YouSaid · the spoken record

King Hussein

lines on the record

75

first

1979-09-24

most recent

1985-09-24

sittings or episodes

2

sources

un-general-debate

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1. “When we speak of Palestinian rights we speak of a clearly defined territory and an equally clearly defined people who with their ancestors have inhabited that territory, situated west of the River Jordan in Palestine for countless centuries. The subject is thus not a matter of terminology or semantics. In 1948, Israel managed to uproot distinct people from their homeland. It then took another major step and placed 1.5 million Palestinian Arabs under its control. The case of this nation—half in exile and half under occupation—is the case of the Palestinian people. 34. Playing with words will not solve the problem.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

2. “32 On 24 April 1950, the joint Jordanian Parliament, in taking its historic decision on unity, did not neglect to record Jordan's unwavering stand concerning the historic rights of the Palestinians and the support of Arab Palestinian rights in any future settlement in accordance with national aspirations and international justice. Thus when we speak today of the right of self- determination for the Palestinian people, we do so because it is something we have always believed in and have always attempted to bring about within the framework of a just and comprehensive settlement. 33. Israeli officials have constantly reiterated that Jordan must solve the Palestinian problem by absorbing the Palestinians itself. But the answer to this argument is a very simple one.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

3. “Jordan has always advocated reason, moderation and a search for the just and durable, both by virtue of its proximity to danger and its close involvement in the tragedy from the very beginning. The Jordanian people have always shared the sufferings and aspirations of the Palestinian people. Jordan earned the major burden of the human tragedy that befell the Palestinians, and absorbed the human, economic, social and political results of this tragedy. 31 In 1950, Jordan entered into a voluntary union with the Palestinian West Bank in order to protect the people and the land as well as out of a conviction that Jordan shared with the West Bank a common destiny and a brotherly obligation.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

4. “This is so because, while the Arab parties accepted peace and its guarantees, Israel has chosen a claim to Arab territories over and above peace. In place of security and coexistence, Israel has insisted that the Palestinian people should suffer continued dislocation outside their homeland or submit to a life of captivity under occupation. 29. Even after the unfortunate Egyptian withdrawal from the joint Arab front, the entire Arab world re- emphasized at the Ninth Arab Summit Conference, held in Baghdad in November 1978, its commitment to a just and honourable peace based on respect for recognized Arab rights. 30. Jordan, which I am honoured to represent here today, has a thorough understanding of what is and what is not possible in the context of war and peace in our region.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

5. “Until this very moment, no statement has been made by the Israeli Government that Israel commits itself to withdrawal from the occupied territories in the context of a comprehensive settlement leading to peace and mutual guarantees. 28. Since 1967, the Arab parties have been ready for a comprehensive and just settlement. They have been ready for the establishment of a just peace, where all can live within secure borders after a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self- determination and sovereignty in their national homeland. But in spite of this declared Arab position, all international efforts to achieve a complete and just solution have met with failure.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

6. “If Israel really wanted peace and was eager to seize the opportunity for peace, it would surely have preferred to deal with the Arabs as a group, and would have presented a positive position, respecting their historic rights, and opening for the Palestinians an opportunity for regaining the exercise of their national and human rights as well as recreating their unity within a truly national entity. 27. Until this very moment, no statement has been made by the Israeli Government to the effect that Israel accepts the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people—even within a framework of reciprocal peace and security.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

7. “The official Israeli political line has never once provided a glimpse of possible recognition of the Palestinians as a people with a right to a free and secure existence based on self-determination. Rather, it has insistently smeared the Arab image and projected the Palestinians squarely on Arab shoulders. Such claims, however, are meant for external consumption and are part of Israel's war against the Arabs, not Israel's battle for peace. 26. It is for these considerations that we were deeply hurt to see the leadership of Egypt—a country which we love and cherish and appreciate—fall into the Israeli trap aimed at fragmenting the united Arab front. The Egyptian leadership has walked, or has been led, into the trap, but honourable and genuine peace, which can be accepted and lived with, has become more elusive than before.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

8. “Students of Zionist and Israeli political thought have realized for some time that Israel treats the Arabs around it not as part of a human environment with which it aspires to coexist but as a human barrier which it must seek to demolish. This is evident in Israel's daily attacks on southern Lebanon—a beautiful and peaceful country, a small country—carried out under a variety of pretexts. Again, it is as if Israel intends this cruel approach as a substitute for facing up to its responsibility for the catastrophe that has beset the Palestinians and the ravages that have plagued hitherto peaceful Lebanon. It is also evident in the failure of the Israeli leadership, over the long years, to come up with a genuine peace proposal which neighbouring Arab countries can look at with any degree of objectivity. 25.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

