S/PV.301 Security Council

The te1egram wmch 1 have myself received gave me the same news in the fol1owing tenns: "1 deeply regret to inform you that my American colleague was today gravely wounded while retuming from a meeting of the Truce Commission held as usuaI at the French Consulate- General. Our' meetings will continue as before, pending.further instructions." 1 think 1 shall be expressing the feelings of aIl of you, if 1 send the United States representative on the Truce Commission a te1egram conveying the Security Oouncil's sympathy and thanks. Mr. LOPEZ (Colombia): Evidently the situation appears to be go~g from bad to worse. As the President has just said, it is with very deep regret that all the members of the Security Council· heard of the attack that was. made on the American Consul-General in Jerusalem whilè he was performing his duty as a member of the Security Council Truce Commission. 1· just wante~ t0 ask the President whethet at this stage, before we resume the discussiôn of the proposaIs before us [documents S/749 and S/755], it would not be as wel1 to have the information from the Jewish Agency and the representatives of the Arab countries regarding not oruy these incidents but also the questionnaire which was submitted to them [document S/753J. 1 heard them say yesterday. [299th meetingJ that they were prepared to provide the Security Council with the information requested, and 1 consider that it would be most pertinent to hear that information before wecome to any decision. . The PRESIDENT (translated trom .French) : The Colombian representativè has· just raised a question of method. 1 must admit that at the beginning of o'Ur meeting my intention was dü- ferent. It was to postpone the hearing of replies to the questionnaires to a later meeting, first disposing of the two text& before us. 1 submit this to you and am ready to hear your views. Mr. TSIANG (China): Whether we should take time now to discuss the information with whieh the parties are to furnish us is a point upon ·whieh 1 have no decided opinicn. On the question of procedure, however, it seems to me evident that neither of the proposaIs before us has the support of the necessary majority in the Security Council, and 1 fear that it would serve no purpose to go through the form of voting. 1 venture to suggest that instead, the two delegations which have placed proposaIS before us should consult one another, in an endeavour to ascertain' whether they can produce a resolution which would be acceptable to most members of the Couneil. Devons-nous les fournir? Quant évident nous rité tout voix. de des ne sur la Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : On the point of procedure which the President has put before us 1 have not, at the moment, any very fimi view either one way or the other, and 1 must reflect upon it. From one point of view, since we have asked for certain information, it Il1Ïght seem more logical to take the answers to the questions into consideration before 'we proceed to a vote; but 1 am not quite sure, and remain open to conviction on that point. question mettre d'opinion D'une tains t-il, vote; et propos représentant fait What 1 wished to do was to make one short comment on what has just been said by the representative of China. 1 am not quite sure that the position 1.s exactly as he stated it. He said that there were two resolutions before the Council, and that it was possible that neither of them would obtain the requisite number of votes. 1 do not look at it quite that way myself. It is true that my delegation put in a paper that is in the form of a complete resolution. It will be found, however, that we did not actually call it a resolution, and that document S/755-the document in ques~ion-is headed "Am'endment submitted". It is true, aS 1 said just now, that it is in the form of a complete' resplution, but that is due to the fact that 1 desired to make the consideration of the United States resolution, with the amendments 1 wished to propose, rather more convenient and easy to understand. ,In the course of the speech 1 made the other day [296th meetingJ, 1 indicated that 1 wished to propose certain amendments.· This paper which 1 subsequently put in was an attempt to show members of the Security Council what the United States resolution would look 'li:ke if, by chance, my amendments were accepted; and if Mr. TARASENKO (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic)' (translated trom ~ussian): Mr. President, 1 should like to put a question to the. United Kingdom representative through you: how are we ta regard the document he has submitted? Is it an amendment to the United States resolution or. a list of amendrnents to separat~ points of the United States resolution? Up till 'now 1·assumed that the document was an amendment to the·United States resolution as a whole, and as such should be put to the vote first, in accordance with the rules of procedure, and then it could be taken as adopted or rejected according to tlie result of the vote. Now, after hearingthe United Kingdom representative's statement, 1 am no longer sure that the document is an amendment to the United States resolution. 1 am beginning to think that it is a collection or list of a series of amendments to certain .points of the United States resolutian. Ifthat is so, we should betold to which points precisely the. am~ndments refer. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): 1 am sarry if 1 did not make myself quite clear. o 1think the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic has found a happier phrase than 1 did. 1 meant this paper to be a list. of amendments. Mr. TARASENKO (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (translated trom Russian).: lu that case, the United Kingdom representative will perhaps point out precisely to. which point of the United States resolution each of the points of hic: ~re~nàment refers. The' PRESIDENT (:ranslated trom French): That was how 1 intended asking the United Kingdom representative to proceed. But before we .discuss how we shaH vote, we should decide whether we shall proceed ta vote at oncé, .or whether you would prefer to hear the replies to the questions first. Mr. AUSTIN (United Stàtes of America): 1 as'sent, under the rules of procedure, to the division of the United States draft resolution that would be necessary in order to proceed in the manner suggested by the United Kingdom. That manner is satisfactory to us. de après tendre de:> une évident prendre nos décisions sur nécessaires. différentsentants juive En observations sur eux, cas revenir au ti:;ms. l'une j'accepterai du There is another point which is entirely different, namely, that we mightask the representatives of. the Arab Higher Committee and the. Jewish Agency to be as concise as they usually are. In their explanations they generally come very much to the point and are brief in their remarks, and l believe we can depend upon them tofollow this practice in the present iDst~nce, in order to enable the Security Council to: proceed as promptly as possible with the discussion of these proposaIs. However, 1. dQ not want to if/sist on one èourse or the other. 1 repeat, it is quite agreeable· to me to do it'either way. The PRESIDENT (transÎated fro1r) French): 1 shall bear in mind the views just expressed by thé Colonibian representative, which 1 consider perfecdy reasonable. However; to avoid bécominginvolved in a lengthy discussion which might delay a decision, 1 suggest· that the Security 1 cnmpte représentant faitement nous longue, au· ment les discussion. ,les de Conseil cela gênerait plusieurs de suivante lundi. duit s'il terprétation du voit' pas tout de suite C~uncil hear the various answers to the questionnarre, one by one, without debate. Mter that 1 will again consult the members of the Council so that we may decide how toproceed. 1 do not intend to call a meeting of the Security Council for this afternoon, as 1 know that would inconvenience sorne of its members. If there are no objections, our next meeting will theref")re ,be on Monday. . Mr. AUSTIN (United States of América) = May 1 ask whether the Security Council would not find. it convenient to use simultaneous interpretation for this work? It would save rime. The PRESIDENT. (translated from French): If the Security Council agrees, we shaH now . hear the replies tp the questionnaires. Arrange- . Mr. LOPEZ (Colombia): Perhaps we might simplify the situation by offering to those who are present and willing ta give their answers the opportùnity to do so, without prejudice' to the oppartunity that would be given to the others to. send in their written replies ,before the next meeting. Would that be satisfactory? The, PRESIDENT (translated from French): 1 think we can now hear the rcpresentatives who wish ta speak. We will then see whether we can take a vote, or wh~ther we would rather follow the procedure suggesteci by the Colombian replI"es.entative namely to\wait for the other answers. The representative of the Jewish Agency has handed me bis reply to the questionnaire. It is being piillted and will be distributed as a document. If the representative of Iraq is in the Council Chamber 1 will ask mm aIso to take bis place at the Council table. At thl1 invitation of the President~ Mr.· Naji Al-Asil, representative of Iraq, took his ,Place at the Security Council table.

