S/PV.292 Security Council

1 . haye convened this meeting to bring ta your attention two documents wmch have been transmitted to me. The first bears yesterday's date and·the second is a telegram w~ich arrived this morning.. Ishall asIe the Assistant Secretary- General to read the two" documents. . Mr. SOBOLEV (Assistant· Secretary-General in charge of Security Council Affairs): The first d,ocument is a letter fro~ the Jewish Agency for "It will be recalled in this conn!,:xion that at the 283rd meeting of the Seeurity Council, on 16 April 1948, Sir Alexander Cadogan stated, in response to a reference by Mr. Shertok to the danger which the.presence of units of the Arab Legion constituted to the Jewish community in J;lalestine, that 'we have already announced that the units of the Arab Legion in Palestine will be withdrawn before the Mandate cornes to an end'. "1 have the honour formally to request that there be placed on the agenda of the Security Council the question of acts of aggression on the part of the KingdoII1 of Transjorda:i1 through the instrumentality ofthe Arab Legion, which is financed, equipped and officered by Great Britain on the basis of Anglo-Transjordan treaties of 1946 and 1948. "(8igned) Abba Hillel Silver" The second part of this document is a cable from Tel Aviv, dated 13 May, addressed to the Jewish Agency for Palestine by Mr. Moshe Shertok, to which reference is made in the letter 1 have just read. It reads as follows: "Urge immediate strongest effort secure immediate direct sternest waming by President to King Abdullah view his desisting from impending invasion and onslaught on Jewish population· Palestine by Arab Legion and Iraqi tmops ilow jointly under his commando Cable should be addressed Amman direct. Hours count. Senior British Staff Officer Jerusalem today informed our liaison officially that Arab Legion no longer under British commando This position is in glaring contradiction Cadop"an's assurance Security Council Legion be withdrawn from Palestine before Mayl5. Legion these very hours engaged storming reducing Kfar Etzion and neighbouring settlements." The second document is a cablegram addressed to the President of the Security Council, dated 15 May, [document S/743], from the Minister of Foreign AfIairs of Egypt, which rea.ds as follows: "The Royal Egyptian Government cannot, in face of these brutal crimes against humanity in a contiguous country and against the Arabs of Palestine who are strongly bound by many ties to the people of neighbouring Arab States, remain inactive. They deem it their bounden dutYas a Government of an Arab State and a civilized nation to intervene in Palestine with the object of putting an end ta the massacres raging there and upholding law and principles recognized among the United Nations. The Royal Egyptian Government wish to assert that their armed intervention in Palestine is not di· rected against Palestine Jews but is against the terrorist Zionist gangs and that this intervention has no other object in view except the restoratian of security and order to Palestine particularIy after the British Mandate has ended, and until a just and equitable solution is reached."

1 wish t,"\ make two explanations in connexion w:th the first of these documents. To begin with, 1 must apologize for the fact that the document has not yet been circulated; it was handed to me yesterday during the meeting of the General Assembly and 1 must admit that 1 did not give it to the Secretariat in time for it to be reproduced. It will be distributed very shortly. Secondly, when 1 received the first communication, 1 did not think that it would be appropri.ate for me to summon the Security Council, as suggested in the communication, until 1 was able to confirm the information which it contained. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : ln connexion with the first of the two documents which have been read to the Security Council, 1 should like togive the members the latest information which 1 have in regard to the Arab Legion. . 1 have another telegram which was sent ta London at 6.43 p.m., London time, yesterday, 14 May, which says: "War Office report that aIl companies of Arab Legion except two companies have already left Palestine for Transjordan. The general officer commanding Palestine telegrapht:d this momin.g that the last two companies were leaving today."

The fust document refers to events of more than two days ago and, in these circumStances, unless you wish ta consider it at greater length, the Council's attention could most profitably be directed ta the second document. 1 feel that it is fitting for me 'to ask the rep-, resentatives of Egypt and the Jewish Agency if they have any comments ta make on these documents. Mahmoud Bey FAWZI (Egypt): We have just heard read the cablegram addressed to the President of the Security Council by the Foreign Minister of Egypt. For the moment, 1 have very little to add to it whichwould not be a mere repetition of what 1 have said previously to the Security Council. 1 would, therefore, only remind the members now that a house contiguous to ours is burning, the fire is rapidly spreading, and Egypt has both the right and the dutY to put that fire out. Mr. ELIASH (Jewish Agency for Palestine): On 1 May 1948, the Jewish Agency addressed to the President of the Security Council a telegram in which attention was drawn to the acts of . On 7 May [289th meeting] the representative of the Jewish Agency submitted a statement to the Security Council [document 8/738] in which he conveyed detailed information of acts of aggression committed by Syrian and Lebanese forces. In that statement the Jewish Agency drew particular attention to the iJ;nminent danger of aggression by Egyptian forces. It said: "We venture to think, however, that it would be pI1ldent for the Security Council to take note of the statement by the Egyptian Minister of Communications on 27 April to the effect that Egyptian forces had been dispatched ta the Palestine frontier. In the general atmosphere surrounding the intentions of Arab States towards Palestine at this time, such movements of troops deserve attention, especially as no threat to Egyptian territory from the north exists, or has ever been claimed to exist." The representative of Egypt has just told the Security Council that he has very little to add to what he has already said on former occasions before the Security Council. It may, therefore, be opportune ta remind the Security Council that,'in replying to the above part of the Jewish Agency's statement, the representative of Egypt said, at the 289th meeting of the Council: "1 merely want to refer ta what the spokesman of the Jewish Agency ha..c: just said in connexion with a purported declaration made by the Egyptian Minister of Communication. 1 have no information, official or otherwise, about such a declaration. 