UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL RECORDS THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR 2292” MEETING: 17 JULY 1981 NEW YORK CONTENTS Page Provisional agenda (S/Agenda/2292) . . , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .L . . . . . . . . . . 1 Adoptionoftheagenda . . .. . .. . . . .. . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . .. 1 The situation in the Middle East: Letter dated 17 July 1981 from the Charg6 d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/145%) , , , , . , , . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SlPV .2292 NOTE Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital bined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference Nations document. letters comto a United Documents of the Security Council (symbol S/ . . .) are normally published in quarterly Supplements of the Oflcial Records of the Security Council. The date of the document indicates the supplement in which it appears or in which information about it is given. The resolutions of the Security Council, numbered in accordance with a system adopted in 1%4, are published in yearly volumes of Resolutions and Decisimts of the Security Cwncil. The new system, which has been applied retroactively to resolutions adopted before 1 January 1965, became fully operative on that date. 2292nd MEETING Held in New York on Friday, 17 July 1981, at 8.45 p.m. &es/dent: Mr. Id6 OUMAROU (Niger). Prrsc~tt: The representatives of the following States: China, France, German Democratic Republic, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Niger, Panama, Philippines, Spain, Tunisia, Uganda, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America. Provisional agenda (SIAgenrW2292) 1. Adoption of the agenda 2. The situation in the Middle East: Letter dated 17 July 1981 from the Char& d’affaires ai. of the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/145%) The meeting was callrd to order “I have the honour to request that the Security Council invite the. Permanent Observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in the consideration of the question entitled ‘The situation in the Middle East’, in accordance with usual practice of the Council.” 3. The proposal of the representative of Tunisia is not madi pursuant to rule j7 or rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure of the Council, but if ap proved by the Council, the invitation to participate in the debate would confer on the Palestine Liberation Oruanization (PLO) the same rights of participation as those conferred on Member States when invited to participate in a debate in accordance with the provisions of rule 37. at 8.50 p.m. Adoption of the agenda The ugendu I have received a letter dated 17 July 1981 from the representative of Tunisia [S/14597], which reads as follows: was adopted. The situation in the Mlddlc East: Letter dated 17 July 1981 fhun the Chcrg4 d’cfhlrca 8.1. cf the Permcncnt My:&5 g United Ndow addmwd Seeurlty ccundl w4!w) 1. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Frenchj: I rhould like to inform mcmbcrc of the Security Council thct I have received kttcra hm the rcprcwntctivc8 of Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, in which they ask to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the agenda. In accordance with the usual practice, I propose, with the agreement 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 Council’s provisional rules of procedure. 4. Does any member of the Council wish to speak on this proposal? 5. Mr. LICHENSTEIN (United States of America): As recently as I2 June [228Oth meeting], the United States delegation explained to the Council the reasons why the United States opposes the special procedure proposed to afford the PLO the same rights of participation in the proceedings of the Council as if the PLO were 8 state. 6. In brief, we cannot qp~ to a formula that conrtitutcr a departure from the ruler of procedure of the Council, a formula which has 18 it8 purpose enhancing the prestige of those to whom it is.directcd. 7. We have no objection to the Council’s hearing the PLO but, in accordance with the rules, that can legally be accomplished only on the basis of rule 39, which empowers the Council to grant hearings to persons speaking on Lehalf of non-governmental entities. 8. Accordingly, I ask that the terms of this proposed invitation be put to the vote. The United States will vote “no”. 2. The PRESIDENT fiatcqmtatiorr $wn Frwwhj: I should like to inform members of the Council that 9. The PRESIDENT (i,rtc~rp~cltclriorl from French): If no other member of the Council wishes to speak at this stage, I shall take it that the Counci; vote on the proposal of Tunisia. is ready to 1.~ fil~*ol/r: China, German Democratic Republic, Ireland, Mexico, Niger, Panama, Philippines, Spain, Tunisia, Uganda, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Agcrittst: United Absictir?bti;: Great Britain States of America. France, Japan, United and Northern Ireland. At the bvitrtticm estine Liblwtiuu Council table. Kingdom of of the President. Mr. Terzi (PulOrgnnizrttion) took a pluce ut the IO. The PRESIDENT (Lterpretation from French): I should like to inform members of the Council that I have received a letter dated 17 July 1981 [S//4598] from the representative of Tunisia to the United Nations, which reads as follows: “I have the honour to request the Security Council to invite Mr. Clovis Maksoud, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States to the United Nations, to participate in the consideration of the question entitled ‘The situation in the Middle East’, under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure.” 11. If 1 hear no objection, I shall take it that the Council agrees to extend an invitation to Mr. Maksoud, under rule 39 of the provisional rules of procedure. 