If th~ Egyptian represéntative, w~o wishes to speak, is prepared to give his replies to the que~­ tionnaire, 1 sh~ll now ask mm ta do so. We will chantie over ta simultaneous interpretation. The .fystem of simultaneous interpretatio'lt was adopted at this point. Mahmoud Bey FAW2:1 (Egypt): As tlte President informed the Securit)T Council yesterday, the answers of the Egyptian Govero..merit have ,been ready since yesterday morning. 1 should 'now like to transmit to the Security Council, on behalf of His Excellencythe Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, the answers which 1 have received to the questions addressed to the Egyptian Government pursuant to the decision of the Sècurity Council of 18 May [document S/7~71. The answer to question (a) reads as follows: "On the termination of the British mandate in Palestine, instructions were given to forces of the Egyptian Army to enter Palestine for the objects previously outlined by the Egyptian Government in their memorandum transmitted to the Powers and the United Nations on 15 May. This answer covcrS parts (1) and (2) of question (a). The answer to question (b) reads as fol1ows: "Egyptia~ forces are now operating in the south of Palestine. They are proceeding with the t3Sk of t'eStoring security and order in Palestine under Egyptian military commando The Egyptian Government have fl'om the outset declared that their military operations are not directed against Palestine Jews but against terrorist ZioniSt bands who are armed with the latest and most destructive weapons and who have buUt up in the Jewish settlements scattered throughout Palestine, fortifications and stl'ongly fortified pmboxes, as a springboard for attacking neighbouring Arab villages and their peaceful inhabitants. .plus "The Egyptian Govemment have no 1other object in view except to put an end to this state of anarchy and to restore security and order in Palestine with a view to enabling its people to set up a united Palestinian State under which aU inhabitants of Palestine, Arabs and Jews alike, may live side by side in harmony and peace, enjoying the Bame rights and having the same obligations; and under which the sacred places are protected and the freedom of. access to them ensured." The answer to question ((;) reads as follows: "The Egyptian. Government have dec1ared that .their regular forces have entered Palestine with the object of putting an end to the massacres perpetrated by the terrodst Zionist bands against Arabs and against humanityand of sa.feguarding the lives and property of the inh!tbi-:- tants. Had the Arab States not intervened with their anned forces when Britain relinquished the Mandate, these well trained Zionist bands, .Mandat, spread aU over Palestine, would have annihUated· hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs, who ~orm the vast majority of the inhabitants. This lS borne out by the continuous flow of thousands of Arabs, men, women and chUdren, who sought refuge in all neighbouring Arab countri~s in quest of safety and to escape from the Zionist 1 tyranny and oppression. , "The neighbouring Arab Governments which are members of the Arab League consiùer themselves responsible for the maintenance of security a;nd order in their area as a regional organizatIon in conformity 'V/Ïth. the provisions of the '''''--·-IJlÛted Nations Charter. These Arab Governments are capable of maintaining security and peace in that area. The Egyptian Government are confident that, if other Powers do not seek to intervene in Palestine, the presence of Arab 1 regular armies there wm in no way disturb inter- The a:Dswer to question (d) reach; asÏollows: "Arab armed forces have now taken over control-andauthority following therelinquishing by Britain of the' Mandate and the consequent vacuum in the governmental and administrative machinery, to restore the progressive functioning of this machinery in every area enterèd by them with the object·· of establishing a permanent Government based on the will of the population and their representatives and in conformity with the United Nations Charter. For the time being this political authority will exercise the conduct of public services and the affairs of a united Palestinian State in the interests of all the elements of the population, Arabs and Jews alike." _ The answer to question (e) reads as follows: ."The dec1aratio~ of a Jewish State in an undetermined part of Palestine and the terrorism prececiing this dec1aration and preparing for it ha~ e blocked the way to any understandmg between Arab and Jewish representatives for finding a solution to the problem." The answer to question (f) reads as follows: "No outward violation of Egyptian frontiers by 'Jewish forces' or precisely by terrorist Zionist bands has been made, nor have they penetrated ,into Egyptian territory. Nevertheless; the declaration, which was accompanied by violence and terrorism, of a Zionist State next door to Egypt and situated in the midst of Arab nations where feeling was already running high, undoubtedly ~oi1stitutes a menace to the security of Egypt and ot~er P....rab States neighbouring to Palestine. " "Moreover, Egyptians do not :~gard Palestinian Arabs as strangers, sinee they have been from time immemorial strongly bound to them by IIlany ties. Any aggression against Palestinian Arabs, and more particularly in the horrible and atrocious manner adopted by Zionist bands, has its, direct repercussion upon the people of Egypt. Egypt is a member of the Al'ab League, which is a regional organization l'esponsible for security in its area, and since·Palestine forrr.s a part of this, area, Egypt, just as any. other Arab State, regards the terrorist activities of the Zionist bands inside Palestine as a direct menace to security and.peace in this area as a whole." . The PRESIDENT (translated from French): 1 now calI upon the representative of the Jewish Agency '1.0 submit bis replies ta the questions put ta him. . Mr. EBAN (Jewish Agency for Palestine): 1 have received from the Provisional Government of Israel the following ~eplies to the ques- . 1 am asked ta point out that the.designation "Jewish authorities", which applied:in the p~t to the Jewish Agency for Palestine and ta the National Council of the Jews of Pales~e-:-Vaad Leumi-now applies to the ProVisional State Council and the Provisional: Governrilent of the State' of Israel, joindy establiShed· by those bodies, and in which, since 15· May-1948, all legislative, executive and judiciary powerS in the State oI Israel are now vested. . The answers to the questions which have been received are as follows: "Question (a): Over which areas cif Palestine do youactually exercise control at the present time? "Answer: The Provisional Government of Israel actuallY exercises control at present over the entireareaof the Jewish State, as defined in the resolution of the General Assembly of 29 November 1947.! In addition, the Provisional Government is now exercising control over the city of Jaffa; northwestern Galilee, LTlcluding Acre, Zib, Basea and the Jewish settlements up to the Lebanese frontier; a strip of territory alongside the road from Hulda to, Jerusalem; almost ail of new Jerusalem and of the Jewish quarter within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. . The above areas outside the territory of the State of Israel are under the control of the military authorities of the State of Israel, who are strictly adhering to international regulations in this regard. The southern Negeb is an