1 do not think it is up to the standard of our work here to base a statement on mere rumours and what may be published in one or another newspaper." It is relevant ta point out that, in our statement of 7 May, we indicated in the most emphatic terms that there was every reason ta anticipate concerted aggression by Arab States against Palestine on the termination of the Man- ~ate. We pointed out fuÎther that the calendar was quite irrdevant ta the question of aggression, that 15 May did not mark the end of the Charter, and that it would be anact of aggression for foreign troops ta invade Palestine and attack its Jewish population, either before or That is the background against which the Security Council now faces the information arriving today. That information faIls into two parts. In the first place, the President of the Security Council has received a document from the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Members of the Security Council wHl notice that this document is couched in the most violent and vulgar terms, which forcibly remind one of similar pronouncements made by Hitler and other aggressors in the past as a pretext for justifying the very act of aggression which they thus endeavoured to mask as a noble act of saving victims of imaginary persecution. The very idea that the intervention of armed forces of Egypt in Palestine would lead to the restoration of order is grotesque. Imaginary atrocities are enumerated in the document from the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affair.;, and the fact that the Jewish population has been defending itself against attack is brought to its door as an act which must be put down by the armed forces of a neighbour. 1 may perhaps be allowed to quote a short passage from Mr. Winston Churchill's memoirs, in which he mentions the hesitation of France in counter-attacking when faced with Hitler as a relentless enemy, a hesitation caused by the desire not to irritate the enemy. Mr. Churchill writes: "This idea of not irritating the enemy did not commend itself to me. Hitler had done his best to strangle our commerce by the indiscriminate mining of our harhours. We had beaten him by defensive roeans alone. Good, decent, civilized people, it appeared, must never strike themselves till after th~y have been struck dead." Apparently the same is to be applied to the Jews of Palestine. They have beaten off attacks by defensive means alone-but even that, they should not have done until they have been struck dead. The second item of information to be brought to the attention of the Security Council is the act of aggression which was committed by Egyptian forces this morning. The full details have not been received, but it is already clear that Egyptian aircraft have bombed the peace-' fuI Jewish city of Tel Aviv, while units of the Royal Egyptian Army have violated the Palestinian frontier and have brutally attacked and wiped out a Jewish village in southern Palestine. Never has there been an act of aggression so wanton, so unprovoked and so frankly con- It is our submission that all these facts are sufficient to enable the Security Council ta determine the existence of a threat ta the peace, breach of the peace, and acts of aggression. We respectfully request that the Security Council should proceed to detern1Ïne and decide on the measures provided by the Charter ta meet the situation and to restore peace and security. . Conseil We must most respectful1y urge upon the Security Council to calI on the States which have committed, or threatened ta commit, acts of aggression again.st Palestine, to desist immediately from any act of aggression or threat to the péace of Palestine and, should such warning addressed to these States fail to achieve the desired result, to decide upon the measures provided in Articles 41, 42 and 106 of the Charter, with a view ta maintaining and restoring peace and sec :l'ity in and around Palestine. The State of Israel has now been established within Palestine. It will defend itself from this wanton and unprovoked aggression, but it has the right ta expect immediate actio~ by th~ organ.s of the United Nation.s whose dutY it is ta maintain international peace and to prevent acts of aggression. The prospect of preventing the development of this aggression depends upon the speed and vigour with which the Security Council will act. Every hour indeed counts. MI'. NAKLEH (Arab Higher Comrrllttee): ln the discussion of the Palestine problem, 1 always find sorne complexities and confu.sion. 1 want ta ask in what capacity the representative of the Jewish Agency complain.s about aggression in Palestine. 1 have heard him say that there was an aggression again.st Palestine. The facts in Palestine are as follows: there are 1,300,000 Palestinian Arabs there, 300,000 Palestinian Jews and 400,000 foreign Jews. Is the representative of the Jewish Agency speaking in the name of the 300,000 Palestinian Jews when he complains about this a1leged aggressi~m against Palestine? Or is he speaking in the name of the 400,000 foreign Jews, most of whom came to Palestine illega11y, in violation even of the laws of the Mandate? Or is he objecting in the name of world Jewry? It is very surprising indeed to hear the representative of the international Jewish Agency complain at this table about the enwJ into Palestine of Arab forces which have ~een invited by the Arab Higher Committee to assist them in rr.aintaining law and order. He is a representative of the same international Jewish Agen~y which is bringing into Palestin~ illegal Jewish irmnigrants from Cyprus. Every day we hear of the coming of shiploads of illegal Jewish immigrants, whether during the Mandate or after the Mandate. We hear every day of the plans that are being made, and we hear thè declarations of reprôentatives of the Jewish Agency aIl over the world to the effect that they are massing ffiunigrants in ports and preparing to invade Palestine. Ho;.Y' can the Security Council listen ta a represent~::ive of the international Jewish Agency on any matters respecting Palestin • ? e. 1 wish ta add onIy one fact which 1 feel must be made clear before the Security Council. At; 1 have aIready said, there are ID Pel~stine 1,300,000 Arabs who are Palestinian citizens, 300,000 Jews who are Palestinian citizens, and 400,000 Jews who are foreigners. By the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenarit of the League of Nations, the people of Palestine were recognized. provisionally as an independent nation.· Now that the Mandate has ended, the pf:ople of Palestine consider themselves ta be an independent nation. The majority of the population of Palestine, the 1,300,000 Arabs, considers t-llat the Jewish minority-whether the 300,000 Palestinian ci~ensor the 400,000 foreignersis a rebellious min,)rity which has revolted Mahmoud Bey FAWZI (Egypt): 1 still have very littIe to say. In spite of the pseudo-philosophie statement we have heard from the Jewish spokesman, 1 do not wish to enter into polemics here. 1shall merely state in a few won;ls-as few as 1 can use intelligently-that when 1 said the other day that 1 was uninformed regarding the stat~ment attributed to the Egyptian Minister of Communications, 1 was not informed. 