diate and complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, and safeguards for the independence, sover- eignty, unity and territorial integrity of that country. “They’ are favourably disposed towards the princi- ples for solving the problem of a Middle East settle- ment put forward at the Twelfth Arab Summit Con- ference held at Fez, . , ,” [S/15556, annex, sect. IVJ. 86. In a message of greetings addressed by the Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Repub- lic, Erich Honecker, to the’sixteenth session of the Pales- tine National Council that is now under way at Algiers, the German Democratic Republic most strongly con- demns the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, the barbarous massacres of the resi- dents of the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut and the continuing acts of terrorism of the Israeli occupiers against Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon. The message further says: “The failure of the adventurous plans of imperialism to smash the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has demonstrated to the world that the Pales- tinian issue cannot be settled by force: It becomes ever more evident that a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement requires the convening of an international conference with equal participation by all interested sides, including the PLO. Such settlement must’guar- antee complete withdrawal of the Israeli troops from all Arab and Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, parti&- larly its right to self-determination and creation of an independent State. “You may rest assured that the German Demo- cratic Republic will continue to side unswervingly in active solidarity with the Palestinian people and its sole, legitimate representative, the PLO.” 9 87. The PRESIDENT (interpretationfrom Russian): The next speaker is the representative of the United Arab 