12. The PRESIDENT (interpretutlon from French): The Council is meeting today in response to the request contained in a letter dated 17 July from the Char& d’tiaires of the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations, addressed to the President of the Council. I should like to draw the attention of members of the Council to the following other documents: a letter dated 13 July from the representative of Lebanon addressed to the President of the Security Council ]S//45XS]; and two letters dated 15 and 16 July from the representative of Israel, addressed to the President of the Security Council [S//4.59/ cud S//4594]. 13. 1 call on the Secretary-General. 14. The SECRETARY-GENERAL: I do not need to stress to the Security Council the seriousness of the situation that has developed in and around Lebanon. After several weeks of relative quiet in the area, a new cycle of violence has begun and-has, in the past week, steadilv intensified. On IO July. the Israeli air force attacked targets in south Lebanon. On the evening of the same day, Palestinian elements tired artillery and rockets into northern Israel. Since that time there have been further air attacks, including air strikes on the city of Beirut today. There have aldo been exchanges of shelling involving the Israeli defence forces and the dejkto forces, on the one hand, and armed elements, mainly Palestinian, on the other. The areas affected by the hostilities include Beirut, Damour, Zahrani, Sidon, Nabatiyah, Hasbaiya and Tyre in Lebanon as well as Kiryat Shmona and Nahariya in Israel. There have been heavy civilian casualties in Lebanon; there have been civilian casualties in Israel as well. I deeply deplore the extensive human suffering caused by these developments. 15. The Charg6 d’affaires of Lebanon has conveyed to the Council his Government’s protest over the Israeli attacks. The representative of Israel has transmitted to the Council his Government’s protests over the shelling by Palestinian forces of towns and inhabited localities in northern Israel. I have also received a series of communications from the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization protesting against the Israeli attacks. 16. While these incidents have been taking place, the area controlled by the United Nations-Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been tense but quiet. To the extent that they could be observed, UNiFIL has reported on Israeli air strikes and on exchanges of fire involving positions close to the UNIFIL area. 17. As an immediate problem, I wish to draw the Council’s attention to the very serious consequences of the destruction of Kasmiyah bridge on the Litani River and other bridges and key points along the TyreBeirut coastal road. The blocking of this vital com- munications link is bound to create great difficulties for the people and the economy of south Lebanon, oarticularlv at this moment which is the oeak of the &ricultu&l season. UNIFIL will also be ‘a!Yected by the blocking of its main SUDBIY route. UNIFIL is studying, asa matter of the greaiest urgency, the best meansofdealing with these problems and, in particular, the transport of supplies via an alternative route through its area. 18. Since the beginning of this latest series of events, I and my colleagues at Headquarters, as well as the United Nations representatives in the area, have been in contact with all concerned with a view to securing a cessation of the hostilities. I regret to inform the Council that so far these efforts have been to no avail, as is tragically affirmed by the events of today. 19. I am sure that members of the Council share my deep concern and dismay at the heavy escalation of violence in the area and, in particular, the bombing of centres of population. All acts of violence which result in civilian casualties, wherever they may take place, are to be deplored. In particular, I am concerned that a continuation of this trend could destroy any 27. Thirdly, the market place in the old part of the city of Sidon and some coffee shops have been shelled on several occasions. possibility of a peaceful solution of the great human problems which have to be faced in that vital part of the world. I am convinced that the only way outof this tragic situation is, as a first step, an immediate return to the cease-fire and a deliberate effort by all the parties to find means to put an end to the escalation of violence which is now taking such a tragic toll in this region. 1 have therefore appealed again to all concerned to revert immediately to the cease-fire. I earnestly hope that all concerned will respond urgently to this and similar appeals. 20. The PRESIDENT The next on whom 28. Pourthly, for two hours seven aircraft continuously bombed and strafed civilian targets in West Beirut, including the Arab University, a mosque, a high school, a stadium and the roads leading out of the city towards the south. 29. As a result of these attacks, preliminary reports speak of about 380 people killed and 800 wounded. The latest casualty figures that we heard before entering this hall included the case of a mother who had given birth yesterday who was killed and whose oneday-old Infant son had his leg amputated. The final toll may be much higher. ~ir~tc~~p~ercrlio,ifrw~n Frcwh): speaker is the representative I now call. of Lebanon, 21. Mr. SAGHIYYAH (Lebanon): Sir, I should like to congratulate you on your assumption of the duties of President of the Council for the month of July. Your country, Niger, and that of your predecessor, the representative of Mexico, have both played host to large numbers of our people. Many of them went to Niger and Mexico in happier times, but many of them have sought refuge from the carnage and tragedy that our country has been going through over the past six or seven years. 30. Israel bears full responsibility for these attacks, for it was Israel which provoked this recurrent cycle of violence. This affair is more serious than usual, because the civilian nature of the targets and the large number of Lebanese women and children killed during these attacks add a further dimension to the tragedy. 