1 can as truthfully say, for eJcample, that atthis },)- ment 1 am not informed of what is actuauy happening in or around Palestine. _-1 want to Povail myself of this opportunity to express the h.ope ihat the Security Council, now that' the Mandate is ended and the Mandatory Power has withdrawn, will not be getting all its information from"one side. 1 am sure that the Security Coullcil will not permit that. l'can say without hesitation that Egypt would have liked nothing better, as 1 said during my Now we are being called aggressors. It· has been said that we are acting like Nazis. It has been said that we prepared for and premeditated aggression. 1 cannot find any reasonable, or even half-reasonable or acçeptable, argument which could describe us as aggressors. We are entering Palestine with the unequivocal COIlsent of the people of Palestine. We are not going there to kill anyone or to destroy anytlüng. We are bent on the re-establishment and maintenance of peace in the land of our next-door neighbour. Anyone who does not attack will not be attacked. We are sparing no effort toward not molesting anyone or anything. AlI we want is to re-establish order in Palestine hecause otherwise order is menaced in our own home. The whole situation has created such a tension in our . country that it was not possible to allow the fire to spread further until it burned our own house. We have no designs in Palestine except the reestablishment of arder with the fuif and unequivocal consent of the people of Palestine. We shall be only tao happy when the :rp.oment cornes . and we hope it will come saon when we c~ return to our home and attend to the many things that we still have to do there. Mr. EUASH (Jewish Agency for Palestine) : The representative of the Arab Higher Committee has found it proper to inquire why. the Jewish Agellcy is making this statement and bringing the'matter to the attention of the Security Gouncil. 1 think it will suffice for me ta say that thej'ewish Agency is here upon the invitation of the Security Council and has been invited to make this statement. It would indeed be going from the sublime atmosphere of this Council ta the ridiculous if olle were to allow the great issue before the Security Council to be ·b~cloudedby legalistic casuistries or by an inquiry ~ to whether the blood of the Palestine Jews jg in any way difIerent from the blood of foreign Jews.We say it is being shed in the same manner. Atrocities which have been invented-l say it quite deliberately-have been enumerated in the telegram read before thi.. Council, but facts which have occurred-such as when some seventymembers of the Hebrew University and Hospital, including professors,. doctors and nurses, were brutally mUl"dered ()n the way to' the University on a peaceful mission-:arenever But I am not here to recriminate. I am not here to dissipate the attention of the Security Council but rather, to the best of my humble ability, to concentmte the attention of the Council on these acts of aggression which are now facing Palestine on every side. The representative of Egypt described the act of bis country as that of a neighbour using force for a good purpose, but may l remind the Security Council, with aIl respect, that at the very beginning of the Charter of the United Nations the peoples of the United Nations state their determination "ta ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that. armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest"? It is for the purpose of cornmon interest and the taking of common action that the Security Council has the powers which have been given to it in the Charter. Nothil1g has been heard about action taken on behalf of the United Nations or by the authority of the United Nations, and so long as armed force is used outside the precincts of a State in other territory without the authority of the Unite", Nations, it is an :lct of aggression and, as such, it certainly calli for the action which is prescribed in the Charter.

There 15 no point in questioning the presence of the Jewish Agency representative during the remainder of the discussion. 1 invited the representatives of both the Jewish Agency and the Arab Higher Committee to take their places at the Council table, as has been done at aIl preceding meetings of the Council when the Palestine question was being examined. Mr. LOPEZ (Colombia): 1 believe that it was as far back as 23 April that the Security Coun. cil appointed the Truce Commission [287th meeting]. 1 should like to ask, for the information and guidance of the Security Council, whether that Truce Commission is still functioning. If it is, I should like ta know if the President of the Security Council has received any information bearing on aIl of these latest developments, and whether or not we can depend upon the Truce Commission to keep the Security Council duly advised as ta what is happening in Palestine. If not, I should like to know whether we can depend upon the Mèdiator who has just been, let us say "provided", by the resolution of the G~neral Assc~bly' and who sholiid be :>..ppointed 1 believe these questions are very relevant and very important, unless we are satisfied that we can continue with this discussion, listening to whatever information the representatives of the Jewish Agency and the Arab Righer Committee may deem fit to furnish to the Security Couneil, and without the Security Council having any re!iable direct information of its own on which it can forro an opinioll and pass judgment with regard to the matters unde! discussion. General McNAUGHTON (Canada): The situation we are in with regard to Palestine emphmes, ! think, what the representative of Colombia has said in respect to the extrer.lle importance which attaches to the Security Couneil's being fully infonned at all times as to the actual facts of what is taking place in that unhappy Holy Land whieh is now the scene of violence and strife. 1 would join the representative of Colombia in recalling that the Security Couneil on 23 April [287th meeting] established a Truce Commission, and that it was provided as follows in the resolution setting up this Commission: • ''The Secretary-General of thè United Nations .shalI furnish the Commission with such personnel and assistance as it may require, taking into account the special urgency of the situation with respect to Palestine [document Sj727]." It seemS to me that one praetical matter to which we should address ourse1ves today is how we might facilitate the work of our Truce Commission, and how we can, in particulâr, provide . for the more expeditious collection and the time1y transmÏMion to us of authentic information. It is not right nor practicalnor dignified that· the Security Couneil should be dependent for its information on assertions and counterasserc:ci,,: of the parties to a dispute. May l ask that the Secretary-General take' every possible action to furnish the Truce Commission with the help which it requires in order that it may discharge its responsibilities.

