seeing you presiding over the Council for the month of February. Your recognized qualities as an experienced diplomat and as a man of justice go hand in hand with your invariable policy of principle in favour of the just cause of the heroic people of Palestine. I have no doubt, therefore, that under your presidency the Council will successfully conclude its important deliberations on the question now before us. 61. I should like also to commend my colleague, Mr. Amega, of Togo, who presided over the Council last month. 62. I equally avail myself of this opportunity to welcome the election and participation as members of the Council of the representatives of Malta, the Netherlands, Nicara- gua, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, whom I wish every success in their important functions. 63. On many occasions we have expressed in the Council tlie position of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba and of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries-over which President Fidel Castro has presided since 1979-on the situation in the Middle East; its Gordian knot, the question of Palestine; and the consequences of that deteri- orating situation for international peace and security, There is also a general awareness of the negative impact that Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Arab territo- ries acquired by force since 1967 has on a just, comprehen- sive and lasting solution of the Middle East problem. 64. One need not be particularly perceptive, therefore, to see that the events which followed the brutalaggression against Lebanon perpetrated by the Zionist regime of Israel with the support and connivance of the United States Government to prptect its odious “strategic alliance*‘, the horrendous massacre of Palestinian civil- ians in the Sabra and Shatila camps and eisewhere in southern Lebanon, the numerous atrocities committed daily against the Arab and Palestinian peoples in the 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a speech or statement made by a representative of a country or organization, addressing the United Nations Security Council. The topic of discussion is the situation in the Middle East, specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the impact it has on international peace and security. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating a focus on international relations and politics.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International relations