31. The members of the Council are aware of the violence and conflict that took place in Lebanon in April, May and June. No sooner had the fighting stopped than Israel started its own version of provoking conflict and violence. 22. I wish to thank the members of the Council for allowing me to speak. I wish also to convey my Govemmen& appreciation for the very clear and-meaningful statement that the Secretary-General he.s just made. 23. The unwarranted and used to carry condemn cycle of innocent hardships 32. The dangerous aspect of this escalation is that not only does it aim to destabilize Lebanon but, in view of the destruction of the bridges I referred to earlier, it seriously hampers and can Get-y well undermine the whole peace-keeping effort decided on by the Council on 19-March lfi8-[reso/u/ion 425 (/9?8)]. A clear pattern is emerging according to which every time serious peace moves are under%ken to find a settlement to the Lebanese crisis, Israel explodes the situation and pretmpts the success of those moves. latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon have been by the facts. Israel provoked hostilities the ensuing cycle of violence as a pretext out its policy of pre-emptive strikes. We this policy, and we equally condemn the violence in Lebanon. We regret the loss of life, the destruction of property and the created as a result for the Lebanese people. 33. 1 should We wish once more to emphasize the fact that Lebanon, which has never been heavily engaged in actual fighting in the Arab-Israeli wars, is being turned, against the will of its Government and its people, into an arena for a fifth Arab-Israeli war. My Government has always sought pcaee with justice in the Middle East to add a few details to the statement that has just been made by the Secretary-General. 24. like 25. First, the bridges at Zahrzni, Kasmiyab, J&ah, Habboush, Arab S&m, Bourghoz and Dell&l were completely demolished in an anoarent attemnt to and will continue to do so. Our aim at this stnge is to apply the regime established by the Lebanese-Israeli Armistice Agreement of 1949.’ and to that effect we call upon the Council to pronounce itself on the necessity of reactivating the Israel-Lebanon Mixed Armistice Commission. We should like the Council to make its authority felt through the moral and political support it can give to UNIFIL, enabling it to implement fully its mandate to restore the authority and sovereignty of the Lebanese Governm:nt over every inch of its territory, and we condemn all acts which prevent the realization of those aims. isolate southc:n Lebanon from the rest of the country. including the area of operations of the UNIFIL. which has a Lebanese army contingent under its operational command. This is a source of deep concern to my Government and indeed, 1 think, to the members of the Council. 26. Secondly, two important economic targets were hit and destroyed. A refrigerator factory in the village of Naameh, south of Beirut. employing several hundred people, was hit, as was the American-owned oil pipeline terminal and refinery at Zahrani. At the time this statement was written the tanks were in flames. 34. The Council has once again been called upon to be seized and to continue to be seized of this situation 3 I should add that in the indiscriminate shelling of Klryat Shmona a synagogue was also totally destroyed. In today’s bombardment of the town of Nahariya a hospital was hit and a number of patients were injured. and to take any action it deems necessary for the immddiate cessation of hostilities. to prevent further deterioration of the situation, to end aggression and to help to create an atmosphere conducive to the total implementation of UNIFiL’s mandate, so that it can remain the “conflict control mechanism” in the area, to use the words of the Secretary-General in his latest report on the renewal of the mandate of UNIFIL [S/14537, puru. 621. 42. The PLO has never made any secret of its lntention to expand and escalate Its criminal designs. If any further proof were needed, only this week Hanni Al-Hassan, one of Yasser A&at’s henchmen, indicated in the Beirut weekly Momfuy Morning that the PLO was preparing to launch a massive offensive against Israel, with the support and assistance of the Soviet Union. 35. My Government and people, who have had more than their fair share of suffering, appeal to you, Mr. President, and to the other members of the Council, to stop the carnage. All military and armed action should stop forthwith so that we can cope with the problems already created: meet the demands imposed by a massive exodus of the civilian population from the areas under attack, hospltallze the wounded and bury the deed. What everybody in this hall takes for granted-the right to live in peace and security.lppears to be a luxury in Lebanon. We have never hurt any country or any people. We demand that thase who are hurting us stop once and for all. 43. From Israel’s point of view, this public announcement only corroborated reliable information which has been reaching us steadily over the last few months about the PLO’s preparations to step up its attacks on Israel. 44. In the last few months we have witnessed a new phase in this campaign-an escalation of a kind and size which has signalled a change in the tactics of the PLO and its supporters, both within and beyond the Middle East. 36. My delegation reserves the right to speak at a later stage in this debate to elaborate further on this question. 45. There has, of course, always been a division of labour between the Arab rejectionlst States and the PLO. In recent months, however, we have witnessed a conscious policy on the part of certain Arab States of oueninn their arsenals to the PLO and nutting into its bands-heavy weapons with far greater fire-power than before and in quantities which they have never had before. 