Beforecalling upon the other speakers whr have signified their desire to speak, 1 wish to put forward a· word of .explanation concerning the question which has been raised very efIectively by the Colombian representativeand repeated The Truce Commission, that is to say the body we have on the spot, has met with great difficulties as regards its communications. It is now in Jerusalem and, according to the latest reports received by my de1egation from the French member of the Commission, it had tried to meet the Arab representatives to give them the draft truce agreement mentioned by the United States representative in the Firt Com-" mittee two days àgo: The Truce Commission has met with great difficulties in its endeavours to correspond with us and to establish contact with qualified representatives of the two parties. According to thç cables 1 have received, the ComÏnission has found it particularly difficult to establish contact with the A.rab representatives, which is, no doubt, quite natural in view of present circumstances. This is the information 1 wanted to supply to the Council. 1 am going to cali upon the Secretary-General in case he wishes to give additional details. However, before calling upon the Secretary- General, 1 should like to give precise details on one point. 1 ended the cable which 1 dispatcJ1ed to the Truce Commission after our last meeting by asking the Commission to cable the res~ts achieved, so far, in connexion with the application of the Council's resolution of 23 April, in respect to the whole of Palestine and to. Jerusalem, and to keep the Council regularly in- " formed of the development of events as the ; Commission interpreted them. This telegram was dated 12 May, and the Commission has not yet answered it. Moreover, after reading the document which was handed to me by the Jewish Agency [document Sj744] and which was the first document to be read at this meeting, 1 signed and sent another telegram tothe Truce. Commission yesterday. 1 asked the Gommission to send me aU the inform~tion it had on the events in question and 1 ended' my telegramwith the following words: . . The Canadian representative has raised the question of.information and has rightly pointed out that the Council could not rely on information supplied only by the parties cop.cerned. 1 certainly hope that the organs for the creatiop of which we have provided will be able to give all necessary information to the Council, but.I am not quite sure they will be able to do 50 as they will be in the middle of a country which is now split into many parts and where traveling is becoming exceedingly difficult; they will certainly be greatly hamF-ered in their activities. When 1 received from the Jewish Agency the document 1 mentioned a moment ago, 1 did not consider it necessary to call a meeting of the Council until the reports 'Contained in that document had been confirmed. 1 have called an emergency meeting of the Security Council for today because 1 have received an official telegram from the Egyptian Government addressed to me personally [document S/743], and this was a report which certainly could not be doubted. The SECRETARv-GENERAL: 1 should like to present a few facts so that there will be no misunderstanding regarding the brave members of the Secretariat who have been in Palestine since 22 February 1948. Sorne of these members of - the Secretariat have left Palestine, but others are still there. They have done their duty and taken all the risks. It is nottheir fault that the Secudty Council or other organs of the United Nations do not have complete information. It is due to the circumstances under which they have worked. . cette On 22 February 1948, at the request of the: Palestine Commission, 1 sent the so;.,called advance party of the Secretariat to Palestine. May 1 use this occasion to thank His Majesty's Government-the Government of the United Kingdom-for all the help which they rendered to the me:mbers of the Secretariat until such time as Sir Alan Cunningham left Jerusalem. Becouse of this help, the advance party of the Secretariat was in a position to remain there as long as it did. It was reduced to one person for a few weeks. When the Security Council established the Truce Commission,we consulted the members of this Commission and, at their request, four senior officers were. pl~ced at their. disposa!; however, they.must reêruit typists from the local. population..Therefore, if the Security· Council does not have better information today, it is not the faultof the Truce Commission or of its staff; .Commission Mr. TSIANG (China): 1 share the desire of the representatives of Colombia and Canada for more information, and information from impartial sources. However, 1 must call the attention of the Security Council to the fact that the Truce Commission has lost a part of its moral prestige within the past twenty-four hours, and therefore a part of its practical usefulness. Je Colombie aussi, mations d'une l'attention la dernières prestige son l'Etat les nai3sance, le utilité Etats-Unis sonne The prompt proclamation of the Jewish State last evening reduced considerably the prospects of peace in Palestine. TheequaIly prompt recognition of the Jewish State by the Government of the United States of America robbed the United States member of the Truce CommissiQn of all his usefulness. No Govemment, organization or persan can, on the one hand, recognize the Jewish State and, on the other, say to the Arabs: "Stop fighting!" la ganisation When the question of Palestine came before the Security Councîl, on the appeal of the Palestine Commission, my delegation felt that the prirnary, basic and fundamental aim of the United Nations at that particular juncture should he peace, and we felt that, .in order to achieve that peace, there must be both a military truce and a political truce. To taLk of a military truce without a political truce seemed to us most unreal. preuve n'en . et We lament the fanaticism that has .been shown by both sicles in Palestine, but of course we recognize that neither the Arabs nor the Jews have yet reached the stage of cannibalism. We know that they are not fighting for the sakp of fighting. They have fought and are still fighting for political objectives. nime partagée sécurité Although not unanimously accepted by the members of the Security Council, that general outlook was shared by a number of delegations, inc1uding that of the United States of America. It was aIso set forth by our Truce Commission in the articles of truce which it framed. Article 6 says: "During the period of the truce, and without prejudice to the future governmental struc~ure of Palestine, no steps shall be taken by Arab or Jewish authorities to proclaim a sovereign State fi a· part or all of Palestine, or to seek international recognition therefor." In face of the grave situation now before us, ~ suggest that the Security Council should reconsider the question of the composition of the "The Chairman of thé Security Council Tmce Commission, accompanied by a personal representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, arrived here"-that is, at Amman- "from Jerusalem yesterday, May 13, in order to give to the Secretary-General of the Arab League the latest draft of the truce agreement for Palestine." That may, perhaps, account fol' the fact that the President has not yet received a reply to his telegram of the same date, May 13. Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): 1 thought it would be appropriate at the present stage of our discussions to consider to a certain extent the status of Palestine, .in. order to understand fully our position; the way in which we should discuss this problem'; the way in which we should adopt resolutions; and to what extent such resolutions could in fact be properly adopted. The international status of Palestine. changed \\'ithin the last twenty-four hours, and 1 believe that it is e...~ential for the Security Council to take a stand on this suhject after thorough discussion and study. It is a very important matter which has no precedent in our work here, and which will, 1 think, have. no parallel in the future. It is my belief-a helief which may coincide with the viewsof other representatives -thatin studying and verifying the present international status of Palestine, certain points should be taken into considet:ation and given due efIect. The fust point is that Palestine is notan isolated territory. It used to be a Syrian province, a part of the Arab world. Its geographical position places it within the Arab countries, and it was never sepamted by special identity before the introduction of the Mandateafter the 1914- 1918 war. It used always to he incorporated either in one Arab unit, or in sorne other way, with the countries·around it. That is one point which shol.lld be borne in mind. The second point.is that Palestine, being in~ tegral .to the countries' around it, and to the Arab world. which formed part of the Ottoman Empire after the First WQdd War, was recognized as worthy·of independe:ncc by the Cove.. nant of the League of Nations. AIl of us know this, and tbis, too, is a point which merits consideration. The third point ls that, as was the case in other territories, theexercise cf independence by the popl.'làtion of Palestine was hindered and impeded .by the impositie~m of a Mandate. Had Nothing would bar the exercise of full independence by a mandated territory after the terminatian of its mandate, unless it were the Trusteeship System. . Now we shall consider what is the position of Palestine. The Mandate terminated yesterday, and the penple of Palestine are entitled in every respect to exercise their independence as long as it is not prevented by a trusteeship agreement. ls there any trusteeship agreement in Palestine? No, the Mandate has terrninated. The General Assembly has three times considered-in the regular session last auturnn and in special sessions last spring and this spring-the question of Palestine. Has the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted any resolution which would impose trusteeship on Palestine? No. Accordingly, there is no trusteeship regime in Palestine. Then what is the situation now? ln what manner can the Security Council deal with Palestine at the present time, from the international point of view? We members of the Security Council represent the on1y international organ which can now decide these points and take a stand on them. According to our Charter, 1 consider-and 1. do not know whether the other members agree with me-that Palestine is now independent and that the people of Palestine are to be considered as independent; that therefore no action can be taken in regard ta Palestine" which would interfere with their internaI affairs. In this connexion, however, we say that there is a consideration which has intervened in the meantime. What is that consideration? It is the resolutions of the General Asse~bly, one of 29 November last" and the other of 14 May, yesterday: Do these resolutions of the General Assembly bar or obstruct the rights of the people of Palestine in assuming independence after the termination of the:Mandate? Do they have legal force? Do they constitute an authorization to step in and say to the people of Palestine, "You are faced riow with a judgment, an international verdict, which has the authority to change your ' status"? l, myself, believe that there is no docu- Therefore, in this case we consider that the people of Palestine, under the circumstances which 1 have mentioned, are now entitled to exercise their own right of self-deterrnination in accordance with democratic methods. AlI the members know 'Yhat democracy lneans and wl)at democratic methods as understood in our Charter would imply. The democratic methods which are now followed in the civilized world are the rule of the majority. In any country, when seH-determination is discussed, what is meant is reliance upon the majority of the people of the country. Only last month, and even previously, the Security Council was seiZed of other cases- Greece, Korea, Kashmir and others-eoncerning which we said the majority should mIe, and ,we proposed the method of holding a plebiscite in order to learn the opinion of the majority. In Palestine the population is composed of three religions. 1 do not care to say Arabs and Jews;that terminology is wrong. One constantly hears "Arabs and Jews, Arabs and Jews", but in the Charter it is stated that the matter of' religion should not be referred to or mentioned; that there should be no discrimination; that no State should be established on thebasis of religion. If .we are to speak of religion, we say that reference should be made to the three religious groups in Palestine: first, the Moslems, the great majority; secondly, the Jews, next in number; and. thirdly, the Christians. Why should religion be taken as a basis? We say that there are minorities among the people of Palestine. There is now a division in Palestine drawn on a political basis. When 1 speak of parties, 1 refer to political parties only, andnot to religious or racial parties. Accordingly, there are two political parties in Palestine. One of these parties desires to keep' theState as a single, unitary whole, whereas the ot~er'wishes to be separated. These are the two political parties which are .engaged in conflict at present in Palestine. Let us determine the wishes of the majori~y. If both parties themselves agreed, to divide the country, with one portion of land assigned to one party and theother portion to .the other, that would be very helpful. But the majority in· Palestine knowsvery weIl that the country is indivisiblé; it cannot be divided. It is not a country which 'lends.