uninhabited area over which no effective authority has ever existed. "Question (b): Do you have armed forces operating in areas (towns, cities, districts) ofPal-' estine where the Arabs are the majoiity, or outside Palestine?' . • "Answer: We consider theterritory of Israel as·a single unit with a Jewish tr....jority. As indicated above, the Provisional Covernment of the State of Israel operates in parts of Palestine outside the territoryof the State of Israel, parts which, with the notable exception of Jerusalem, formerly for the most part contained Arab majorities. These areas have, however, been mostly abandoned by their Arab population. No area outside Palestine is under Jewish occupation, but sallies beyond the frontiers of the State of Israel have occasionally been carried out by Jewish forces for imperative mili~ary reasons and as a part of an essentially defensive plan." Wherever such phrases occur as "the frontiers of the State of Israel" or "the territory of the '1. In arder to repel aggression and, as part of an essentially defensive plan, to prevent those areas from being used as bases for attacks against the State of Israel. '2. In order to protect Jewish population, traffic and economic life, including the protection of those Jewish settlements outside the area of the State of Israel where, Ov:i!lg to the ab~ sence of any duly constituted authority and the failure to implement the guarantees and safegulU"ds proyided for under the General Assembly .plan, that life and property are in imminent danger. Similar considerations apply, in the absence of any international statute for the City of Jerusalem, to the Jewish area of that c~ty.' "Question (d): Have you arranged for the entry into Palestine ~ the near future of men of military age from outside Palestine? If so, what are the numbers and where are they coming from? "Answe;r: Arrangements have been and are being made for the entry into Palestine of Jewish immigrants of aIl ages and both sexes from various countries, in accordance with the avowed object and primary purpose of the State of Israel to open its gates for large-scale immigration. The State of Israel regards the matter of immigration as a matter within its domestic jurhdiction. "Question: (e) Are you negotiating with Arab authorities regarding either the truce or a poli. tical settlement in Palestine? "Answer: No such negotiations f"'e at present proceeding. The Secretary-General of the Arab League was informed immediately after the November resolution that the Jews were ready to negotiate for peaceful collaboration with the Arab world on the basis of implementation of the resolution of the General Assembly of 29 November. To this no reply was received. Repeated approaches ha.ve recently been made to King Abdullah of Transjordan offering on behalf of the Jewish State peace and good-neighbOurliness, but these offers were rejected by King Abdullah, who insisted that the who:~ of Palestine come under bis rule and that the Jews accept Arab nationality and rest content with regional autonomy. "We have on repeated occasions indicated our affirmative attitude to cease-fire proposaIs coming from British authorities in Palestine and various organs of the United Nations. The ceasefire in the Old City initiated by the Trusteeship "Question (g): Will you agree to an immedi~te and unconditional truce for the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Places? "Answer: Yeso "Question (h): Have Arab forces penetrated into the territor-y over which you daim to have authority? ' "Answer: Arab forces have penetrated into the territory of the State of Israel in certain corners of the Northern Negeb and in the Jordan valley south of Lake Tiberias. In a.ddition planes of the Royal Egyptian Air Force have l'epeatedly raided Tel Aviv and southern Jew.sh settlements, causing heavy civilian casualties, while Iraqi aireraft have been raiding settlements in the northern Jordan valley, and while artillery of the Syrian and Lebanese armies have been shelling settlements in upper Galilee from across the frontier." Sillce receiving these answers l have now received another cable from Mr. Shertok, the Foreign Minister of the ProvisionaJ Government of Israel, which refers ta the answer which 1 have just given ta question (h). He tdegraphs as follows: "The part of the Jordan valley south of Lake Tiberias in which invading forces had penetrated has now been freed. The Samakh area has been regained and the invad~rs driven back to Hamma beyond the frontier." Mf. EL-KHOURI (Syria): 1 should like to submit the answers of the Syrian Government to the questions addressed to them by the President on 19 May [document 8/753]. "Question (a): Are armed, elements of your arm.ed forces or irregular forces sponsored by ~our Government now operating (1) in PaJestine? "Answer: Yeso " (2) In areas (towMl, dties, districts) of Palestine where the Jews are lii the majority?" "Answer: No. "Question (b): If so, where are such fûrces now locatcd and under what command are they operating, and what aretheir military objectives? es~ablish a democratic regime for the future goveI:n~ent comprising all its population after putting 'an end ta the state of anal'chy now prevailing in Palestine. These operations are not directed against the Jews of Palestine but against the armed insurrection of the Zionist bands who intend ta create for the Jewish minority a sepa-' rate independent State in spite of the w!shes of the majority in the country. The intention of the Syrian'Government is ta help the Palestinians ta set up the democratic State of Palestine under which all inhabitants-Moslems, Christians, Jews and others-may live side by side in harmony and peace, enjoying the same rights and bearing the same obligations, with strict and perfect security of the Holy Places and free access ta them. "Question (c) (1): On what basis is it c1aimed that such forces are entitled ta enter Palestine? "Answer: On the basis of considering Palestine an Arab territory linked with Syria and with the other Arab countries around it by all social, economic, political, racial, geographical, linguistic and traditional inseparable links. Palestine is also an associate member in the Arab League; which is a regional arrangement' obliged to settle disputes and pacify disturbances within its area. The prevailing aIiarchy in Palestine reacted gravely on the security and arder in Syria, especially when enormoùs hordes of destitute refugees .flooded into Syria seeking refuge. Furthermore, t4e majority of the in,haJ:>itants of Palestine, which is the (lnly legitimate organ in Palestine entitled to assume directive authority in the country after the t~rmination of the Mandate, requested our military"he1p~ If we do not respondto thiS'appeal, the survivingArabs in and out of the areas covetèd by the Zionists ta be their own, will be condeIilIled to àmlihilation. . . . "Question (c) -( 2) :. On what basis is it daimed that such forces are entitled,to enter areas (towns; cities, districts) .of Palestine where the Jews are in the majority, and conduct operations there? . ~ "Answer: Till now our armed forces did not operatein such areas where the Jews are in the', majority, but we do not admit the principle that a Jewish majority in any town is entitled to act independently of the majority of the country. Mr. AL-AsIL (Iraq): 1 have the honour to read the reply of my Government to the questions addressed to it by the Security Council. The questions and answers are as follows: "Question (a): Are armed elements of your armed forces or irregular forces sponsored by your Government now operating (1) in Palestine; (2) in areas (towns, cities" districts) of Palestine where the Jews are in the maj0x1ty? "Answer (1): Yeso a< ( 2) It is misleading ta idem'ify llalestine in terms of units like towns; cities, districts, and so forth, where the identification of the majority and the minority could be used as an erroneous pretext for an argument. Our contention is that· Palestine should be looked upon as one country, where the Arabs are the majority. Elements of our armed forces entered Palestine without·discrimination either to the character of areas or to the creed of the inhabitants." , .. 