U.N. Urges Israel to Let 4 Palestinians Return : U.S. Abstains as Council Also Calls for an End to Deportations From the West Bank, Gaza Strip

The U.N. Security Council, with the United States abstaining, Thursday called on Israel to let deported Palestinians return to their homes in the occupied territories and to “desist forthwith” from further such expulsions.

Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar urged Israel to heed the Security Council’s resolution, passed on a 14-0 vote. “I hope the Israeli authorities will rescind their decision and allow the four deported Palestinians to return to their homes and families,” he said. “The tragic fate of the Palestinian people, the majority of whom live under occupation or in exile, is a matter of concern for the international community.”

The U.S. abstention marked a softening from Washington’s position of Jan. 5, when the United States joined in a unanimous Security Council resolution warning Israel that carrying out deportations would be a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, aimed at protecting civilian residents of zones under military occupation.

Israel defied the council’s earlier resolution and Wednesday expelled four Palestinians accused of inciting disturbances on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. The four were told that if they returned to Israel or to its self-proclaimed security zone along the Lebanese border, they would be shot on sight.

Further Expulsions

Israeli Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu emerged from the council chamber Thursday to denounce the new resolution, to praise the United States for abstaining and to declare that Israel will expel other “professional riot organizers.” A month of violent protest has resulted in the deaths of 35 Arabs at the hands of Israeli soldiers or civilians.

“We will take whatever actions are necessary to restore calm and tranquility in the areas under our control,” Netanyahu said. “Removing additional people, a small number of people who are professional riot organizers, yes, we will continue to do.”

During the debate, Netanyahu argued that the resolution was wrong-headed. “The Middle East is in flames,” he said. “Thousands of people have died in various wars, in bombings, assassinations, kidnapings. You name it. But the Security Council finds a reason to convene . . . to condemn and criticize Israel for deporting four members of terrorist organizations, two of them convicted killers, for inciting riots.”

The nonaligned members of the council--Algeria, Argentina, Nepal, Senegal, Yugoslavia and Zambia--sponsored the resolution.

U.S. Ambassador Vernon A. Walters, who returned from a Florida vacation to attend the meeting, told the council that the United States remains opposed to Israel’s expulsion of Arabs from the occupied territories but considered the resolution counterproductive.

“We deeply regret the deportations that have taken place and we urge Israel to avoid further deportations,” Walters said. “The United States abstained on the present resolution because we believe that repeatedly raising this issue in the Security Council does not assist the process of restoring calm to the territories or in addressing the problems that have contributed to the recent disturbances.”

The U.S. envoy also pointed out that the four deportees declined to press their appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court and had thus failed to exhaust their legal remedies.

Zehdi Labib Terzi, the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, later attacked the U.S. position as inconsistent, because he said that the United States, as well as most other nations, does not officially recognize Israel’s rule over the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel has occupied the territories since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Speaking to reporters after the brief council session, Terzi hailed the vote.

Sudden Fluctuation?

“The only thing that really surprised us was that the position of the government of the United States has all of a sudden fluctuated and it was not that easy to take,” the PLO delegate said.

Asked to comment on Terzi’s charge, Walters replied: “I do not need lessons from the PLO representative in matters of consistency and justice.”

Although some diplomats speculated that the Reagan Administration eased its stand in return for a commitment by Israel to halt further deportations, a U.S. official who spoke on condition that he not be identified asserted that no such commitment was given.

“Of course, we hope and pray that no more deportations will occur,” the official said.

Israel and several major Jewish organizations in the United States registered consternation at the Jan. 5 vote cast by Walters’ deputy, Herbert Okun. There was speculation among Arab diplomats here that heavy domestic political pressure has since led the Reagan Administration to soften its position and to abstain Thursday.

U.S. Opposition

In a further U.S. shift toward stronger support of Israel, Security Council sources reported Thursday that an appeal by Lebanon for a unanimous council statement urging a cessation of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon failed because of U.S. opposition. A U.S. official, speaking on condition that he not be named, confirmed that the United States was unwilling to join other council members in such a statement.

“The statement would have lacked balance,” the official said. “It would have made no mention of the provocation by forces inside Lebanon which forced Israel to retaliate.”

The issue of Israeli policy in the occupied territories is scheduled to return to the Security Council next week, when Undersecretary General Marrack Goulding returns from the area to make a report requested by the council on the situation. Goulding’s current inspection tour of the territories has been marked by violent Palestinian demonstrations and conflicts with Israeli authorities over access to Palestinian refugee camps. Goulding and other U.N. officials have been excluded from the camps.