UN General Assembly
1976

21. The Middle East crisis is still of grave concern to our Organization. A solution to that problem can be found only on the basis of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Arab territories occupied since June 1967 and full respect for the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people. This appears to be an opportune moment to convene the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, in which the Palestine Liberation Organization should participate on an equal footing with all the other parties involved in the conflict. My delegation participated actively in the work of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people and supports its recommendations [see A/31/35], which we believe could well trigger the process that will lead to the solution of this burning problem. The tragic events in Lebanon have shocked world public opinion. My delegation reiterates its support for the territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon and the right of its people to solve the country's problems by itself and without violence. It is urgent that an end be put to the fighting from various Arab trenches, since that is depriving the Palestinians of that center of resistance against the common enemy. The continuation of the struggle in Lebanon is helping to strengthen Zionist aggression and the designs of its imperialist allies in the region.