'Question (b): If so, where are such forces now located and under what command are tbey operating, and what are their military objèctives? "Answer: Dnits of Iraqi forces are now operating west of the Jordan. These forces are operating under the command of Iraqi officers. Their military objectives, far from being directed against the Jews of Palestine, are the suppression of lawless Zionist terrorism, which was dangerously spreading all over the country, alld the restoration of peace and order. Such objèttives will result in enabling the people of Palestine to "Answer: Upon the termination of the Mandate, on 15 May 1948, no legal authority was constituted to take its place. At the same time, , the terrorism and the aggression, of a minority assumed vast proportions and resulted in atrocities and massacre, lea-!i.'1g up to a complete state of anarchy. Fora lçmg tim~ such Zionist aggression was responsible for many atrocities and acts of unprovoked lawlessness, of which the Iraqi Consulate in Jerusalem received its share by having been attacked, destroyed, pillaged, and many of its guards·,killed. In the meantime 'Uany hundreds 'of thousands of the Arab civmg.,t oopulatio,n wel,"edriven out.of their homes il,llhâd to take refuge in the neighbouring ft.;. ,ab States. This in itself W&S 'a threat to peace and order. AlI this was taking place under the eyes of the . United Nations and its Truce Commission. The Ar.ab League, as a regional organization interested in keeping the peace in that region, could not stand by without action. The League, of which my Government is a member, took that action in the confidence that, without foreign intervention to complicate the situation, they are able to realize such a high objective as the restora~ tion of peace and order with a. view to arriv'..ng at a fair and just solution of the problem of Palestine: "Conceming what is called 'areas (towns, cities, districts) of Palestine where the Jews are in the majority,' it must again be, stated that the division of the country into such units ." for the present purpose is misleading and can be entertained only on the basis of partition, which we reject. . 1 ."Question (d): Who is now responsible for the exercise of political functions in the areas of Palestinewhere the Arabs are in the majority? "Answer: Many a centre where the Arabs are in the majority has been the subject of Zionist aggression, oblivious of any existÙlg authority,' forcing the people to evacuate their homes. But whenever an area cames under military occupation, civil administration is exercised under the s~pervision of the inilitary commander by competentcivil servants, mostly of local origin. This will be a teIIlPorary measure unti1law and order are established and a legal political organization based on democratic principles has been instituted in accordancewith the will of the people. "Question (f): Have the Jewish forces violated your frontiers and p.enetrated your terri- . tory? "Answer: Although there was no direct violation of Iraqi f!ontiers by Zionist bands, yet the existing threat inside Palestine is not confined to the boundary of that country but extends to Iraq itself, partly through the.aggressive intentions of Zionism and pa..rtl.y through the fact that the Palèstinian Arabs are an' integral part of the Arab people in general." tion bandes de de sionisme Arabes l'ensemble l'ai rité, vantes le mai Mr. GHORRA (Lebanon): 1 have the honour to submit to the Security Council, on behalf of His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon, the following answers to the cablegram sent to him by the President of the Security Council on 18 May 1948: sidèrent et écrasante. ponse est tuellement ment dans tricts) majorité." tion "The Governmènt and people of Lebanon consider Palestine as a single territorial and political entity, with an overwhelming Arab majority. Without prejudice to this pl'inciple, the reply of my Government to question (a) is as follows: "( 1) Armed forces of Lebanon are operating in Palestine. "(2) No arme~ for~es are operating at present in areas (towns, cities, districts) of Palestine where the Jews are in the majority." The reply of my Government to question (bj is as follows: "They are operating in northern Palestine. .. Their nùlitary objective is to help pacify Palestine in co-operation with the forces of ather ,States of the Arab League, as stated in the memorandum of the Secretary-General of the Arab League on 15 May, document 8/745." Palestine est boration randum daté ,tion The reply of my Government to question (c) is as follows: "As to part (1 ) and part (2) together, the answer is fully stated in the memorandum to which 1 have just referred. We refer in particular to page 4, paragraph {E) of this document." ~st Je particulier S/745." tion de cune l'alinéa . The reply of my Government to question (d) 18 as follows: "The League of Arab States is responsible for t4e exercise of political functions in any and aIl parts of Palestine. In particular, we refer also to page 4, paragraph (E), of document S/745." '. The reply of my Government to question (e) The reply of my Governmenttoquestion (f) is as follows: ' -"Zicnist armed bands violated the LebaneSe frontiers on: the nights of 14 and 15. May 1948, before the Lebanese" forces entered Palestine. On several occasions these bands have made incursions.into Lebanon, and they have twice landed armed men from the sea behind our frontiers and have blown bridges. These' acts -have been perpetratedagainst our territory,both beforeand after the termination of the Mandate." JainaI Bey HUSSEINI ·(Arab Higher Committee): 1 explained yesterdaythat _owing to sorne error-we had not yet received the replies to the questionnaire, but as the President has been kind enough to allow me to "say a worâ or two, 1 wish tomake a few obsêrvations. on the telegrams "-whicb have been read to us this morning. First of all, -J should like to express my deep· sympathy, and 1 am sure that aIl my people will join with me and support me in that, for the accident which has befallen the Consul-General ~f the United States in Jerusalem. Whether the shot came from ourside or from the other side we - _ _ express that sympathy, and 1 am sure that none of the people. in- Palestine could have had any' intention of doing anything of that sort. . Secondly, we have had two telegrams read to us in~hich the Jewish authority state that Arab attack,s·have been made; on certain hospitalsand on the Hebrew University oi Jerusalem, and that the Red Cross representative had seen that this bu.ùding was not being used by themilitary.As a matter of fact, in one of the telegrams -it was stated th'at there were guards pQsted in the grounds. 