Situation in the OPT – SecCo debate – Verbatim record

UNITED NATIONS

SECURITY COUNCIL

OFFICIAL RECORDS

THIRTY-SEVENTH YEAR

2340TH MEETING: 30 MARCH 1982

NEW YORK

CONTENTS

S/PV.2340

2340th MEETING

Held in New York on Tuesday, 30 March 1982, at 10.30 a.m.

President: Mrs. Jeane J. KIRKPATRICK

(United States of America).

Present: The representatives of the following States: China, France, Guyana, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Panama, Poland, Spain, Togo, Uganda, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Zaire.

Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2340),

1. Adoption of the agenda

2. The situation in the occupied Arab territories:

Letter dated 22 March 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/14917)

The meeting was called to order at 11.30 a.m.

Adoption of the agenda

The agenda was adopted.

The situation in the occupied Arab territories:

Letter dated 22 March 1982 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/14917)

1. The PRESIDENT: In accordance with decisions taken at the previous meetings on this item [2334th and 2338th meetings], I invite the representative of Israel to take a place at the Council table. I invite the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to take a place at the Council table. I invite the representatives of Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal, the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey to take the places reserved for them at the side of the Council chamber.

At the invitation of the President, Mr. Levin (Israel) took a place at the Council table; Mr. Terzi (Palestine Liberation Organization) took a place at the Council table; Mr. Abdel Meguid (Egypt), Mr. Mrani Zentar (Morocco), Mr. Naik (Pakistan), Mr. Sarre (Senegal), Mr. El-Fattal (Syrian Arab Republic) and Mr. Kirca (Turkey) took the places reserved for them at the side chamber.

2. The PRESIDENT: I should like to inform the members of the Council that I have received letters from the representatives of the German Democratic Republic, India and Iran in which they request 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 those representatives to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the provisional rules of procedure.

At the invitation of the President, Mr. Ott (German Democratic Republic), Mr. Krishnan (India) and Mr. Rajaie-Khorassani (Iran) took the places reserved fin, them at the side of the Council chamber.

3. The PRESIDENT: Members of the Council have before them document S/14930, which contains the text of a letter dated 25 March from the representative of Jordan to the President of the Council.

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

5. Mr. RAJAIE-KHORASSANI (Iran): "I take refuge in Allah from the Satan-accursed. In the name of Allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful". Sura 4, verse 75, translates:

"And why do you not fight for the cause of Allah, and of those oppressed men, women and children whose cry is: Our Lord, rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors, and raise for us from The one who will protect, and raise for us from The one who will help."

6.   The Council is meeting today to discuss the question of the murderous policies of the Zionist non-entity in occupied Palestine, a matter that is by now well known even to the American public, which is usually deliberately kept ignorant of the many happenings in the rest of the world, for well-known reasons.

7. For more than a third of a century the Council has been dealing with the question of Palestine without any concrete results. During these long, tedious years of Palestinian suffering and deprivation many officers have come to office in the United Nations, worked for years and reached the age of retirement. None the less the Palestinian problem is not yet settled.

8. The only development for the Palestinians is that they have got an observer representative in the international Organization-that is to say, after more than 30 years of bloody struggle, the United Nations has finally officially recognized that the Palestinians exist and that they have a problem. What generosity on the part of the Council, to which the Palestinians are indebted for more than 30 years of insecurity so far. Alas-one third of a century just for the problem to be recognized. It is too slow a procedure. And mere recognition of the problem after one third of a century is too little to achieve. I am sure that the Council must have been very busy and must have had enough reliable evidence to ignore the problem of the Palestinians all through those good years.

9. We have an interesting Persian parable. A man was astonished to see an old friend on the street and said, "Oh dear me. I was told you died a long time ago." The friend said, "The information must be wrong; as you see, I am alive." The man said "But my sources are very reliable."

10. Anyway, it is a pleasure that the Council was ultimately convinced that the Palestinians existed, a conviction that brought the pacifier of recognition to the Palestinians for them to be happy with for some time, after so many years. And for how many more years? We do not know. God knows better.