·itself to geographical borders andto communities which could live alto- In this case, the members have to examine thio; matter carefully and determine-now that the inhabitants of Palestine have been relieved of the Mandate, have had their freedom restored, and have assumed their independence-what authority should be recognized. The oruy authority which can be recogniZed is the inhabitants of Palestine, and nobody else. And who are the inhabitants of Palestine? We must follow the opinion and the wishes of the niajority. If the members wish, for· the sake of peace and freedom, to know and to verify the wishes of the majorityin Palestine, they are free to decide to hold a ~Jlebiseite in Palestine under the supervision of the Security Couneil in arder ta see how to proceed. o The representative of China has just spoken of the truce which was effected by the Security Council. 1 had something to say about this truce and the·events which have taken place in connexion with it. However, 1 donot want ta spoil the able way in which the representative of China put 1t. Let us leave it as he said it. 1 agree with what he said in that respect. 1 think, in the present circumstances, that it would he preferable ta adjournthis meeting until next week, so that each one of us may have an opportunity to contemplate and deliberate oh the status of Palestine, on what is ta he done and what is !he competence of the Security Council in respect ta such a situation. The maj?rity of the people of Palestine are faced with rebellion, revolution and the insurrection of an armed ~ority. At the sametime, 200,000 Arab refugees have been compelled to flee from their homes to neighbouring couhtries, càusing very great confusion in those countries and upsetting the public arder. The people of the surrounding territory .of Palestine to which these refugees have gone are disturbed. semaine 'situation bellion, part 200.000 quitter leurs foyers voisins, pays des quels sérieux . ,:!,he majority of the people of Palestine are askmg he1p of their neighbours to suppress the rebellion of the armed mÙlority. The Arabs feel -and this is a point which 1 reG F::;;,;t the members to. take into account-·that "",.dong as the Jews in Palestine are receiving arms and mmtary support from aIl the Jewry of. the· world, why should the Arabs of Palestine "Ji: deprived of mande bellion arabement est reçoivent militaire This question must be weIl considered before we ca;'} formulate an opinion, know where we are going, ancl det\"nnine on what ground we are basing our deliberations. . Yesterday the GeJ"eral Assembly adopted a resolunon providing for the nomination of a United Nations Medî:.t.tor. The funerions given to that Mediator in the resolution may be very useful if they are carried out and if both parties respect the conditions of the envisaged truce. The resolution adopted.yesterdaY by the General Assembly does not create any new regime. for Palestine; it only endorses and confirms the activities:{)f the Security Council as evinced in that series of resolutions which the Security Couneil drew up and adopted conceining the truce. The resolution 3.l.€fums. and strongly' supports the ttn<i:e. The Mediator is to co-operate in the execution and the irn'"lementation of that truce. We should also ask ourselves the following question in formulating' our opinions: who violated this truce which has been in existence for a month? The articles of the truce, including that read by the representative of China, provide that political and military operations should come to a standstill. This principle was sponsored and vigorously and strongly advocated by the representative .of the United States of America. The .United States strongly clamoured for this' principle, ..and it was unanimously accepted by the Security Council. Who violated that truce in c{)ntinuing political activities and military operations, .whi$ were finally crowpecl. by the proclamation issued· yesterday and the recognition of the Jewish State by the same sponsors of the pr,J'visions of the truce having the opposite in· tent? T.bese matters should be weIl considered. By thenext m~eting of the Security Couneil, everyone sh.,uld have framed .an· opinion on the matter and should know h6w to act and what stepS the Security Gouncil should. beallowed to take. MT. .ARCE (Argentina) (translated trom Spanish): ln the first place, al'..hough 1 do not believe that-any member of the Council will abject ta· the President's decision to cali us ...together, 1 should like to recordmy view that thë officiaFCloctiment that has ·Déth read to us, which .comesfrom. an. Egyptian Minister, was sufficient reason for conveilîng this meeting, a,"d . consequently 1have no comment to m3.~ein that respect.. Itis· clear,· however,that we. are faced with an entirely different·situation.from that. :of .yësterday.As has a!readybeen said,we should have· to makeacareful investigation·qf the legal position of 'Palestine itirelation to the 'United Nations before taking any decision. a n'est limitions ments cessaire l'échiquïer différentes Now there is another matter on which 1 will not disagree with the President as regards today's meeting, but which is something 1 should like to see discontinued in the future: as from yesterds.y, it is no longer neeessary for the representatives of either the Arab Higher Committee or the Jewish Agency to attend our meetings. non séance soit d'hier, Haut juive assistent Reference has been made here to the parties. But what parties? The pàrties in Palestine with which the Security Council was concerned, are parties no longer. Palr.stine now seems to be a Les de tenant tuellement quel tout partie pour surIes décisions dans c.oncerne Palestine faire ne suffit pas) t~rritory for whose government oruy the population of Palestine is responsible; and as we have no re1iable informatioll so far regarding the deeisiollil that the whole population may have taken, even though we know the decision taken bya part of thatpopulation, it is obvious that as regards the Palestine population's relations with the Security Council, we must be very carefuI and follow the letter and the :;;pirit (when the letter does not suffice) of the United Nations Charter. There was a situation in P:ùestirie; but whatever that situation may havebeen and whatever solutions may have been fO'Qnd for it, that situation-I repeat-ended yesterday.. sent été les solutions il ln discussûng the question, it was appropriate for 'the Security Council and the various compOIlent organs of the United Nations tohear the representatives of the Arab Higher Committee, and the Jewish Agency. Now that it is ended, 1 consider that the invitation to those bodies should not be extended, unless the Seeuriiy- Couneil requir~ information and requests it, after due consideration, as