9. “Arab Jerusalem, which is so closely linked to our history, religion and culture throughout the ages, is undergoing systematic erosion and a painful loss of identity as an annexed body. It is as if the Israeli authorities wish to eradicate from the world's memory centuries of history and tradition and of spiritual, moral and cultural ideals. 23. How, under such conditions, can a just peace and genuine coexistence come about in the Middle East? How can peace be achieved between an occupying Power that refuses to engage in an equitable dialogue and the people it has sought to vanquish and suppress? How can Israel convince the world that it wants peace and stability while refusing to change its outlook and its methods of dealing with the environment around it? 24.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

10. “As for Jerusalem, which is the heart of Palestine and the occupied territories, and the sanctum of Arabs and Moslems everywhere, it was forcibly annexed by Israel in the early days of the 1967 occupation by a government that had claimed more concern for peace than the present one—although every Arab knows from bitter experience that the thinking and actions of successive Israeli governments have remained alarmingly constant. 22. Jerusalem, so dear to us all, is suffering from the ravages of daily mutilation. Its long-suffering people are faced with sustained psychological and economic pressures as well as outright repression intended to Force them to leave or else surrender their national and historical identity.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

11. “It has tied the economy of these territories to its own. It has introduced deep radical changes into their physical, human and cultural characteristics. And it has done this before the eyes of the inhabitants of the occupied territories and the whole world. In successive announcements the Israeli leaders have emphasized that they consider any self-rule for the Palestinians—however mutilated—to apply to the inhabitants but not to the land. The same leaders have dug out—from myth and legend—claims for perpetual ownership of the occupied land. 21.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

12. “The cause of justice and liberty for the Palestinian people continues to face increasing Israeli intransigence. 19. Everyone knows that Israel has since 1967 been occupying vast Arab territories and that the entire Palestinian homeland is under occupation. The Assembly will recall that at first the Israeli leadership made the claim that Israel was ready to withdraw within the framework of a comprehensive settlement that guaranteed peace and security. However, it is evident today that the Israeli leadership has no intention of withdrawing from the occupied territories or of returning to the Palestinian people its occupied homeland, where it can exercise its right to self-determination and the establishment of a free national entity. 20. Israel has literally planted, and is still planting, the occupied territories with settlements.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

13. “The European mind has been opened to the realities of the situation in the Middle East and to the aspirations and sufferings of the Palestinian people. Western Europe has started a constructive dialogue with the Arab countries, with a view to building bridges of understanding, broadening the base of mutual interests and directing joint efforts towards the achievement of a just peace in the region. 1.7. The whole climate in the world today is one that rejects occupation and racism wherever they are exercised . It is thus conducive to an emergent recognition of Palestinian rights. 18. Unfortunately, however, the Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the concomitant sufferings of the Palestinian people have prevented a break-through in our own region.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

14. “We are for viewing the entire world as an indivisible unit with regard to resources, aspirations, peace and the solution of problems. We are for placing the resources of humanity at the service of progress and enlightenment for all of mankind. 16. The forces of positive change which have altered the world of today from what it was a decade ago have also had their effect on our Middle East region. The cause of justice in the Middle East, which is closely intertwined with the rights of the Palestinian people, has been making continued progress. Transcending old barriers, the new, free and vibrant Africa has declared its firm and clear support for the just Arab cause and for the Palestinian people. Western Europe is overcoming the effects of Zionist control both in the mass media and in national parliaments.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

15. “We are for an honest and a fruitful dialogue between the South and the North, between the industrialized world and the less fortunate countries which are seeking to achieve comparable progress. We are for the new international economic order in all its manifestations: equitable interaction among all nations; anew basis for international trade; the transfer of resources from developed to developing countries; the implantation of technology in the developing countries where it is most needed; the effective supply of food to the poorer countries and the wherewithal to produce more of their own food; the dissemination of knowledge and education; the effective solution of the problem of housing and clothing; the provision of medical care; and the promotion of individual dignity.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

16. “Jordan has also been inextricably linked to the sufferings and aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs, whose recent history is a living symbol of the just struggle of all nations against colonialism, racism and oppressive foreign rule and whose aspirations are a true reflection of the desire of the entire Arab nation for stability, security, a just peace and continued progress. 15. Jordan is for world peace, without which the world cannot hope for stability, prosperity or a better standard of living for all nations. For this reason, we stand against international tension and the cold-war mentality, not to say the cold war. We are for complete and comprehensive disarmament based on reciprocal guarantees.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