37. The PRESIDENT !interpretutbrr from French): The next speaker on my list is the representative of Israel. I call upon him. 38. Mr. BLUM (israel): Mr. President, at the outset let me pay my respects to you on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month. I am sure you will conduct the Council’s business with the same skill and fairness which you exhibited in May of last year, when the Council also deliberated a number of difftcult issues. 46. The build-up has been massive and it has come in the first instance from Libya and Syria. Libya, for example, has supplied the PLO both directly and indlrectlv throunh Syria with batteries of SAM-9 surface-&lr mi&les: In addition, the Libyans-those well-known paymasters and quartermasters of international terrorism-have also supplied the crews to man thase weapons which are stationed in the areas of Damaur pnd Beirut. In this connection, 1 should aho ooint out that the headauarters of the PLO and of all the organizations affiliated to it are located in sections of Beirut and its environs which are under direct Syrian control and protection, 39. I should also like to take this oawrtunitv of ying a tribute to the representative’of Me&o, r. Muiioz Ledo. for the able manner in which he conducted the Council’s proceedings last month. E 49. How short political memories are. Pa some members of the Council have forgottenYzt despicable crimes perpetrated by the PLO at Avivim, Ma’alot. Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya and many other towns, cities and villages in Israel. If others have forgotten, we have not. We know and remember that ,lte organization of international terrorists which calls itself the PLO is engaged in a relentless campaign of murder against Israel and its people. 47. Behind Syria and Libya stands that super-Power which uses &hem and the PLO to advance its interests in the Middle East with a view to continuing its penetration of the Middle East and the destabilization of the area as a whole. The Soviet Union has not hesitated in recent months to supply the PLO with new and sophisticated military mcrtirkl. These supplies have reached the PLO through various channels, sometimes through thrrd countries in the Soviet bloc and sometimes, as I have just mentioned, through various Arab countries. 41. The number of people, Israelis and others, who have been murdered in the PLO’s unending atrocities in recent years runs into hundreds. In my letters of I5 and 16 July 1981 addressed to you, Mr. President [S//45Y/ cc& S//45Y4i, 1 drew your urgent attention to the latest of these PLO outrages involving the loss of life and limb and considerable damage to property. 4 48. It is common knowledge that the PLO has long used weapons of Soviet manufacture, including 130.millimetre and 155.millimetre Howitzers, as well as, of course, Katyusha rockets and launchers. On 25 February of this year, it was announced that the PLO would be supplied through a Soviet-bloc country with over 50 additional tanks as well as troop carriers and other equipment. Today, these Soviet-made tanks, mainly T-34s, T-546 and T-558, are located in PLO emplacements in Sidon and In Beirut. In southern Lebanon, tens o? heavy artillery pieces have been deployed by the PLO, including mortars and recoilless rocket launchers of up to and including 12Zmillimetre and 130-millimetre calibre. 49. All these supplies, both direct and indirect, represent a significant escalation in the Soviet Union’s arms supply policy to the PLO. They are designed to bring about a substantial increase in the PLO’s offensive capacity and its methods of operation. any condemnation by the United Nations of the PLO’s criminal activities in general and those from Lebanon in particular. In our numerous letters to the Council and to the Secretary-General, we have repeatedly emphasized the gravity with which those activities must be viewed, as well as Israel’s duty to protect the lives and security of its citizens. And I repeat: all our communications have gone unheeded. In these circumstances, it has fallen to my Government to stand up to the scourge of PLO terror. Confronted by repeated PLO outrages coupled with the inability of the Lebanese Government to fulfil its international obligations, Israel cannot be expected to sit back passively and wait with folded arms for further barbarities to be perpetrated against the civilian population by PLO terrorists. 53. Indeed, I would ask what State represented on the Council would sit back idly and allow Its own women and children to be murdered and maimed by terrorists? 50. If any last doubts lingered about the direct Soviet involvement in the training of PLO operatives in the Soviet Union, they were shattered by none other than the PLO representative in Moscow, Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Sha’ir, who gave an interview that was published in Beirut newspapers on 17 February 1981 in which he stated: 54. Members of the Council need scarcely be reminded that under international law, if a State is unwilling or unable to prevent the use of its territory to attack another State, that latter State is entitled to take all necessary measures in its own defence. 55. The Government of Israel is in fact exercising the inherent right of self-defence enjoyed by every sovereign State, a right also preserved under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Israel’s response to PLO terror is what anv self-respecting sovereign State would do in similar circumstances. “The oizanization is satisfied with this assistance. Scores and hundzds of Palestinian oftlcers eligible to command major sectors, such as brigades, have graduated from Soviet military academies.” He added that 2,000 Palestinians are studying at Soviet schools and that the number of grants resewed for the PLO was 800 a year, mostly in scientific and technical fields. 