11. As for the Zionist agent of imperialism, the bargain has been very lucrative. Under the pretext of attaining security it has been gradually encroaching and occupying further pieces and places in every direction, the Golan Heights being the most recent. Apparently it is very important for the security of Israel, is it not? Probably that is why the Council did not take any preventive measures. The Zionist usurper and its supporters in the Council had better keep in mind that expansionist aggression and security are categorically contradictory and incompatible. If they have the slightest concern for international peace and security they must stop neglecting the underlying principle within as well as outside the Council.

12. International peace and security is always proportionate to the degree of wisdom, sagacity, faith, piety and virtue reflected in the administrative systems governing our world and is never, established by aggression.

13. The issue of the murderous atrocities of the Zionist regime now under consideration in the Council is not in any way independent of the perennial Palestinian problem, which has been officially recognized by the United Nations and has thus become institutionalized and remains a part of the household of this international body. Considering, the structure of the Council, I am quite confident that these discussions do not yield any concrete result for the Palestinians inside or outside the occupied land. Those who have never given a damn for many Council resolutions are not going to stop their atrocities, and their bloody business upon the, recommendation of the Council-that is, of course, if any recommendation could yield anything at all.

14. The killing of innocent people is still going on. The matter is so conspicuous that even the American media, which can keep silent about the miraculous achievements of the Iranian Muslims against the Iraqi aggression, brought the scene of the bloodshed in Palestine to their television screens. None the less,, as we shall all see, the Council will not produce even a strong statement against the Zionist régime, whose identity card was once issued by the Council itself.

15. Therefore, my delegation is not here to present the case of the Palestinians in anticipation of any concrete solution. For-, first of all, the Council doe's not claim to be an international court of justice for sorting out international criminal actions and, secondly, no one can ever count on the collective wisdom of a council whose members do not enjoy equal rights. Discrimination is constitutionally characteristic of the Council, even when majority rule is what the so-called developed countries are proud of, at least verbally. When democracy is so much upheld in this part of the world, why should some members of the, Council without any superiority in terms of virtue or wisdom enjoy the privilege of veto-which is indeed worse than the law of the jungle? The law of the jungle, as Imam Khomeini has said, at least applies to the jungle itself, but democracy, which is the holy norm of the United Nations, does not apply even to its own organs.

16. The situation here being what it is, the Palestinians will definitely sort out their problem with reference to divine law, which is: "If, then, anyone attacks you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you; fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves."

17. The answer to the Palestinian problem cannot be found in debates and resolutions here or elsewhere. The answer lies 'Only in vigorously convincing the usurping argent that it can no longer count on the inactivity of the majority of the inhabitants of the occupied territories and that it can no longer impose tranquillity on the area by means of military power.

18. The new phase of developments in the occupied lands is therefore a very important positive sign. It is positive because it has made it evident that the struggle has gained new momentum. The blood of innocent people has been shed simply because they want to elect their own mayors and do not want to surrender to force. This blood, as we say in Persian, will be boiling until the murderers receive due justice. The Shah of Iran, a close friend of zionism, was brought down from his throne when he started killing innocent people in the streets.

19. What I do wish to present to the Council is something more fundamental for the Council itself. If, after a third of a century of United Nations involvement in debates over Palestine, the matter is resolved by the sacrifices of the Palestinian people on the scene of the struggle, that would then be the end of any credibility this system of collective security may have left for itself. The achievement of any success by the United Nations, because of the special aspect of the Council, has been so minimal that it has already brought disillusionment to hundreds of millions of people all over the world. The confidence of the oppressed in the United Nations is almost completely gone.

20. The Council is therefore strongly urged to act constructively and responsibly, if the United Nations is to have any respect in the international community. The oppressed nations of the world in the Council, which number many more than the oppressing minority, feel so insecure that, in cases of the most glaring international crises, they modify their proposed draft resolutions to make them acceptable even to the enemy. This is not a healthy phenomenon in the United Nations, which is supposed to be the noblest institution for all the peoples of the world. Those who are utilizing the Organization in this way-on which many of the oppressed may still be focusing their hopes–are betraying not only the whole world but also their own international club.

21. The PRESIDENT: The next speaker is the representative of the German Democratic Republic. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement.

22. Mr. OTT (German Democratic Republic):  Madam President, I should like first of all to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of March and to wish you success in this responsible office.

