UN General Assembly
1985

The Arab-Israel conflict has also been a major preoccupation of the United Nations for most of the 40 years of its existence. Encouraged by the almost unquestioning support extended to it by its friends and protectors, Israel has habitually flouted the cardinal principles and rulings of our Organization. As events over the past years show, Israel persists in its efforts to impose by force of arms its own aggressive and expansionist designs on the region, in complete disregard of world censure. It is the unwavering conviction of my Government that the three core issues of the conflict cannot under any circumstances be sidetrack. They are the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people and its right to sovereign and independent statehood in Palestine, Israel's withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and the need for the States in the region to live in peace within secure borders.