17. “We in Jordan have always supported the movements towards positive change which inevitably leads the world towards broader horizons of liberty, prosperity and self-realization. 14. Every day, the world moves closer towards the new values. My country's active participation in this movement is prompted by several factors. As part of the third world, as an Arab country and as one of the non-aligned countries, Jordan seeks renewal and progress, be it economic, social, cultural or political. As an Arab country it has an unquestioned obligation to Arab history, to Arab unity, to the ultimate triumph of the Arab struggle for liberty and progress and to the Arab future.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

18. “There is a growing international conviction, even among the industrially and technologically advanced nations, that the world must rectify existing economic relationships and seek a new pattern of international economic interaction based on equity, co-operation and equal opportunity. Concepts of the new international economic order are gaining acceptance on the part of the majority of nations and are viewed with respect even by the minority which still approaches them with varying degrees of reservation. 12. This is indeed a different world from that of 1967, when Israel could perpetrate its tragic occupation of surrounding Arab lands and impose on the Palestinian people yet another round of pain and suffering. 13. Jordan, together with the entire Arab nation, welcomes these far-reaching developments in international life.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

19. “The colonial institution—a vestige of the nineteenth century—has collapsed in Africa and elsewhere. United Nations membership has been extended to include almost every country around the globe, affording a proper representation of the interests and principles of the majority of the nations of the world. 10. The non-aligned countries, together with the rest of the third world, have succeeded in placing the United Nations in an adversary relationship to colonialism, racism and foreign domination of whatever kind. The values governing international relations have thus shifted in favour of the overwhelming majority of nations and have moved towards greater international equality. 11.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

20. “The world's conscience had not yet been aroused to the reality that Israel's Zionist racism was of the same coin as the racism of the minorities of southern Africa. Nor had it come to realize that it belonged to the same stuff which made the colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau and lies behind the present strife in Zimbabwe and Namibia. 9. We in Jordan, together with our Palestinian brethren and the rest of the Arab nation, have suffered for many years from a lack of understanding or appreciation by the world community of our just cause. But we now take solace in the fact that the world of today is not the world of 1967. There have been dramatic changes during the last decade. Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau are now liberated.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

21. “The United Nations, then, was still groping for maturity, independence and comprehensive membership. There was then a sector of world opinion which still believed that Israel sought security, not hegemony or expansion. The then independent nations of the third world, the opponents of racism and colonialism in all their forms, had not yet achieved their present cohesion. Nor had the ideas, aspirations and new values of the third world emerged with the insistent voice within this world body that they have today. 8. The world had not yet experienced Israel's intransigence, its determination to block all avenues to a just peace, or its increasingly open declarations of its ambitions to annex occupied Arab lands.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

22. “At that time I carried to this international body— which, after all, is the world's conscience—a message from a brave people that had borne the brunt of the pain and shock in the wake of the aggression and occupation carried out so blatantly against them. I told you then that this same people, which had stood in the face of aggression on behalf of the Arab nation and in defence of its rights and principles, was a valiant and steadfast breed which would cope with suffering but would not compromise its principles. I said then that we would stand fast until the entire world community came around to comprehending our just cause, at which time it would stand by us and enforce a just and honourable peace based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and rooted in the requirements of international justice. 7.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

23. “It was on 26 June 1967, when the Arab nation was tending its wounds and attempting to absorb the shock of the Israeli expansionist campaign which had thrust Israel's armed forces across the borders in every direction. The Israeli forces had just occupied the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai, as well as Palestinian Gaza and the West Bank—the heart of Palestine and the secure and stable habitat of the largest concentration of Palestinians. They had occupied Arab Jerusalem, so dear to the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of Moslems and believers around the world. In one fell swoop, they had shattered the city's security, violated its sanctity and annexed its people, its land and, indeed, its history, to the body politic of Israel. 6.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

24. “I thank your predecessor, a true son of Latin America, who led the General Assembly last year with competence and dedication. Latin America has contributed with enthusiasm and wisdom to the work and successes of the United Nations from its inception; and it will continue to do so, increasing day by day the role of Latin America in our new contemporary world. 4. I could not fail to praise the efforts of the Secretary- General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who bears his great responsibilities with patience, courage and impartiality while working for international peace and co-operation and for the solution of humanitarian causes. 5. The last time I spoke from this rostrum the world situation and the situation in my own country were very different from what they are now.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

25. “I should like first of all to extend my warmest congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Your election is a tribute paid to you personally and to your friendly, struggling country. In all your efforts exerted at the United Nations you have always embodied the spirit of the United Republic of Tanzania, which is struggling, under the wise, experienced and determined leadership of its friendly President, Julius Nyerere, for the benefit of Africa and the whole world. The assumption of the leadership of this Assembly by Africa today has very deep meaning of which no one is ignorant. Africa has recently begun with determination, awareness and courage to put its efforts, experience and hopes at the service of mankind for its benefit. 3.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)