it may request information from any organ, even thoughnon-govemmental, or from any person, even though he does not repre3ent a particular State. The "Palestine question", the old Palestine question, is dead. There may now be five, ten or fifty questions regatding the territory· of Pales:.. tine, eaeh one a new "question" that will have to be eonsidered by the Security .Council, but only by the Council. le qui représentants l'Agence me ments s'il sonne, nienne'" n' dix, toire velle hOLmage l'Organisatioll . jour. 1 should not likc to conclude these brief remarks without expressîng my greatest .respect for the Arab Higher Committee and the Jewish Ageney, in:. view of the collaboration they have given the United Nations up ta now. 1 oruy wishto put thingson a legaHooting in relation to the United Nations Charter. . Consequently, 1 am of the opinion that until we receive imtrut;ûcr..s from our Governments and fuller information-not only from Palestine --on the new legal position in that tcrritory, ùntil we consider exactly what that position is, and provided that nothing occurs to endanger world peace and security, the Security Couneil should no longer concern itself with the old situation in Palestine. Consequently, even though a matter concerning Palestine or an event in that country were under consideration, there would be no reason to invite the Jewish Agency or the Arab Higher Committee, unless the Council first discussed and decided on that course. 1 wished to make these observations on procedure and to reserve completely the position of the Argentine deJegation with regard to the importance of the question. ". Mr. LÔPEz (Colombia): As 1 understand it, we are debating three different questions. The most important .of these is the one raised by the representative of Syria, that is: what is the present international status of Palestine? In connexion with that point, there is the question of whether we should continue to discuss this matter before we cometo some understanding regarding the international status of Palestine. That seems ta me to be a pretty broad question. It is one that is likely to engage the attention of the Security Couneil until all matters relating to Palestine have been settled on the spot. The second question refers to the status of the Jemsh Agency and the Arab Higher Committee, particularly in regard" to their position before the Security Council. The third consideration is the one which 1 raised with reference to the.Truce Commission. This question was further ably developed, by the representatives of China and Canada. It is in connexion with this point that 1 wish to add a few words because it seems to me that 1 sensed the importance of the point without realizing it fully until 1 heard my colleagues speak on the subject. The representative of Argentina has just sa~d. that in his opmion after 15" May there really is not very .much for the repl'esentatïves of the Jewish Agèncy and the Arab H1gher Committee to do here in the Security Coundl unle3S, for some specifie reason, we requ;J.\~ infcl:nation from them. ,If we accep, th,~t voint cf '\<lew, it would be pertinent to ~k hm·, when and v;hence wiIJ. we get any information OI' the falestine The e..xplanation seems to be that conditions in Palestine are very difficult; that, to all intents and purposes, a war is going on in Palestine. But that consideration does not seem to apply to the other sources of information. It does not seem t0 keep the representatives of the two parties from getting information, nor does it keep sorne members of the Security Council from getting information. It is only the Security Council that is unable to get the necessary and timely information. Furthermore, 1 notice that in the resolution adopted yesterday by the General Assembly the Mediator is directed "to conform in his activities with the provisions d this resolution, and with such instructions as the General Assembly or the Security Council may issue". It seems to me that before the Mediator can give us any information, he will have to be instructed by the Security Council to do so. On that score, if on no other, 1 believe that we cannot postpone this matter indefinitely until the Security Council is able to get the opinions of the different GovernmeIits represented here as to the international status of Palestine. l,submit that we will have to take this matter into consideration promptly. Otherwise the world will think we are willing to let it drift into a new situation without taking the necessary steps to safeguard not only international peace and security, but the prestige of this Organization. 1 submit that we cannot go on like that. The General Assembly passed a resolution on 29 November last, the enforcement of which was to be handled Q.y the Security Council. In the meantime, it became evident how the situation w?uld develop. No one could labour under any illIsapprehension in this regard. And it developed anyhow~ not to the surprise of the Secur'Ïti Council but with its full knowledge. It deve10ped until we decided tG refer the matter back to the General Assembly. The General Assembly closed Now, a number of months afterwards, we have been reminded .by two members of the SecurityCouncil that we have not yet looked into the matter of what is the international status of Palestine. Weshall begin to do that now, as from today, ü we agree to postpone this discussion and to take any measures or provisions in connexion with the most e1emental of aIl t.qe provisions that we can take, name1y, to ha.ve somebody who will furnish the Security Council with the necessary information as to what is happening in that unfortunate Holy Land. Perhaps we might ask the correspondents of the New York Press to give us their co-operation and to give us some more information. The ocly thing we cannot do, 1 submit, is to go on as we have been doing heretofore. Th~e seems to be no room for doubt that we cannot depend upon the Truce Commission to give adequate and timely information ta the Security' Council. We could go, for instance, to the capital of Transjordan. The representative of the United· Kingdom has just informed us that he knows what the Commission is doing there, but we do not know, because the Commission has not seen fit to inform us that it was leaving for Transjordan. It has not seen fit to inform us what it was going to do or why it did not communicate with us before. 