23. At the same time, the delegation of the German Democratic Republic wishes to express its appreciation to the President of the Council for the month of February, Sir Anthony Parsons, representative of the United Kingdom.

24. The delegation of the German Democratic Republic wishes to thank the members of the Council for giving it this opportunity to set forth its country's position on this important issue on the agenda.

25. The delegation of the German Democratic Republic can fully appreciate, in view of the serious and rapidly worsening situation in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, why the representative of Jordan, as current Chairman of the Group of Arab States, members of the League of Arab State requests the urgent convening of the Council.

26. As a matter of fact, the situation in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories has further deteriorated as a result of the new acts of terrorism perpetrated by Israel. Shielded and encouraged by those forces that have staked everything on the fateful course of super-armament and confrontation, Israel, after having annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights, now has the audacity even to take measures designed to annex the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This makes it clear for everyone to see that the so-called administrative autonomy solution only serves as a cover-up for the colonization and definitive incorporation of the territories illegally occupied in 1967. It is from this angle that the acts of terrorism being perpetrated by Israel in these territories must be seen.

27. The news of the forcible removal from office of the mayors of Al-Bireh, Nablus and Ramallah and of the dissolution of one Palestinian municipal council and threats against others has given rise to indignation all over the world.

28. There can be no doubt that it is the purpose of the Israeli ruling circles to replace the lawful municipal councils that emerged from the 1976 municipal elections by puppets of the occupation régime. Under the guise of a socalled civilian administration, Israeli legislation is to be introduced by the back door into these territories also.

29. With great sorrow and shock we have learned that as a result of the brutal methods of the Israeli soldiery a number of Palestinians have lost their lives and many have been severely wounded. Nobody can expect the Palestinian people to reconcile itself to the Israeli régime of occupation and to put up with the policy of annexation and oppression without resisting.

30. The German Democratic Republic resolutely condemns the Israeli policy of State terrorism and annexation that it is pursuing against the Palestinian people and the other Arab peoples that are defending rights which are their very own. My country demands the reinstatement in their offices of the elected representatives of the Palestinian people.

31. At the same time, the German Democratic Republic supports the demand addressed to the Council by the representatives of many States to condemn the Israeli policy of repression and annexation and to take measures that will force Israel to give up that policy.

32. Nobody will be able to deny that the renewed increase in reprisals against the Palestinian people further impedes the solution of the Middle East conflict and the establishment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in that region.

33. Again it proves to be true that the Israeli policy of, aggression and occupation is possible only on account of the all-round political, military and economic co-operation with Israel on the part of the principal imperialist Power.

34. The renewed stepping up of the Israeli policy of Annexation and aggression is directly related to the creation of the so-called strategic alliance between the United States and Israel. Such a policy of confrontation as pursued by the United States is nothing but further encouragement to the Israeli ruling circles to continue to pursue their course of aggression directed against peace and security in the Middle East.

35. However, there is a constantly growing aware-ness in the world that peace and security in the Middle East can be ensured only if there is a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict, the core of which is the question of Palestine.

36. Before the Council, the German Democratic Republic renews the assurance of its unqualified solidarity with the Palestinian people and with the just struggle it is waging under the leadership of the PLO, its sole authentic representative, for the implementation of its inalienable national rights and against imperialist oppression.

37. That solidarity was reflected in the first official State visit to the German Democratic Republic, earlier this month, by the Chairman of the Executive Bureau of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, and in the agreement made on that occasion to raise the status of the PLO mission in the -German Democratic Republic to that of an embassy. In the communiqué issued by the German Democratic Republic and the PLO on the occasion of that visit of friendship on 10 March 1982, the following is emphasized:

"Indispensable prerequisites for a comprehensive solution of the Middle East conflict on a just basis and with the participation of the PLO on an equal footing are the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Arab people of Palestine, including its right to return to its home-land, its right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent State. The question of Palestine is and remains the core of a stable solution to the Middle East conflict".

38. The proposal to convene an international Middle East conference with the equal participation of all sides concerned, including the PLO, realistically traces -out the path along which a comprehensive, just and lasting peace can be achieved in the Middle East through sincere and collective efforts.