56. I must stress that Israel’s actions are specifically directed against concentrations of PLO -terrorists in Lebanon. Among the tarpets hit yesterday and today were the headquarters of the so-called Democratic Front in Damour and of the so-called Arab Liberation Front in Ain Al-Hilwc; a Fatah training camp ln the Zahrani area; the operations centre of Fateh in Beirut; and the centre of the Democratic Front in Beirut. In addition, a number of bridges which served prlncipelly as the PLO supply Iinea were destroyed. 5 I. The PLO domination over large parts of Lebanon and the anarchy it has created there are not ends in themselves. They are, above all, a means of assuring the PLO freedom of operation to conduct its indiscriminate acts of terror against my country. Thb is deemed necessary by the Arab qiectionirt States because of the role that they have rllotted to the PLO in their grand design for an all-out war agalnst Israel. Those Arab States regard Lebanon as one of the most important bridgeheads for launching what they call the “next round” against Israel. While they are steadily amassing artillery, armour; and aircraft in quantities now exceeding those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, they have allocated to the PLO a special task and set it the objective of using Lebanon as a launching pad for acts of hostility, terror, sabotage and subversion against Israel and its civilian population. 57. The unfortunate fact Is that for years now, the PLO in its cowardly way has chosen to take cover in villages and refugee camps, particularly in that part of Lebanon under its control. 58. The former Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations, Mr. Ghorra, did not mince words on this subiect in his memorable speech of 14 October 1976 beiore the General Assembly,f and all of us are well aware that since then the PLO has also entrenched itself in parts of Beirut. as well as in the towns of Tyre and Sidon virtually in their entirety. 52. Israel has invariably brought the outrages committed by the PLO against its population to the attention of the Security Council and of the SecretaryGeneral, but to no avail. One would look in vain for 59. I must emphasize that it has never been Israel’s intention to harm innocent Lebanese civilians. Because of the way the PLO deploys itself, they tragically find 5 themselves caught in the cross-fire. Israel deeply regrets any loss of life or ir\iury of civilians on either side of the Israel-Lebanese border. by virtue terrorism, sion from throughout 60. The real problem before the international community and before the Council at this moment is how to put an end to international terror in general-of which the PLO is the linchpin-and, more specifically, how to put an end to PLO terror against Israel. of forcible expulsion and massive Zionist which resulted in 1947-1948 in their expulwhat had been the lands of their forefathers history. 67. The world in its entirety must understand that the Palestinians’ only wish is to return to their usurped homes and homeland in occupied Palestine. They have no desire to remain in Lebanbn, even though it is dear to their hearts. Their day of deliverance will be the day when they no longer have to endure the intolerable ordeal they have been enduring for 30 years as residents in the squalor of refugee camps, while the alien intruders live in their homes and toil their lands. 61. Israel is entitled to expect that the territory of Lebanon will not be permitted to serve, as it has for so many years, as a launching pad for murderous attacks against its citizens. Any realistic appraisal of the matter before the Council must take that fact into account. If certain members of the Council are able and willing to ignore the harsh realities confronting Israel, we cannot. 68. The Israeli outlaws of today are a mere replica of their own selves. They are terrorists who 30 years ago brought about the uprooting of the Palestinian people. The only difference is that today they are called a State and armed to the teeth with the most lethal weapons of destruction, heaped upon them by either a misguided or a hostage United States, whose policies towards the Middle East are evidently and manifestly drawn up in places other than Washington. What an unprecedented irony that a small nation of 3 million should have obtained the power to formulate and direct a super-Power’s national interest, by the bigotry and lawlessness of its small ally! What an irony that weaponry systems of great sophistication should be showered upon bloodthirsty, reckless and expansionist Israel even before such systems are given to America’s closest allies in Europe and elsewhere! 62. Let me conclude by repeating what I have already stated on several occasions previously. Israel has no fIghI with Lebanon. Israel sincerely desires peace with and in Lebanon. We have supported and we continue to support the independence,- sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Lebanon within its internationally rec&ized boutidarles. We wish that the effective authority of the Lebanese Ciovemment could be restored at an early date over those large parts of its country controlled by foreign elements. 63. If the Security Council wishes to address itself seriously to the question before it, it must abandon the blinkered attitude it has so studiously exhibited thus far In the face of the slaughter of tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians by the Syrian army of occupation and by the terrorist PLO over recent years. As a first practical step, it must demand the removal of all foreign armies and terrorists from Lebanese territory. 69. This question-and it is a sad question indeed for all of us-is being increasingly asked, both by many discerning sections of the American people and by people elsewhere, because the answer to it has a heavy impact upon world peace and security: What is the dividing line between the United States and Israel? Or have the two practically coalesced? Or is one overriding the other? 64. The PRESIDENT fintcrpretatiun from French): The next speaker is the representative of Jordan. I invite him to take a place at the Council table and to make his statement. 