1 cannot con- .ceive of any more unsatisfactory situation, in view of the seriousness of this-matter and of the complications which the Pàlêstine question is apt to deve1op. If 1 may venture to make a suggestion, 1 would remind my colleagues that long ago we decided .that we would not submit any more proposaIs, and at the present time 1 do not know how, in a case like this, the Charter applies, or ü it appIies. Article 106 states that the permanent members of the Security Council shall, Ü réquired, consult with one another with a view to such joint action on behalf of this Organization as may be necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security. My submission is that while we get the information from our Governments on other matters, the five permanent members of the SecurLy Council, who have been called upon by the General. Assembly to make the appointment of this Mediator, should get together and see what joint action on behalf of tbis Organization maybe necessary for the purpose.of rnaintaining international peace and security. Mahmoud Bey F AWZI (Egypt): 1 might not have had to answer the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, since 1 have already stated the basis upon which Egypt is 'taking an interest in the re-establishment of order in Palestine. However, out of great esteem for the Security Council and everyone represented on it, and feeling the sense of responsibility that the .occasion requires, 1 shall briefly recapitulatc my previous statements on t..!ris point. 1 have said at least once that we are in the position of a person whose house is next to another house which is burning. In that case, 1 repeat, ~ne has both the right and the duty to put out that fire. If one is not thanked for that, the least one could expect is not to be blamed for it. The representative of the -Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic aIso asked what the purpose of Egypt was in such an action. 1 previously said that we had no desire whatsoever in Palestine. This does not preclude the.fact that we have the right ta live in safety and not allow our house to hurn as _a result of the fire which IlÙght _sécurité spread from the adjoining house. This does not prec1ude the fact that the owner of the house next door has the right ta come and help in such a case, and we would not in any way be good -propriétaire people if we did not go and help. 1 shodd like to make some very short remarks . about several points that have been raised during the last few minutes. The question was just posed as to what is the present status of Palestine. 1 am not now, at this late hour and in the very limited time at our disposai, going to enter into a detailed discussion of the matter. But 1 would say that more than twenty-five years ago, under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the people of Palestine--who were then nine-tenths Arabs and less than op(;-tenth Jews-were provisionally independent. Their independence was nevel" completely obliterated. The least wecan say of it is that they were in sorne sort of dormant sO'lereignty. Now that the Mandate is'over, the only thing that is clear is that the sovereignty over Palp.stinenaturally goes back ta the lawful people of Palestine. .neuf ln this regard, a point was raised upon wmch 1 did not wish to comment in any detail, or perhaps at all. But since it was raised, l, with the permission of the President, should like to speak about it. The point is in regard ta representation here at this meeting of the Security Couilcil. The representative of Argentina spoke about the presence of the representative of the Arab Higher Committee and of wnat he called the representative of th.e Jewish Agency. In my second intervention this afteriloon, 1 purposely did not use the expression "spokesman of the Jewish Agency". If· you go back ta the record, you' would find that l said "the JewiSh spokesman". The Mandate is gone, a gruesome aspect of which was the Jewish Agency with aU its implications-that Agency which the Arabs have never recognized. However, 1 cannot but disagree with the representative of Argentina when he also wants ta exclude the Arab Higher Committee from representation in the Security Council. Being an Arab myse1f, this might seem partial. But in all sincerity 1 do not think so. If our information is correct, the Arabs still comprise the great majority of the population in Palestine. And if 1 am right about the status of Palestine at the present moment and of sovereignty over Palestine, the representative of the great majority of the people of Palestine is the one; and 1'3 the only one, who has the rig~lt to sit here at the Security Council table. 1 wish ta comment on a point of a different nature. Several references were made today to the question of a truce. 1 again regret to say that while we were talking of a truce-a short truce, long truce or limited truce-for Jerusalem, and a total truce for all Palestine, something eIse was being done. However, 1 do not want ta be tao bitter or ta recapitulate un8d.Voury events unnece.1sarily. But 1 can readily subscribe towhat the representative of China said, that while we speak of a truce and of mediation, it is only lacking in logic to speak of a Jewish Scate when we talk to the Arabs. We cannot tell the Arabs of a Jewish State on the one hand, and tell them of a truce and peace on the other. Speaking for Egypt, and believing that at the same·time 1 am expressing the sentiments·.of th.~ entire Arab world, l again want ta say here that we are still,· and. we shall always be, for p~ace. But peél,ce iscomposed of certain ingredients. It is not only a theo:r'T.·And the Jewish State cannat he one. of the ingredients of peace.

There aIe t'no more, speakers on my list: the representative of Argentina and the representative of the Jewish Agency, but ,1 think it is time for us to adjoum the meeting, unless the representative of Argentina objects. Mr. ARCE (Argentina) (translâted tram French): 1 simply wished to ask the President to adjoum the meeting.

1 suggest, thei-efore, that we now adjourn, on the understanding that 1 shall call upon the representative of the Jewish Agency to speak at the next meeting of the Council, if he wishes to do sa. We must now decide when we shall meet again. The problem before us is indubitably very serious. 1 should like to point out that, whatever the merits of the remarks made a few minutes aga by the representative of Colombia concerning the madequate character of the reports received by us, the matter which has motivated our meeting today does not require àny addi- , tionaI information, because it has neither been, nor could be, questioned since the Egyptian Government itself has brought it to our knowledge. We must àecide now when we shall meet' aga.ïP :e could do so tomorrow or Monday, and ~ sugg;est Monday, at 3.30 p.m. so that the permanent members of the Security Council could' meet beforehand to try to agree on the choice of a Mediator. We could not meet in the morning, because the Atomic Energy Commission is holding a meeting then. Mr. GROMYKO (Union of So~iet Socialist Republics) (translated tram Russian): 1 gather that we are to meet at 3 p.m. on Monday ta discuss this question.

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