Situation in the OPT/Killing of Palestinain workers – Statement by USSR Foreign Ministry – Letter from USSR

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Forty-fifth session Forty-fifth year

Items 23, 35 and 77 of the preliminary list*

QUESTION OF PALESTINE

THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO

  INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES AFFECTING

  THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PALESTINIAN

  PEOPLE AND OTHER ARABS OF THE OCCUPIED

  TERRITORIES

Letter dated 24 May 199O from the Permanent Representative of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the United Nations

addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the honour to transmit to you herewith the text of a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR dated 22 May 1990.

I should be grateful if you would have this text distributed as an official document of the General Assembly, under items 23, 35 and 77 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

(Signed) Y. VORONTSOV

ANNEX

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR

dated 22 May 1990

Increasingly alarming reports are emanating from the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. The Israeli authorities are intensifying their repression of the peaceful Arab population, who have been angrily protesting against the massacre of Palestinian workers perpetrated on 20 May in the vicinity of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli troops who were rushed in to suppress the demonstrations have been acting with unusual brutality, even to the point of using firearms. Among the Palestinians there are dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded. The situation is heating up and the violence is escalating. For example, a group of French tourists in Jordan has already fallen victim to the increased violence.

The tragic events of the past few days in the Middle East are no mere coincidence. They are the natural outcome of the militaristic psychosis being whipped up in Israel and a result of the policy being pursued by the ruling circles of that country of reinforcing the occupation of Arab lands and quashing the national aspirations of the Palestinian people.

While in Tel Aviv the ministerial portfolios are being unhurriedly distributed, in the streets of Arab towns and villages more and more blood of innocent people is being shed; meanwhile, peaceful efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict are being deliberately frustrated.

The Soviet Union firmly condemns the criminal actions of the Israeli military clique and demands an immediate end to the violence. Effective measures, including measures under United Nations auspices, must be taken to protect the Palestinian population in the occupied territories.

In the Soviet Union, people are convinced that the situation in the Middle East can be normalized only by arriving at a comprehensive Arab-Israeli settlement and a just solution of the Palestinian problem. In that regard, steps must be taken without delay to move the peace process forward in that region on the basis of a balance of interests of the parties and international legality. Israel must heed the voice of reason and must seriously join in the search for peace in the region.

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* A/45/50.