70. The United States possesses by far a preponderance of the Middle East’s strate@c resources. including the utilization of staggering tbnds and unllmited economic opportunities. And yet Israel’s blatant diktat imposes upon the United States the adoption of brutal and immoral policip- against the very people in whose area-the Middle East--those colossal interests are exploited. It is a truly unique and unprecedented situation---except for the dark chapter of Viet Nam and the reckless bombing and cannibalization in 1970 of the people of Kampuchea, one of the most civilized and ancient people in the world. That triggered the appalling chain of events and the catastrophe which the Kampucheai? people are facing at present, and which I hope the Middle East region will be spared. U, Mr. NUSEIBEH (Jordan): Sir, it ir my privilege t@ express my felkitations to you, the representative Of ftiendly Nimr, oti your assumption of the presidency of the Council for this month of July, with full confidence in your statesmanship and wisdom. It is also my privilege to congratulate Mr. MuRoz Ledo of friendly Mexico for the exemplary and dynamic manner in which he presided over the Council last month. 66. We are meeting today to discuss the barbarous, systematic and indiscriminate war-mongering attacks against the sisterly independent and sovereign State of Lebanon, one of the early founding Members of the United Nations. These attacks are a continuum and are part of a vastly augmented pattern of undisturbed iggression begun 11 years ago-against the indomitable Lebanese people and their equally indomitable Palestinian refugee guests, who are there not by choice, but 71. Today’s massive raids on the capital of Lebanon, the historic, beautiful and unmatched Beirut-and I am sure many in this chamber know Beirut very 6 \\r,ll IriW rcsirlcnli:ll I)\~‘I’ ?W innoccnl civilians in their hospituls, schools, universities, ;I~~IIWIIIS. ~ilr~sr~~~r‘s WI rcl‘ugcc cmps, in addition of course to ~hr man) hundreds wounded und rendered homeless. No, one knows ~hc tinal count as yet, because there are n\i\n~ IWIL W~~IWI~ und children still under the debris of dcstroycd apartment buildings. In any case, as the rcprcscntativc of Lebanon has said, the number of casualties will be far greater than the figure 1 have just mentioned. 72. In I%& even before had been forced to arm the Palestinians in Lebanon themselves in self-defence, I was one of those who witnessed at close range -possibly at a distance of 300 metres-the almost 76. The PRESIDENT (intarprrtcrriolt fitrm FrtwlrJ: The next speaker is the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organiration, on whom I now call. 77. Mr. TERZI (Palestine Liberation Organization): If the representative of terrorist Begin believes that the Security Council can believe that military tanks T-349, T-349. T-S% and 155 Howitzers were in place in the Arab University of Beirut and in the Mosque of Imam Ali when both places were bombed today, causing hundreds of casualties-if he believes that that military hardware was also found in the refrigerator factory in Naameh, then he would expect the Council to believe anything. total destruction of Lebanon’s civil national airline on the tarmac of Beirut international airport. Fourteen Boeing and other civilian aircraft were destroyed. That was in reprisal for what? That is what I should like to know. The Security Council condemned the aggression in 1968. 73, No matter what the intensity of the verbal condemnation of the daily massive raids on Lebanese civilians and Palestinian refugees, or the number of mild slaps on the wrist, there is not a single citizen in our region-and I am telling the truth-who is not completely convinced that even though the pilots of those F-I% and F-lb may have Israeli identity cards, or possibly a dual nationality legitimized SW cifIcally for the first time to serve Israeli purposes, the television and compute&cd guidance systems and aircraft are American-made. The Government of the Unlted States, which has officially sanctified Israeli aggression against Christian and Moslem Lebanon, must bear the heaviest moral responsibility for the innocent victims of those barbarous raids. It has declared-1 believe yesterday-that the use of such weapons is an act of self-defence. 1 cannot see how the killing of hundreds or thousands of civilians by F-l% and F-165 is a legitimate act of self-defence. The peopka of the Arab world know this fact all too well; ihei; Governments have come round to this conclusion, which is inescapable. 74. As for the Security Council, if it should fail to act decisively, in deeds and not in words, against such blatant aggression, against this situation ofwar, then let all the peoples of the world know that a new era of the law of the jungle has practically and undisguisedly supplanted the international order based on the Chartel and international law. Let us face that sad fact. 75. It is a basic +cision which devolves upon the Security Council: it must make the decision and live with the consequences. It should not matter very much -we are accustomed to this-that an aggressive Israel will as usual reject any Council decision, as it has done for decades. What is important is that the Council should act without inhibitions, in accordance with its own provisions and inspired by the guidance given by the Charter. 78. At the outset I wish to say that I feel it a great honour, Mr. President, that you, a son of liberated Africa and brother freedom fighter, are chairing this meeting. I wish to thank you, Sir, and through you the other member5 of the Council who have also agreed to invite the Palestine Liberation Organlzation to participate in this debate. 79. At this point, I should also like to extend to the representative of Mexico the expression of my highest esteem for his prudence and the sense of diplomacy that he manifested during the debate on another Israeli criminal attack and act of aggression against the peaceful country of Iraq, in its peaceful pursuit of better conditions for its people. 