39. The PRESIDENT: The next speaker is the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, on whom I now call.

40. Mr. TERZI (Palestine Liberation Organization): On Friday, 26 March, the Council was told that:

"Israel … does not intend in any way to relinquish its responsibility towards the inhabitants of Judea, and Samaria, and it will strive to stop the agitation and the subversion in order to promote its basic goal of bringing about lasting peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinian Arabs.

"Israel's approach has always been guided by concern for the cause of peace and for the welfare of the population." [2338th meeting, paras. 56 and 57]

41. To newcomers to the international arena, to naive persons, to the uneducated, all that sounds wonderful. But unfortunately, in regard to those who' uttered the foregoing statement, the records of the Council, the records of all the other organs and agencies of the United Nations and the last 35 years of the history of Palestine and the Middle East, all reveal beyond any doubt that Israel is not a peace-loving Member of the international community but that, on the contrary, Israel has deliberately and concretely through its behavior, or rather through its policies and misbehavior, proved that it has no intention of caring for the welfare of the population, namely, the Palestinian and the Arab people, and that Israel is determined to torpedo any and every attempt to achieve peace-, a comprehensive, just peace, a viable peace-not an imposed solution that will only be the prelude to further and renewed disruption of peace. Yes, Israel does not intend in any way to relinquish the Palestinian and other Arab territories acquired and occupied by force. Israel does not intend to relinquish its inodus operandi, its repressive and oppressive measures against our people under occupation. Israel does not in any way intend to put an end to expropriation of Arab land to further its colonial settlement schemes and plans. Israel does not intend to let the Palestinian Arab peasant use his water for the welfare of his people, community, family and children, much less for his livelihood, his agriculture. Israel does not intend to relinquish its megalomania and obduracy, its defiance of the world community, its rejection of the decision of the Council and its trampling on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and on the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Israel, in a nutshell, does not intend to relinquish its obstruction of endeavors for peace through the collective efforts of the United Nations and on the basis of guaranteeing the principles and resolutions of the United Nations and the rights of the people.

42. The fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 2/ is not what was described as the "so-called" Convention. That Convention is as concrete and real as the Charter and the Universal Declaration and, to our surprise, Israel is a party to it. The provisions of that Convention apply fully to the Palestinian territory occupied at least since 1967. That fact has been reiterated several, times by the Council, Israel is the occupying Power, the Power that occupied by military force; it is a military occupation and there is no provision in, the Convention, not even in article 54, that permits permissiveness or a free hand by the forces of occupation against the people under occupation. Incidentally, why be selective here? Either conventions apply or they do not apply. To be selective is unfair, to say the least.

43. The establishment of a civilian government-albeit under the control of the war department or the ministry of defense-the replacement of expelled elected councilmen and mayors by Israeli civilians, the facetious change of garb from military uniforms to

Pierre Cardin custom-tailored suits-these are only manifestations of a civilian take-over, an annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory. This is how our people feel; this is how they read events. The real reason-the immediate real reason-for the latest rebellion of our people under occupation is the pro-longed occupation, the refusal of Israel to apply the provisions of the fourth Geneva Convention, the establishment of the civilian administration. It is true that the military occupation authorities, in exercising the powers vested in them as a result of the military occupation, may invoke the fourth Geneva Convention and impose suppressive measures and arbitrary practices, under the guise of "abuses and threats to the occupying Power". The military authorities can sow havoc and plant barbed wire in towns, but to establish a civilian government administered by nationals of the occupying Power is not a prerogative of the occupying Power.

44. There is no way to cultivate love between the occupying Power and the people under occupation. By necessity, the nature of the relationship between the two is the relationship between aggressor and victim. The only way to redress the situation is by ending the state of occupation and withdrawing the forces of occupation and by guaranteeing the freedom and independence of the liberated people and territory. Other-wise, the resistance of the people under occupation will continue and increase as acts of State terrorism by the occupying Power escalate.