1do not.suppose that guards were postedopenly in the grounds, but were inside the building. According to our information, which has .been corroboratedboth by. the Truce Commission and by the Red CrQss, attacks have been conducted from boththe Hadassah Hospital on Molint Scopus and the Hebr~\:V University. These attacks were carriedout both before and âfter the termination of the Mandate; and, particularlyat thetermination of the Mandate on 15 and 16 May, offensive action has been conduded from there against the Wadi el .Toi and the Sheikh Jarrah Quarter, all of which were inha~ited by the Arabs until their removal from these places. Thetefore, it cannot be said that the Hadassah Hospital is still carrying on its usual functiQns·-as a hospital. Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): With regard to the last question whiçh was addressed to the Syrian Government, "Have the Jewishforces violated Jamal Bey HUSSEINI (Arab Higher Colllmit- tee) :With regard "to the answers coming from the Arab Higher Committee, 1 hope to be able to submit them to the Security Council by Mon- clay at the latest. The PRESIDENT (translated trom French)': We will take the United States draft resolution as a basis for the vote, and 1 shall ask the United ,Kingdom representative to indicate the amend- ments he proposes ta each paragraph.' .::,1 pos~. l'anglais): du pas ne mer amendements Je déclaration' sur désir, Mahmoud Bey FAWZI (Egypt) : 1 do not want to dclaythe work of the Security Council, but until now my delegation has notbeen given a chance-we have not actually asked for that chance yet-to speak about the proposal of the United St,ates or about the amendments of tpe United Kingdom.' 1 submit that 1 should have an opportunity to make such a statement. If this is accepted, 1 must say that my statement will not be very len,gt11Y, but it will not be short. trè~ viétique voudrais n'avons l'heure aussi changent en cette insignifiantes tout des ~r. TARASENKO (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist R.ej;lUblic) (translated trom Russian): 1 should !ike to make one remark. Strictly speaking, ,t~ere ~ no need to study these questions. The situation m ~alestine is as clear today as it was before, and the answers to"the questionnaire do not alter our view of the situation in Palestine; They are as futile and insignificant as the questions them- selves. '". 1 1 think it is time to put an end to all this and takc up. irnriIediately the discussion of concrete proposaIs. . a si sL.'"'!lUltanément.

If l alll not mistaken, the Egyptian representatl~e wis~es' to spf~ak on the draft resolution. He will be mterpreted simultaneously. Of course, 1 cannot control the reactions of the representative of the Ukrainian SSR. But 1do not feel especially happy. at hearing that ar~ examination of the various Governments' answers to , th~ Security Council is of no importance. 1 submit that .this could becalled either an overstatement oran understatement, according to the angle from which one looks at the matter. But thisis a side issue, and, \vith the permission of the .!?resident, 1 shall speak about the draft resolution before us. Before saying anything eIse, 1 should like, with the permission of the representative of the Ukrainian SSR, tO point out the fact that the - matter before us is a very important matter indeed. 1 wish to remind the members. of the Security Council that. this is the ~t tiIDe the Security Oouneil is· called upon, whether it is admitted or not, tO apply Chapter VII of the Charter. Chapter VII happens tO be a very important and a' very serious Cpapter, and the matters with which it deals are equally serious and important. At L;e same time, it is simply a tniÏSm to say. that the main objective of the, United Nations, including· the Security Couricil of course, is tO help and contribute toward the establishment and maintenance of peace, and that any action wmch might hring about the opposite result would not be eKactly in hannony with that purpose. Before ~aying anything more, l should like to point out that in general 1 concur with the interpretation given the Security Council two days ago [298th m~eting1 by the representative of Colombi~ concerning the communication of the Egyptian Government to the Security Couneil on 15 May [document 81743] This communication can be properly descnbed as he described it. It actually is a .hand extended to the Security Council asking, not for coereion and certainly not for a further inflammation of the situation, but indeed for co-operation and for help. We are happily living in a country where, a few days before 14 May, the importance of the rule of law in international relations was most authoritatively stressed. 1 submit, however, that the resolution on partition was not and is not a reflection of, but a reflection on, that wholesome idea of the great importance of the rule of law in international relations. 1 submit further that, whether it is admitted or not, the draft resolution presented to the Security Council by the United States delegation absol~tely necessary before,the Security Council can decide on measures that we should take or ~at the Council will take in regard ta the Pales.. tine question. If we have no clear idea as to what is the status of the territory of Palestine, how can th:e matter be decided at all? If there has been an overstepping of boundaries or an attack perpetrated against a State, and if we are unce~ain ' whether there is. aState at alI-in other words, iftl;le territory is. possibly a no-man's·land.-:....we Cll-n~ot decide onsuch ,an international situation withoUt knowing exacûy what is the nature ,of the t;erritory of Palestine. . 1 know, of course, 'that some people have an . aversion to legal matters. 1 would subscribe ta their averdon if these· considerations were not basically neceSsary for the Security Council in carrying out its work in a proper manner. 1would , certainly maintain that we must know what we ' are doing. We must know if there is any kind of,attaclc-1 will not sav aggression-against a, constituted Government ... State. Sorne people would aimost have us believe that upon the termination of the Mandate Palestine became a no· man's-iand.·That might be, but it has ta he ascertained. For oUr part ~e think that 'Palestine is' very far from being a no·man'a·land. Bince the time when the Cbvenant of the League of Nations was enacted, Palestine was recognized as provisionaIly independent in character-a point with which 1 will deal in greater detaillater. "ProvisionaIly", in this case, meant much less than it us.ually does in linguistic terms. Its actual interpretation came later in that veru same Article 22 ?f the. Covenant of the League ~f Nations which, if 1 remember aright, spoke of the independence o~ Palestine as suhject ooly to the administrative advice and he1p of a Mandatory Power. That , administrative he1p having ceased at midnight Some representatives have spoken heI:'e as if the,forces of Egypt we~e going ta Palestine against the lawful will of everyone, but 1submit that that is not sa. As we haverepeateclly said here, the fact is that Egyptian forces, and ·for that matter, forces from other, Arab States, are going there with the unequivocal consent of the vast majority of the people of Palestine. The representativ~of the Arab Higher Committee reaffirmed that fact in his statement here. two days ago [297th meeting], and no one can give the Security Council any proof that one single lawful Arab in Palestine. abjects ta the ·forces of Egypt or of ather Arab States entering the {;ountry,.' In spite of everything that has been said about the matter bdore us sa far, 1 am sorry to say that certain mis~derstandings still continue. 