80. For the representative of Begin I should like to start bv savinn at the outset that the motto of the crlmind and tehorist Begin, a5 pronounced in his book 7he Revolt. is this: “As for the United Nation5 Organization’s prohibitions, we would manage some&w. In the circumstances this was no question of morals.” That is the basis of the dealings of Begin and his respect or disrespect for the Organization. gl. I shall spare the Council a detailed study of the terrorist mentality, the sacred terrorism practised by the Zionirtr and Israel. I shall not refer to the bornbe placed in the soukr of the Old City of Jerusalem in the 193th. I &all not now refer to the maasacm and B of Deir Yassl.r, in which Begin took pride. I shall talk about the latest in these criminal and terrorist attacks. 82. On I July, and after a long lull, in the most intensive shelling of South Lebanon for several weeks, Israeli artillery pounded the towns of Nabatiyah, the villages of Aichiye, Arab Salim. Al-Kihan and Habboush for over five hours. They also hit Beaufort Castle, which overlooks the Litani River and northern Galilee. 83. It was not mere coincidence that Israel resumed its heavy bombardment of southerrl Lebanon at that time, on 1 and 2 July, in the wake of the Israeli elections and after the first signs of a certain measure of detente in the Lebanese arena-a reconciliation in Lebanonhad appeared. The attack on I July, then. did not take .., .+2_ place in a vacuum, was not isolated from what was happening, as my friend the representative of Lebanon has just mentioned. . ; runs, while others provided cover from a higher altitude. 90. On IS July, at 1740 hours, there was intensive shelling of Nabatiyeh and Arab Salim; at 1805 hours there was intensive shelling of Ras AI-Ain. Rashidiyeh and Kana Junction: at 1825 hours there was intensive shelling of Sidon; and at 1830 hours there was concentrated shelling of Ras AI-Ain, Nabatiyeh, Sidon, Kafer Roumane and Serba. 84. On IO July at 1 I o’clock in the morning, Israel started another major air attack on two areas in southem Lebanon: Habboush, on the Sidon-Nabatiyeh road, and Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar, north.eaot of Nabas tlyeh. The raid lasted for over an hour and was accompanied by an Israeli artillery bombardment of roads in south Lebanon, particularly in the Habboush region. Several civilians were killed or wounded in the raid. 91. At that moment we could not but retaliate, and counter-attacks with rockets targeted at enemy sources of fIre were launched. 85. Let us think for a moment about what 10 July means. It coincides with the visit of the special envoi of Resident Ronald Reagan, Mr. Habib, to the area. So again, it is not accidental or an isolated event that Israel escalated its attacks on that day-perhaps to welcome Habib or to discourage him, I do not know. 92. Later that day, at 2040 hours, naval vessels were operating in the vicinity of Sidon and Tyre, and at 2110 hours the Israeli air force was overflying and dropping flares over Rashidiyeh, Ras AI-Al& Nabatiyeh and Arab Mm. Six hundred Israeli shells were fIred in that short period of time. 86. On I2 July, and that was last Sunday, at I630 hours, while the Moslems were sitting down to break their Ramadan fast, Israeli Phantoms, Mirages and F-Ms attacked the coastal town of Damour and the neighbouring villages of Naameh and Haret AlNaameh as well as Deir Zahrani on the SidonsNabatiyah road. The raid lasted for over 90 minutes and involved approximately 24 planes. The refrigerator factory in Naameh was severely bombed, and again, as was mentioned by my good-friend and colle&e, the respected representative of Lebanon, that was an econotiic outlei employing scores of civilians. In ‘dition to the refrigerator factory, the Israeli aircraft kz;ittdtile factory in Damour, which was severely 93. That is not the law of the jungle: that is not “a tooth for a tooth”: that is “a jaw for a tooth”. 94. But the Israelis persisted in their criminal attacks. On 16 July they resorted to air strikes. At 1425 hours, Damour was hit; at 1600 hours, Wadi Al-Akhdar, Arab Salim and Jarmaq were hit, as well as Ain AlHilweh refugee camp and Zahrani and Habboush bridges; at 1650 hours, there was another air attack on Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp; at 1730 hours, Kasmiyah bridge was struck-and I think that that has affected United Nations operations in that area: at 1735 hours, Zahrani and Habboush bridges were again hit from the air: at 1740 hours, the Habboush bridge was once again hit and so was Deir Al-Zahrani; and at 1743 hours, there were further air strikes on the Zahrani and Habboush bridges. 87. Up to March this year, 6S civilians had been killed and more than 100 seriously wounded. On that day of I2 July-and it was a Sunday-I was instructed by Chairman Arafat to approach the Secretary-OeneraI, asking him to use his good offices to put an end to the criminal attack. I certainly will leave it to him to inform the Council, whenever the proper time may be, of his ;ytityt8 and endeavours. They were, of course, to no 95. In all those letters we addressed to the SecretaryGeneml we asked for his immediate intervention so that efforta could be undertaken by the United Nations to bring these criminal Israeli activities to an end. But, again, to no avail. More than 50 people were killed or 8~Iourly wo~dcd on 16 July 1981. 96. I have just seen one of today’s newspapers. It carries the banner headline: “Terror in Brooklyn -Aged Couple Brutalized”. I wonder how the press could describe the brutalizing and killing in cold blood of civilians by the hundreds-and this is not yet the end of these attacks. 88. Then, watching that escalation, Chairman Arafat registered his strongest protest through the SecretaryGeneral; but he also wanted to state that there was a limit to our patience, that the blood of our children is not free for the spilling, and that our children and women are not there lo be exterminated while the world and we watch. And we have informed the Secretary-General that there is a limit to our patience. 