR to force Palestinians off land that belongs to them. The Israeli leadership must realize the dangerous consequences of such action on its part.

Mr. Levin stated that he would immediately transmit this communication to the Israeli Government.

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