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GV INTERIOR General Assembly of United Nations
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CU Senegalese representative Mr. Medoune Fall, Chairman of Committee of Rights of Palestinian People speaking in French
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CU Israeli delegate
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CU Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) observer Farouk Kaddoumi speaking in Arabic
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GV General Assembly
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CU Permanent Representative to U.N. of Iraq Salah Omar Al-Ali speaking in Arabic
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Background: In the United Nations, the General Assembly debate on the future of the Palestinian Arabs living in the occupied territories presently controlled by Israel, provoked heated exchanges on Monday (26 November).

SYNOPSIS: One of the main speakers during the debate was the Chairman of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of Palestinians, the Senegalese representative, Mr. Medoune Fall.

Mr. Fall stressed that the major problem facing those fighting for the rights of the Palestinian people was one of acceptance. He said that whatever the justice of the claims of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and similar groups, the international community would be unwilling to give their whole-hearted support because of the violent action associated with the movement.

The United Nations observer of the PLO, Mr.Farouk Kaddoumi, commented upon Mr. Fall's assessment of the situation in the Middle East. He claimed that any violent actions taken by the PLO were merely retaliatory manoeuvres for increased aggression against palestinians living in the occupied territories during recent month. He said that such attacks on the right of Palestinians had increased since the signing of the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel. Mr. Kaddoumi described the wealth of oil in the Middle East as the instrument for all those Arab states opposing the peace initiative of the United States, Israel and Egypt. He said it was the responsibility of the United Nations to ensure that the present conflict in the Middle East did not extend beyond the boundaries of the region.

The Iraqi permanent representative to the United Nations, Mr. Salah Omar Al-Ali, enforced the theme of the PLO observer. He said that the Camp David Accord would cause more problems in the Middle East, rather than solving them. Although the Senegalese delegate had called for negotiations rather than violence, the Iraqi representative said the last talks had resulted in the Camp David agreement and had encouraged Israel to create more Jewish settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Mr. Al-Ali said the settlements were an obstacle to peace and restricted the rights of Palestinian Arabs living in the area. He called on the United Nations to assert it authority in favour of the Palestinians and to ensure that these people were granted a homeland.