45. Today is 30 March. It is a glorious day in the history of Palestine. It is a glorious day in the history of the struggle against racism, military rule, expropriation of land by force, colonial settlement, repression and oppression. A general strike is observed to commemorate the Day of the Land-Youm Al Ard. Scores of thousands demonstrate in Nazareth, Jerusalem, Haifa, Shafa 'Amr, Sikbnin Ramallah, Um El-Fahm, Gaza and Hebron. The slogans read: End illegal occupation; Let the elected mayors return to their post; Free the detainees; Disarm the colonial settlers; Withdraw the troops from the streets of the occupied territory; End the blockade imposed on the Golan Heights; Milson, go back to school; Reopen the Bir Zeit University; End the policy of acquisition and expropriation of Arab lands; Equality for all citizens in Israel; Equality for local Arab councils in Israel; Equality for Arab areas in mixed towns in Israel; Hands off our Arab students in the universities; Equality and democracy for the Arab masses in Israel; Long live the joint struggle of Arabs and Jews; Long live joint Arab-Jewish support for the struggle of the Palestinian people under occupation, Long live peace and justice. Long live the struggle against occupation. Those are some of the slogans that are carried in the streets of all of occupied Palestine.

46. On Saturday, 27 March, 30,000 peace-loving people marched in the streets of Tel Aviv protesting against the brutality of the forces of military occupation in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, especially in the Syrian Golan Heights. This is the true spirit that the junta in Tel Aviv fears most: the spirit of oneness, the spirit of human relations and not racist discrimination and domination.

47. Let us review developments in the occupied territories since the Council's meeting last Friday 12338th meeting]: an escalation of repressive measures against all Palestinian Arabs, including the Arabs of the Galilee; a buildup of the military presence in all the areas where Arabs live, especially in the Galilee and in the Triangle area. The Tel Aviv junta is terribly afraid of a popular uprising spreading all over.

48. In order further to strangulate our people in the occupied territory, strict financial regulations have been imposed. Palestinians returning to their homes across the bridges over the Jordan River are not permitted to bring in with them more than a thousand dinars-the equivalent of $US 3,500. Palestinians living in the occupied territory survive thanks to what their children or parents earn-and earn with difficulty-in different places and transfer to them so that they may maintain their roots and permanent residence in their own homes, in their own homeland. The press has been subjected to arbitrary censorship: there is no freedom for the press-any press-but especially the Palestinian press. In the last few days a further restriction was imposed on the local press, the circulation of which was banned. Such dailies as Al-Sha'b and Al-Fajr are not permitted in the towns of the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

49. This morning, 30 March, The New York Times published a very illuminating article by David Shipler, under the heading "Israel tightens control over Arab newspapers". I should like to quote some passages from that article. Mr. Shipler writes-and this is datelined Jerusalem, 29 March:

"In an effort to dampen the unrest in the West Bank and to play down the political strength of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Israeli military authorities have tightened their censorship of Jerusalem's -Arab newspapers and have prevented most of them from circulating outside the city.

“…

"As a result, the 800,000 Arabs in the West Bank . . . have had to depend mostly on Israeli radio and. television broadcasts in English and Arabic, and on overseas broadcasts by Jordan, Syria and the PLO, for news of events in their own territory.

"Editors complain, and Israeli officials acknowledge, that the military censor has excised all reporting on the West Bank disorder's by the Arab papers' own staffs, forcing them to publish only material that had already appeared in the Hebrew- language Israeli press. Even a good deal of that information has been cut out of the Arabic-language papers, editors say.

“[One editor said] 'This is the worst for the last 15 years . . . Last week we appeared for two days without a single line of news on the West Bank.' "

50. Fancy if an American paper were to appear without a single line of news about what was happening in New York or Chicago; I do not know who would buy that paper or what use it could have. The article continues quoting the editor:

" 'And if we appear with only five percent of the news, they confiscate the paper. They won't even allow us to print the news covered by the Israeli radio and television-not even news printed from the Israeli papers.'

"Israeli military censorship, based on the 1945 emergency regulations of the British Mandate in Palestine,"-

and I note here that those emergency regulations were described by people such as Jewish judges who were in Palestine and Palestinian judges as not having existed even in the Nazi territories: these were much worse-

"is always stricter with the Arab press than with the Israeli or foreign press, officials explain. Arabic papers must submit all material to the censor, including obituaries, "-maybe the dead have something to say; I do not know-“lest they contain political statements, while Israeli news items and dispatches by foreign correspondents based here are examined by the censor only if they relate to military security matters and certain other narrow topics, such as the fate of Jewish populations in Arab countries."