1 think that the present situation imposes upon us all a duty ta clarify further some points ~hich seem so far to have bceri left.mosdy in the clouds. 1 shall speak,. just for a moment, of the historica! side. As an historical fact, r must note ~he following; In 1922, the Council of the League of Nations gave the Unitèd Kingdom a Mandate over Palestine. Prior ta the First World War, the territory of, Palestine pertained, in a loose fashion, to the Ottoman Empire. Historically, Palestine has long been" associated with Syria and L~banon. Even under Ottoman rule, it wasdistinct,autonomous, and self-governing. Ta use modem terminology, it had the status of what might be called a dominion. 1 With the disappearance of Ottoman authority, the' unitary Palestine became an independent country, thougLi' the Council of the League of Nations, acting under Articlé 22.of the Covenant, assumed the right to confer a Mandate for Palestine on the United Kingdom. Theprevious history did not justify this assumption, for, in the clearest terms, the correspondence conducted with General McMahon had indicated thàt Palestine was to. be part of. a wholly independent Arab State, unencumbered by any limitations. , 1 shall pass over some years of history. In 1936 Egypt became a Member of the League of Nations, and Egypt thus became a party to Article 22 of the Covenant. 1 must take the SeCU1&. r Council's time to read the text of this Article iÎ1 so far as it pertains to Palestine. Article 22, paragraph 4 of the Covenant of the League of Nations states: "Certain communities formerlybclonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of Egypt counted upon the precise language used in this text, name1y, that Palestine was provisiona1ly recognized as an independent nation, with one provision and limitation, whichwas the administrative advice and assistance of the Mandatory. No political impUcation was there; no political subtraction from the full independence of Palestine was there. This goes back as far as the time of the inception of the Covenant of the League of Nations, at a time when more than nine-tenths of the population of P~estinewas Arab and not, as now, when about two-thirds.of . the population is Arab. On 14 May at midnight, Jerusalem time, the United Kingdom purported to lay down its authority as Mandatory for Palestine. This action was in no way authorized by the States undcr .whose aegis the United Kingdom had exercised the Mandate. This action was not authorized by the United Nations. Indeed, the United Nations had no competence with respect to the matter, for it was not in any sense successor to the League of Nations in that regard~ , 1 ask, what was the consequence of this abandonment by the United Kingdom? ln the view of my Government the unilateral abandonment by the United Kingâom automatically 1eft Pales- . tine a completely independent country..The'relevance of Article 22 of the Covenant, 1 say again, : ,thus .disappears and Palestine is no longer fettered by the administrative advice and âssistance of a Mandatory. The conclusion that Palestine has become a wholly independent State is notonIy a legal. conclusion; it is a conclusion which is supported by the actual facts. On 14 May what was/the situation, actually? Terrorism had taken the' field. Egypt, a country which is not 5,000 miles away from Palestine, a country which lives on ~a~estine's very borders; wh:ich, moreover, has mtunate connexions in blood, in religion, and in 'tradition with the overwhe1mmg majàrity of the people 'of Palestine, waS asked by the abundantly e~pressed will of the people of P-alestine to offer ald to the new State. Speaking of terrorism, and without wanting to spoil the meals or the dreams ofanyone, 1 must t~e a moment to tell a story to the Security Conncil. That story is about Deir Yâsîn. 1 just want to give the Council an example-I am sorry to say it is a gruesome example, but a normal ~xample of what is often taking place nowadays ID Palestine. Zionist b~nds attacked Deir Yâsîn. If they have a military objective, it is quite normal that "The operation was be1ieved to be a joint military undertaking,' a Stem group enterp~e with the kno'wledge of the Haganah. The death of sorne 250 Arabs"-men, wonien and "children ~ which occutred duting thiS attack took place in circumstances of great savagery." And the description is not mine. 1 am just conveying to the Security Council, now and later, descriptions 1 got from neutraI sources. "Women and children were stripped, lined up, photographedand then slaughtered by automatic firing. Survivors have told of even more inctedible besnalities." This is not my description either. "Those who were taken prisoner were treated with degrading brutality." 1 think my vocàbulaf'Y was enriched on readmg this dtScription-which, 1 sayagain, is not mihë, àDd wlûth 1 obtainèd fton'l neutraI sOUTCes. 1 wish my vOèabulaty hàd 110t been enrichéd. 1 should now ~e to retum to the point with which 1 was dealing-and 1 wish 1 had not been forced to make this unpleasant digression. 1 was reminding the Security Council that we were invited to intervene in Palestine by the abundantly e~pressed will of the pe,op1e of Palesfine. Now, let us suppose that the United States wère ,in asitnilar position with resplect to the people of Canada or Mexico. As a matter of fac.., if 1 recall correctly, the people of the United States responded to a caU from the people of Cuba on a similaroccasion, although the United States did not have the same affinity with the people of Cuba that we have with the Arabs in Palestine by reaso11 of' race, religion, tradition Oi' territorial propinquity. ' ", When 1 speak of the people of Palestine, 1 refer to a population of two million people. Sixty ,per cent of th,atpopulation today is Arab. However, if one goes back to the beginning of the Mandate, 'more thait: 90 peI' cent were'Arab at that,time. 1 do notcowit, and 1 think no one can count, the polyglot population wàich has entei'ed Palestine in' recent years--much "of it in very recent years, ,much of it in the 'last fevr weeks-and usuaUy dandestinely and illegal1y. Those people are in no way permanently identified with the country or with its present or future. This population is composed of nationaIs of other countries. : With all due respect, 1 ask: ~hat bas the Unlteli Nations done iD. the fate t>f this 'situation? Agam' With all due 'respect :i say: It re~airis , sup41e.'The Sèturity Counc~, weUàwarëof wliat is hap,pen,,ing, ~as' h"ar,dl,Y, m,oved,' a ,finger;, "_ ,- " - . . ~. . - ~ . ~ ,The General ,Assembly adopt~d ,a res()l~ltiori ' in'November 1947 which,·ol':1 the very day of.i~ adoption, offered no hope what~ver of having any calming effect on the situl;ltion~Withinsix weeks that resolu,tion wep.t by the board. There then foUowed a series of gyrations by the ~v­ emmen,t of that Member of the United Nations which was chiefly responsible for', the adoption , of the resolution on partition. No one knew from day to day-or from ticker to ti~kel"­ what that Governmept would,bring forth. Finally, the Security Council succeedea in ' convoking a special session of the General Assembly. What happened at that speciàl session of the General Assembly, which just concluded : a few days ago? Proposal after proposaI was put' forward. Two tentative texts were 'adopted.2 Neither of them had the slightest effect on the situation in Paiestine. Neither of them