UN General Assembly
1967

147. There is already evidence that Arab States regard the United Nations as a shelter against the necessity of peace. This is the precise antithesis of what this Organization is meant to he. The United Nations is an instrument for ending conflicts, not an arena for waging them. It expresses its higher ends when it serves as a bridge, not as a wedge. There is no precedent in international life for the refusal of States to recognize another State except for the purpose of exercising a state of war against it. United Nations organs should take care lest by action or omission they inadvertently sanction or condone this refusal. For our insistence on direct negotiation is not a matter of procedure. The issue is one of principle and substance. A refusal to negotiate is inherently identical with a refusal to live in peace. Surely a process as complex as the transition from prolonged belligerency to peaceful adjustment cannot possibly be envisaged in an atmosphere of ostracism. Indeed, my Government can never regard the state of belligerency as terminated so long as Arab Governments, whatever else they do, maintain their refusal to negotiate a settlement with us.