The article goes on to say that:

"Proofs marked by the censor show numerous deletions and changes involving articles on the PLO. In one story, the description of the PLO as a national liberation movement' was stricken. In a report on a call by an Israeli committee for 'the death 'penalty against Palestinian commandos,' the censor changed 'commandos' to 'terrorists'. In an article about "Palestinian graduates inside Palestine', the censor changed 'Palestine' to 'Israel' and the phrase ‘outside Palestine' to 'abroad'.

"Open letters of protest from residents of the, Golan Heights opposing Israel's annexation of the territory were mostly censored, including one Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig"-

I am sure that Alexander M. Haig received the letter in another way.

"Factual reports on arrests, restrictions to home towns or prison sentences have also been banned with frequency.

“[One editor has said that] of 37 articles submitted last week, 21 were banned in their entirety, 2 were rendered meaningless by deletions. 6 were partially censored but published and 8 were passed unchanged."

That is only a part of what appeared in that article.

51. The newspapers I referred to earlier, Al-Sha'b and Al-Fajr, are published in Jerusalem and for a very, very long time, the editors who live 10 miles, north of Jerusalem, have been banned from travelling to that city. Is that what you call Israeli democracy in action-this democracy so highly praised by some in this country in particular-as distinct from Israeli democracy on paper?

52. Another question is how faculty members fare there. Faculty members-that is, teachers at Bir Zeit University-are subjected to all sorts of harassment. I am not sure that members of the Council know this, but professors are subject to Military Order 854 issued, by the Military Governor: their academic qualifications are not the deciding factor. It is the Military Governor's pleasure that decides. Should a professor reside in Jerusalem, he or she would need a work permit to travel to Bir Zeit-only a few miles away to teach, as if he or she were an alien. Someone mentioned democracy, and I felt this a good time to elaborate on that theme.

53. Let us review developments in the occupied Palestinian territory in the last 72 hours. Just outside Bethlehem ties a small town called Beit Sahour; to the Christians it is known as Shepherd's Fields. Last A Sunday and Monday, Beit Sahour was castigated very harshly. The people demonstrated against the brutality of the Israelis, but the "valiant" Israeli SS troopers drove their United States-made and United States donated armored vehicles through the heroic demonstrators. Twenty-three Palestinians received injuries as, a result of that brutal attack; more than 30 were arrested and detained.

54. And the city of Bethlehem itself was not spared. In Bethlehem, a demonstration, again protesting against the latest Israeli, repressive measures, was confronted by heavily armed Israeli troopers. Five persons were arrested and detained, two girls and three boys: there was no discrimination. Their names are Yusuf Shomeli, Sanu Qumsieh, Majed Abu Farhan, Linda Ghrayyeb and Abla Ayyad.

55. The towns of Al-Khadr-Saint-George, that is-and Husan and the refugee camps at Dheisheh are still under siege and curfew.

56. Beit Jala, Saeer, Yatta, Halhoul, Beit Amer and Dhahiyiyeh are still under siege and curfew.

57. In Ramallah, whose elected Mayor, Karim Khalaf, was ousted and deported from that town and transferred to Jericho, the Secretary of the Municipal Council, Nabil Al Ahwal, was arrested and detained. The Deputy Mayor was also ousted and placed under house arrest. He is the Reverend Mr. Rantissi, a devoted and devout Christian clergyman who has served his community in the social field through his membership of the Municipal Council in addition to his spiritual services in church. Taxicab drivers had their driving licenses withdrawn because they refused to collaborate with the militarily imposed so-called civilian administration. Forty persons were arrested and detained in Ramallah.

58. In beautiful Jerusalem the strike continues. The SS troopers are now breaking open the closed shops, bur people are determined not to be intimidated.

59. In Rafah, those SS troopers are now breaking into residences, ill-treating people and dragging scores of them to the offices of the military governor. I under-stand that the military governor has refused to change his military uniform: at least he wants to appear as what he really is.

60. The fate of our people in Gaza is not at all different.

61. In Nablus, the staff and the officials of the municipality are being detained in the municipal building. They simply refuse to collaborate with the Israeli so-called Commission to Supervise Municipal affairs.