relieved the situation one joi: or one tittIe. The session ' of the General Assembly adjourned in a IÎlaze of conflict and doubt and, on the eve of the ad- ; journment, we witnessed the spectacle of a prejudicial announcement by" the then most activ~ Member of the' United Nationss which alt}-, nouncement tended to nullify everythîng that the General Assembly had attempted to do. So much for the pasto As for the future, we , have not,the slightest indication, of what the ticker may, bring forth as the poli~y' of the Govemment.which bearsthe principal responsibility for what has happened.. ' , 1 want ta make it very cIear that l am trying to speak' as objectively as possible, and 1 shall adhere to this throughout the few additional remarks 1 have to make, ln the prevailing situation, what could my Govemment do? Obviously it couldnot continue to wait for the United NationS to act. The United Nations, 1 am again sorry to say, has 50 far fully demonstrated its helplessness. Obviously, my Governrn:ent could not forecast what a powerfuI member of the -8ecurity Council would suddenly decide to do: ' My Government had to tak~ account of facts. It had to meet an urgent situation, not 5,000 . A new Jf.;wish Statè hasbeen proclâimed , while, accor.ding to the British, the Mandate was still in fcrce. The proclamation was made in the n2J!:ie of the National Council represe:nting the Jt::wish people in Palestine and the ZiCrL.lsi: Movement of the World. With the permission of the Prèsident and the members of the Security Council, 1shall stop a moment to examine that proclamatipn of the so-called Jewish·State to see what it means, if i~ mea.iS anything at all. Now 1 ~k: Who are' the Jewish people in Palestine? Who are the' people in the Zionist Movement of the World, 'as they calI themselves? A few è>fthem are British, 1 suppose. Perhaps there are strong supporters of. this movement in various countdes, );lut the chief stronghold of the Zionist movement is in the United States, and in one or two cities of die United States. Most or its funds come from thè United States., The proclamation isnot ·limited to the Jewish.people in Palestine.. It purports to speak on behalf of-the Jewish people everywhere. With your permission, 1 shall read a paragraph from that proclamation: "Exiled from Palestine, the Jew.ish people remained faithful to it in all the countries of their 'dispersion, never ceasing to !pray and hope for their return and the restoration of their national freedom." Thus, weare told that the Jews of New York and Cincinnati have never ceased to pray and hope for their·return and the restoration of their riational freedom. Moreover, the proclamation speaks of "survivors of the European catastrophe Swho have) tried unceasingly to enter Palestine,", and ap· parently it is made in their behalf-people who never saw the country, who never contributed to its civic life, and who are not cognizant of its problems, but who are merely entranced by the spell of an idea. ' The proc1amàtiOIl seems further to rely on the resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 29 November 1947. It speaks of this resolution as having been adopted "for re-establishment of an independent Jewish State in Palestine." Let us look at the text of this resolution. What did the General Assembly do? It called upon the Members of the United Nations to adopt and implement a pla.."1. If any Member of the United Nations has adopted the plan, 1 have never heard of it. If.any Member has sought to implement it, 1 have never hel;ud of it. l'Organisation organes qu'ils la 1 do know, however, that the Member most immediately involved has on many occasions formally declined to adopt and to implement the plan. 1 refer to the United Kingdom. One Member of the United Nations-the United States of America-has played a prpminent role in this matter. Please do not ask me to say what its raIe is. Yet 1 have never heard that the Govemment of the United States has adopted the plan to which the General Assembly resolution referred. It has been apparent for many months that the General Assembly resolution of 29 November 1947 is dead. The various measures which it called for have not beeIi taken and cannot be taken. Why did the General Assembly meet in special session? It met because the chief sponsor of the resolution of 29 November-the Member which drove through the vote-had in sorne way c~anged its mind and was unwilling to go on Wlth the plan. . .We .are told in this proc1amation that the Jewish State will be ready to co:operate in the implementation of the resolution of 29 November. What could be more fantastic? The so- ~al~e9. National Couneil wants to co-operate Wlth the organs and representatives of the United Nations"· when those organs and representatives have already proved themselves completely unwilling to go on with the resolution itself. Let me now deal with the action taken by the Govemment of the United States. That.action followed by only ten or eleven minutes the time w?en, according to the United Kingdom dec1arahan, the Manda~e ended. Until 6 p.m., Washdécision minutes Royaume-Uni,' c;,Omid~rat.e en01,lg~. relatiy~y· spe~gl to wai! f9r,somc; forîy-eight houl'$ before att~pting to {Qrè.C1QSe the .situation·by ente~g upon the forma1ityof recognition. , ' ;1 have spOken.before in connexion. with the .recognition of new States, not merely upon,the propiiety or otherwis~ of certain ac,tions in certain wayS) 'but aIsolJ.pon the very jmportant. and esseritia1 màtter of our'dutynot ta recognize any so-called Government ifthat Governmeiit has no basis in law and'if it has no basis in fat;t. 1 shan not go' over. 'again all th~t 1 said before" but 1 want to remark agàiri that.thè Govcrnment IJlust prove itself to be aèting onbehalf Qf the majority of'the populàtion. In this conneXion, l said that outside of the' verylimited area of Tel Aviv, the sO-caUed State does Ilot ëontairi'any distrièt' in which the Jews are in the majority; On the contrary, we have information, and 1 am sure.that this can' be supplied aIso by the neutralsouI:ce.s of the United Kingdom, from which it will be abundandy dear that the majorityof ·the population outside Tel Aviv is, on ·the average, more than SOper cent Arab and not Jewish. Thesame applies to land and ownership of land outside Tel Aviv in the so-called, State which,the Zionists are trying toset up. About 80 per cent of land ownership is Araband not Jewish. Then there is the very important element which internationallaw and international tradition and logic itself ,require before·we. cano properlyor ~ghtfu~ly recognize a pretended new State, This Ï$.the extent of control. It cannot reasonably..be considered ~, control. of an area just because it wâs ther,e.in.an ùnsetded manner for a .few days or. perhapsJor.afew minutes......-only..ten or eleven ~utes--~d this ag~t the rights; ..gainst the desU'C$, .' agamst, the hentage, and against the WÏ$h.es of :the lawfUl owners and the lawful in~ habitants of thÛ! area. ;,::This isnot law;' this is notthe Charter of the lJ.pitèd .]S'ations;..thl& iS not seIt-determination; ~ is some~hi.ng qUÎte differ.ent' which 1 cannot ~pp..opriatelx described in well-mannered words 1>efore,the Security Council. . l'am· not going to 'enlarge onthis point further. 1 woulq ask, however, that 1 be permitted to refer to the substance, in so far as it has any substance, of what the United States didwhen it recognized the so~called Jewish Stat.e. ·The pnited Stat.esGovernment purported to recogllÎZe the Provisional Government a..'i the de facto authority of the new State of Israel. 