97. I would describe today as an infamous day, to the extent that the United States today cuuld not decide whether another shinment of P .l6s could be sent to Israel to be used to drop bombs on our refugee cnmus and kill our civilians. I hoae to God that the Uniied States will be sensible enouih not to send these means of destruction and put them in the hands of the bloodthirsty criminals in Tel Aviv. 89. Again on 14 July, Israeli bombers attacked five villages in two areas of southern Lebanon. The attack was directed at the Del-Hamia and Dibbiya region, south of Damuur on the Beirut-Iiidon coastal road, at Jarmaq and Arab Salim as well as the village of Zifta nearby. Fine aircrafts took part in the actual bombing 8 Israeli crimes? Sometimes ono wonders. Or is the American Administration naive enough to believe otherwise? 98. Again, early today at 0100 hours, Beirut time, Sidon was heavily bombed and Jamal Kaur hospital was hit and 15 casualties were Irrportod: at 0120 hours, Ain Al-Hilweh camp was again bombod by American aircraft donated to the Israelis. Moreover. at that time two Israoii destroyers were shelling iho area between Tyre and Sidon. At 0905 hours. sholllnn was resumed dn Zahrani, Jarmaq, Nabatiybh and-Habboush. At 1030 hours, the carnage came: there wore more than 600 casualties-and my colleague from Lebanon has just mentioned that there wore 300 dead. That was carnage; I cannot find another word for it. It was a holocaust; it was the killing of infants in broad daylight by dropping bombs on thorn. With surgical precision. as the Americans iiko to say. those Israeli pilots dropped AmerIcan.mado bombs-on the Arab University’s Schools of Engineering and Communications and on the Mosque-of Imah Aii. Moslems go for their Friday prayers at around noon, and that is whore the Moslems were assembled; that is whore, with surgical precision, the bombs wore direcied and zeroed in on the Mosque. There woro no cross&e victims: there was doliberato and, I repeat, surgical precision in that attack. It was not cross&o, but a deliberate attack. It was carnage not unlike the camago of Deir Yassin, which Begin takes pride in having conducted in 1948. 101. Today was supposed to have boon the day when the United States would docido whether or not it would doiivor somo more of those lethal F-16 fighter planes to Israel, and they must have had a very hard job deciding not to deliver them today: but they will deliver them tomorrow, or in a very short time. The United States is criminally responsible for these criminal attacks made against our pooplo with the aim of eiiminating them and should bear the consequences of them. 102. Once again the PLO appoais to the Cmlncii to use its good offices, to USC its authority and to use the Charter in order to bring peace to the Middle East. We appeal to you onto agaIn, please enable us to return to our homes, because if we are not enabled to do so, then we must force our way back thoro. 103. Mr. OVINNIKOV (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (interpretation from Russiun): The Security Council has once again had to convene in an umont meeting. Tho quostbn is not a new one, but it is-becoming increasingly tragic. It is the explosive situation in the Middle East caused by Israel’s aggressive actions. 99. Lot me assure the Council that Begin’s aim in 1948 was to create an atmosphere of terror, to torrorize the Palestinians and force them from their homes. This campaign of terror cannot bo repeated; we shall not permit it to be repeated; we shall Bght back. We are not here merely to announce this, but we are hore to toll the Security Council that we have had enough, that the Security Council itself has failed. What has the Council achieved7 Recently. when Iraq was hit, we said that failure to condemn Israol and make it pay for its crime would encourage Israel to strike at other locations-and it did. 104. Just a few weeks ago the Council was considering the quostion of Ista;l’s aggrosslon against Iraq. At that time it was a question of tho Ismoli air force’s bombing of tho nuclear-rosoarch contra near Baghdad. That criminal act was strongly condomnod by the Council and quite rightly dosc&d as a clear vioiation of the Chartor of the United Nations and of the norms of international law. 105. Today the Security Council is once agaIn having to consider tho question of Irtnoli aggression. This time, it is a question of a aharp txpan&n of the barbarous war whioh lard hns ban w&w for many yoam now againrt tho L&Mow popb and Iho Palortinian rotistanco movomont. 100. Habib’s trips sometimes make us won& what his mission in the area is. Is that envoy of Proshiont Reupn then to remove tho Syrian misrilor, or is he tlton just for a cover-up to allow lrrxol to act more brutrtly in the area? I any thxt b86auao Bogia t43kI tkc mombon of the Knesset-md this wu npmed h theJwusaht Past, 3 Juno to 4 July-that in the days prior to the bombing of the Baghdad reactor, he deliberately intensified his warnings about the threat 106. The Irmoli rmmlr ele ODonIY docluln that they are llow et&~ l now pliue341 this r&cl. In other words, the Israeli leaders, flouting the Zen- posedby theSyrianmissiles in Lebanon.Hispurpose wasto keeponly that oneissuein mindin foreign capitalswhile,naturally,heplanned to attack Baghdad. In plainEnglish,Habibwasbeingusedasa cover-up whileBeginwaspreparing for anothercriminalattack. The questionis:-Is‘Hab6 beingusednow alsoasa cover-upto facilitatet’ eliminationof the Palestinian people?That is a quesllonthat the United Statesis under obligationto answer.Is the United States sendingHabibto the regionbecause of his beautiful lovable Arab name?Because“Habib” in Arabic means“lovable”. Is it se.rdinghimasa cover-upfor 9 erallyrecognizednormsof international law, are