62. Palestinian refugees in the Balata camp have been under curfew for days now.

63. Something we feel proud of is that in Jerusalem the Neturei Karta, the Jewish “Guardians of the City”, held a meeting and expressed their Palestinian brothers. Perhaps that is another one of the things that the Israeli junta in Tel Aviv was afraid of.

64. The Secretary of the Union of Arab Students at Hebrew University, Boulos Haddad, was arrested and detained, the charge against him: expressing support for and sympathy with the other Palestinian students.

65. Karim Khalaf, as I said, was deported. He is n Jericho. But he is now denied the necessary medical supervision and treatment. Members will recall that he is crippled, as the result of an assassination attempt by God knows who. Israel, the occupying Power, has not solved the mystery, neither has it apprehended the criminals.

66. In Nablus, Dr. Salah Bustamy, Chairman of the Medical Union, has also been arrested.

67. On the other hand, over the weekend we read report in The New York Times of 27 March, in which Professor-General Milson is quoted as having said,

“'What the PLO stands for … is a denial of Israel's right to exist, a denial of the very existence of the Jewish people . . .. The struggle is between Israel and the Jewish people on the one hand and the PLO and those who stand for the vicious ideology of the PLO on the other'”.

68. The ideology of the Palestinian people, as expressed at numerous meetings of the Palestine National Council, is very clear and simple: the Pales-tinians must be allowed to return to their homes and property and to live in peace and exercise their right to self-determination. It is a very simple ideology; I do not see anything vicious in it. Chairman Arafat has said in no uncertain terms that there is plenty of room for all of us to live together without any discrimination of any sort, in Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. Is that a vicious ideology? Is a call, an appeal, a determination to live together in peace, without any discrimination of any sort, vicious? It is not. In our opinion, it is the only moral approach Those who reject that approach advocate only exclusivist, racist and aggressive policies and ideologies and cannot but be reminiscent of the Aryans, as exemplified by Hitler and his gangs.

69. Professor-General Milson identified his brutal campaign as a “kind of moral crusade”. What crusade, when even the plus signs that resembles the cross is removed from the mathematics books and replaced by an inverted “T”. What moral values are those that fire machine-guns and tear-gas canisters at demonstrating students? What moral basis does this Milson have for ousting elected mayors and city councils and replacing them by members of his own gang? And, then, what struggle is this between Israel and the Jewish people, on the one hand, and the PLO, on the other? What Jewish people does he claim to represent? If it is Jews like Albert Einstein, Bruria Kaufman, Stefan Wolfe and Hannah Arendt, then let us listen to the following from a letter signed by them and published in The New York Times of 4 December 1948:

“Among the most disturbing phenomena of our time is the emergence in the newly created State of Israel of the Freedom Party, a political Party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philos-ophy and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was-formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.

“The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this Party, to the United States, is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his Party in the coming Israeli elections, and to cement political ties with conservative Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world, if cor-rectly informed as to Mr. Begin's political record and perspective, could add their names and support to the movement he represents.

"Before irreparable damage is done by way of financial contributions, public manifestations in Begin's behalf and the creation in Palestine of the impression that a large segment of America supports fascist elements in Israel, the American public must be informed as to the record and objectives of Mr. Begin and his movement.

"The public avowals of Begin's Party are no guide whatever to its actual character. Today they speak of freedom, democracy and anti-imperialism, whereas recently they openly preached the doctrine of the Fascist State. It is in its actions that the ter-rorist Party betrays its real character: from its past actions we can judge what it may be expected to do in the future.

"A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On 9 April [1948] terrorist bands attacked the peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants-240 men, women and children-and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and general havoc at Deir Yassin.

"The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party.

"Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultra-nationalism, religious mysticism and racial superiority. Like other fascist parties, they have been used to break strikes, and have themselves pressed for the destruction of trade unions. In their stead they have proposed corporate unions on the Italian Fascist model.

"During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the Irgun Zvai Leumi and Stern group inaugurated a reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish -community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them; adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window smashing, and widespread robberies, the terrorist intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute.

"The people of the Freedom Party had no part in the constructive achievements in Palestine. They reclaimed no land, built no settlements, and only detracted from the Jewish defense activity. Their much publicized endeavors were minute and were devoted to bringing in Fascist compatriots.