1 have attempted to apply myself carefully to a study of Of cOurse, 1 realize that a Govemment taking this step of so-called recognition may place itself in the position of establishing sorne sort of relations with the insurgents. Yet, 1 must conc1ude that Members of the United Nations are not free to take such a course while the whole Palestine problem is under discussion in either the General Assembly or the Security Cotinci1. Any direct relations at this time between the Members of the United Nations and the Jewish insurgents in Palestine amounts to a floU1:Ù1g of the é\Uthority of the United Nations. . 1 would remind the President and the members of the Security Council that in April the Security Council called upon the disputants in, Palestine [document 8/723] to do nothingnothing-which would prejudice a solution at which the United Nations might arrive. 1 repeat this. In April of this year, not April of last year or the year before, but April of this year, thè Security Council called upon the disputants in ·Pale~tine to do nothing which would prejudice a solution at which the United Nations might arrive. Of course, if it calls upon the parties to do nothing to prejudice a solution, with even more reason it would call upon its own members ta do nothing ta prejudice the solution. Palestine does not need recognition as a single, fully sovereign State. Palestine h~ emerged since . the end of the First World War as an independent State, fettered, or limited, if you do not want to use the word fettered, by the administrative advice of the Mandatory. And after the end of the Mandate there was no limitation whatsoever on the complete exercise of sovereignty. 1do not say on complete sovereignty, 1 say 'on thé complete exercise ofsovereignty. That sovereignty has been complete since the end of the First World War. After the end of the Mandate there was no further limitation ,,:hatsoever on the exercise of complete sover- C1gnty by the lawful people of Palestine over the whole of that country. When 1 say that Palestine, as a single fully sovereign State, does not need recognition, 1 have in mind, among other things, the language 1 have, perhaps, spoken for too long, but 1 have very little more to say. 1 showd, however, with the Presideni's permission, like to add that 1 am authorized by my Government to 'state that Egypt's role in this maUer is based not on any selfish national'interest, not on a desire to, achieve any selfish national ambition, but on the inten- tion to bringpeace to the Middle East and thus to.servethe cause of peace throughout the world. It is a matter of great regret to Egypt that the United Nations has shown itself so helpless in dealfug with this matter. My Government is con- froIited not with a theory but with a facto Appre- ciating the pregnant portent of this fact, it is tak- mg action in \:onformity with the purposes and pririciples of the United Nations and in the com- mon interest of furthering the reign of peace and justice in its own part of the world.

Though 1 expressed the hope this morning that we should not have to meet in the afternoon, 1 am afraid 1must now rule that, as we have made so little progress during the morning, we must meet again after lunch. Before adjourning ihis meeting 1 should like first to read you a telegram 1 have just received, and then to' call on the AsSistant Secretary- General to make a short statement, in connexion with this telegram, on the position of the Truce Commission. 'Here is the telegram 1 have received from the French Consul in Jerusalem. It is not a telegram from the Truce Commission. 1 shall read it for the information of tlle members of the Council. The telegram bears today's date and isas follows: "1 learn that the Marie Reparatrice ponvent, one of the finest in Jerusalem, which for 's~veral ,. days has been the scene of fighting between Ai:abs and'Jews, was set on fire during the J.lÏght. Mo~t of thenuns were able to find shelter in the Latin P~triarchate.The nearby hoste1ry,o~ Notre::- Dame de Frante appears aIso to he in f1.ame~., . "The Arab Legion hâs heavily shelled the New City andthe Jewish quarters in the Old City during the night. The 'shelling, which .started again this"morning, has been going on for about two hours. The destruction 'of the city iS proceeding at an ever-increasing rate." Pursuant to this request, Mr. Azcarate left for Jerusalem accompanied by a junior officer and one secretary, with authorization to take one more secretary on the spot. Since that time, the Secretary-General received no request from the Truce Commission ror providing additional Secretariat staff. In the meantime, the Municipal Commissioner for Jerusalem was appointed and the United Nations Mediator for Palestine was chosen. Both of them were supplied with the Secretariat staff which they required, and this staff will be on the way to Palestine starting tomorrow. This means that at the end of next week there will be more than fifteen members of the Secretariat in different spots in Palestine. Oi: course, aIl of them may be used by the Truce Commission for the implementation of its task. It goes without saying that the l;ecretary-General will continue to do his best to meet any future requests from the Commission for Secretariat staff. There is one request from the Commission, addressed to the Seçurity Council, which 1 should like to draw to the attention of the members of the Security Council. ln the cable received yesterday by the Pre!'ident" : of the Security Council-document S/762--there : is the following suggestion by the Truce Commission. "lt would, however, be most helpful if the Security Council would send a small body of competent military observers to assist the Commission Chairman." , Naturally, this is a matter for consideration and decision by the Security Council, and the S~cretary-Generalwill act upon it in accor.dance Wlth the decision of the Council.

1 should like to make another communication to the Council before closing this meeting. A few moments ago, 1 read a telegram. We have just received another one bearing yester- ~i~uation. . 1 . 1 would also ask the Secretariat to consider - possible suggestions. The Truce Commission inight itself be asked to find a more suitable place in Palestine. Finally,we could ask the parties who are . present here to make a special effort-not yet made by either side-to he1p' the Truce Commission in its work. In the absence of any other arrangements, qualified representatives could be appointed by both sides to remain with the Truce Commission and keep it in touch with both Jews and Arabs. 1 submit these suggestions so thai you may think t1;lem over during the two hours before our aftemoon meeting. , . The ne2rt meeting.will beheld at 3.30 p.rn. The'meding rose -Qt 1.35 /J.m. TMaEE HUNDRED AND SECOND MEETING ,.,';", Held âtLakë Success, Néu/ York, . ":"on'$atu;4ay;:',~2 Ma'Y.'1948. at ,3.:lQP.m. " ~ ,': ..~; '::: ., ..",.... ':. ..' ... '.'; '. . . .' ,_. President: Mr. A. PARÔDI (France). ," Prê~~~(;~ 'Th~ r~presentatives of:the' following C9.qh~ri~#: 4rgeptina, Belgium~.Canada,C~a, Ù.Qlo~Qia, F:ça,nce,.$yria, Ukrainian Soviet. So- "<:Î~t...Repul>lic, l]riion,of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States. of America. 73.·Continuaticn of the discussion on the Palestine question At tlie invitation '~f the President, M ahmoud Bêj1'Fawzi, iepresentative of Egypt; Mr. Chorra, representative of Lebanon; Jamal Bey Husseini,