"The discrepancies between the bold claims now being made by Begin and his Party and their record of past performance in Palestine bear the imprints of -no ordinary political party. This is the unmistakable stamp of a Fascist party for whom terrorism (against Jews, Arabs, and British alike) and misrepresentation are means and a 'leader State' is their goal.

"In the light of the foregoing considerations it is -imperative that the truth about Mr. Begin and his movement be made known in this, country. It is all the more tragic that the top leadership of American Zionists has refused to campaign against Begin's efforts or even to expose to its own constituents the dangers to Israel from the support to Begin.

"The undersigned therefore take this means of publicly presenting a few salient facts concerning Begin and his Party, and of urging all concerned not to support this latest manifestation of fascism."

70. The letter was signed by: Isidore Abromowitz, Hannah Arendt, Abraham Brock, Rabbi Jessurun Cardozo, Albert Einstein, Herman Eisen, M.D., Hayim Fineman, M. Galen, M.D., H. H. Harris, Zeling Harris, Sidney Hook, Fred Karush, Bruria Kaufman, Irma L. Lindheim, Macham Maisel, Seymour Kelman, Myer S. Mendelson, M.D., Harry Orlinsky, Samuel Pitlick, Fritz Rohrlich, Louis P. Rocker, Ruth Sager, Itzhak Sankowsky, T. J. Schoenberg, Samuel Schuman, M. Enger, Irma Wolfe and Stefan Wolfe.

71. I only wish that not just the American Zionists but the United States Administration would read this letter every morning, read it again and again, because everything that was envisaged by those respectable and noted people has come to, pass.

72. But again, if Mr. Milson wants to speak in the name of Daniel Burros, the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in charge of New York State, who committed suicide on 31 October 1965, then Milson might include other names of the same group. He does and safely can identify with them, but he cannot venture to identify with decent citizens all over the world. And a word of advice: do not push racism too hard; it is counter-productive and it is also disastrous.

73. Furthermore, which Israelis is Milson representing? Is he representing the 300,000 Israelis-if not more-who have escaped from the hell of Israel and now have found refuge in the United States and live here? In comparative terms, this means something like 26 million United States citizens seeking a better and more secure life elsewhere. Or is he talking about the scores of thousands who marched in the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday last or those scores of thousands who are marching today in Nazareth, Tel Aviv and Haifa denouncing brutality and racial discrimination? Yes, Milson does represent the mentality of a garrison State, 30 per cent of whose primeage population is constantly in military uniform and under arms and an additional 30 per cent are active reservists. Did I say “garrison"? I am sorry, I mean a launching pad for aggression and expansion and further aggression, endangering the peace and stability of the area and threatening international peace and security.

74. A few weeks ago we watched a show on television called "The Wall", and I advise everybody to try to see it. It carried a message. It was about the heroes of the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto. To me the message was the following.

75. There were three kinds of persons: Some betrayed their people and managed to buy forged documents and escaped. Others collaborated and received “rewards" from the racist forces of occupation. They were shot in cold blood in front of their own children and families. This is the fate of all collaborators, whether they are quislings or village leaguers. The third kind was the overwhelming majority, who stood their ground and fought for their survival and dignity and rights, and whose only guarantee, only motive, only instrument was their determination and their machine-gun against the racist Fascist forces of occupation.

76. The Council is called upon once again, and before it is really too late, to request, indeed demand, the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces of occupation, the rescinding of all measures and orders that have sparked the latest of the uprisings of our people. This is the immediate task of the Council.

77. The PLO knows very well which member of the Council is protecting and supporting the Israeli repression and acts of State terrorism and endangering international peace and security, and we know the motive of the United States Administration for that support. But we shall not accommodate. The survival, dignity and rights of our people are much more precious than any other consideration.

78. Madam President, I am really sad to have to say this: It has become common practice, when a participant in a debate in the Council asks to meet with the President, that the participant is granted an audience. That has been the case with other Presidents when the question of Palestinian rights has been considered and when the representative of the PLO has requested an audience. It is not really democratic and not becoming that a President of the Council should ignore our request for a meeting with him or with her. At least the President could have had the courage and, if I may say so, the decency to decline or to express regrets. The President should be playing here the role of a president and not that of the representative of his or her own State.

The meeting rose at 12.35 p.m.

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NOTES

1/ General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).

2/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973, p. 287.