S/PV.313 Security Council

The next meeting of the Security Council will take place this aftemoon at three o'dock. chaine The meeting rose at 1.28 p.m. THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH MEETING Heid at Lake Success, New York, on Thursday, 3 June 1948, al 3 p.rn. President: MI'. F. EL-KHOURI (Syria). -----' , No document issued. 107. Provisional agenda (document 5/Agenda 313) 1. Adoption of the agenda. 2. The Palestine question. lOS. Adoption of the agenda 109. Continuation of l'he discussion on the Palestine question At the invitation of the President, M ahmoud Bey Fawzi, representative of Egypt; Mr. Malik, représentative of Lebanon; lamal Bey Husseini, repreî3ntative of the Arab Higher Committee; and Mr. Eban, representative of the lewish Agency for Palestine_, took their places at the Council table.

The motive for which 1 called this meeting of the Security Council is included in the resolution [186 (8-2)] of the General Assembly. Part II, paragraph 3 of this resolution, document A/554, reads as foUows: "Directs the United Nations Mediator to conform in bis activities with the provisions of this resolution, and with such instructions as the General Assembly or the Security Council may issue." In the resolution of the Security Council [documents 81795 and 8/795/Rev.2], there are several items which are referred to the Mediator for implementation. If the Security Council wishes to issue such instructions to the Mediator in accordance with the General Assembly's resolution or to enlighten him as to manner of implementation and other things which should be done, it should do so now, unless the Security Council would prefer to have the Mediator retain his liberty and freedom of action in these cases according to bis discretion, and not issue any new instructions to him. For this reason, as 1 said yesterday [3I1th meeting], the members are reque~ted to present their views as to whether or not imtructions are to begiven to the Mediator; and if such be the case what sort of instructions should oe prepared. Jamal Bey HUSSEINI (Arab Higher Commit- tee) : The question of controIs, which is the prin- cipal topic of your discussions this afternoon, is, , in.my opinion, the factor that will determine the effective maintenance of the truce in Palestine In the question of smuggling of men and ma- terial into Palestine, the zionist elements have the vast experience of thirty years. In landllLg Jewish illegal immigrants and importing arms and am- munitions of aIl sorts, the Zionists have resorted to ways and means which baffied the Mandatory and frustrated most of its efforts. From the sea, through small havens and coves, over land and byair, through difIerent agencies, they were able to challenge, match and beat n;lost Government efforts ta stop unauthorized immigration and importation of weapons. During this period, ac- cidental discoveries have shown that the Zionists smuggled arms and ammunition by various means and under cover of the most innocent purposes. Besides the weIl-known arms traffic devices of arms hidden in all receptacles contain- mg civil goods, diabolical devices have been re- sorted ta, such as hiding TNT within the folds of br'1ks, or in bottles half filled with medicine, etc. 1 ..v;,Sh ta mention the recent event, which took place here in New Jersey, namely, the acci- dentaI discovery of quantities of dynamite, con- signed ta Palestine, said to be sufficient to blow up aIl its cities. Another accidentaI discovery re- veals that even boys in their teens have been engaged in sending arms in bundles of second- hand clothing, intended for the "poor Jews" in Palestine. Owing to their bitter experiences in these mat- ters, the Arabs of Palestine are justified in their fears and are entitled to be satisfied, on this score, by a strict and careful examinatlon of all imported goods, and that such examination should be made with their co-operation, so that they might rest assured that the provisions of your truce are 110t violated. In -the maintenance of the proposed truce, in our opinion, immigration plays the most sensitive role; If it is the intention of the Security CounéIl to eosure that, during the truce, no additions of any kind are allowed to the forces locked in actuellement que mener personne vations qu'elle endure, émigre pour venir s'établir sur rités vent les qu'elles traire. tances, arrête tine de s'encombrer pour D'ailleurs, même si on ne désireux dront .Il intéressée Pour positions deux Furthermore, in conditions prevailing in Pales- tine, it is inconceivable that immigrants should come for the purpose of pursuing a settled, nor- mal, civilian life. No matter what its plight may be, no sane person is likely to immigrate and live in a battlefield. On the other nand, responsible quarters in every territory engaged in war, can- not allow immigration of, any personnel, unless they are a credit and not a liability to the war effort in which they are engaged. The difficulties in providing for the different needs of the immi- . grants, under such conditions, prohibit any such movement.· Zionists in Palestine will not allow the immigration of children, or of old men and women to fill their hands at a time. when their hands are so full with the emergencies of the prevailing conditi.::,ns. Nor would such personnel immigrateü they were invited to do so. Only men desiring to engage themselves in the war effort wilJ come over and will be allowed to enter Palestine. These are definitely a credit to the side to which they belong a.nd they are an addi- tion to the force concerned. In accordance with the letter and spirit of the standstill provisions of the truce, immigration on both sides must be stopped. ln our opinion, any violation of these provi- sions, particularly in-relation to this very sensi- tive question, is bound to undermine and frus- trate the Sec..ll'Îty Council's efforts of maintain- ing the truce during the proposed period. It must be realized that Arabs cannot witness the stream of young and militant Jewish immigrants pouring onto their shores without being excited to the point of violation of the terms of the truce. When the Security Council discussed this question on the 29th of last month [3IOth meeting], 1 made our position quite clear with regard to Jewish immigration. sitions, question mettre sécurité la les militants être trêve. cette séance], en 1 found it my duty now to reiterate and de- velop that statement because of the dangers that it entails in relation to the maintenance of the truce. cette teraient tien de The zionist spokesman yesterday assumed [311th meeting] that the truce terms adopted by the Security Council in its resolution of 29 May, will necessarily cover freedom of access to Jeru- salem and other besieged Jewish_settlements, to- gether with free transportation of goods for regu- lar civilian needs of the one hundred thousand besieged Jews. We assume quite the contrary. The abandonment of astate of siege is obviously a net gain in warfare for one party and a loss for the other, which the provisions of the tt;uce dô- not contemplate. -In' warfare, the condition a à dans matiquement aux la à Juüs Dans porte l'une It is the obvious desire of the Security Council that the standstill should cover all military activi- ties during the four-week truce. The demand for the abandonment of a siege is a violation of this standstill position. The assumption of the zionist spokesman should be corrected. It may then be argued that the po~ition of the one hundred thousand Jews besieged in Jerusalem becomes precarious, owing to the scarcity of Îood and water. Our reply is that there are three hundred thousand Arabs, who were obliged to leave their homes and all their belongings on account of Jewish occupation and outrageous massacres per- petrated during their occupation. These three hundred thousand Arabs are in no better plight than the besieged Jews in Jerùsalem. If a change is to be effected in their position, there should be an agreed simult?,.neous change affecting the three hundred thousand Arabs. ln our opinion, under the present circum- stances in Palestine, a cease-fire in itself is a net gain for the Zionists. For they are, if 1 am al- Iowed to use the comparison, in the position of a burglar who has run away with bis loot. His only aim is to get off with it unmolested. He neither desires to pick a quarrel with the owners of the property he looted, nor does he desire to have them at bis tail. His total gain is rea!ized by stopping the attack of the proprietors and inducing all concerned to forget it. On the other side, it is the duty of the proprietors to go after their property and l'aise a hue-and-cry for its restoration. The Arabs have accepted the truce-which will necessarily tie their hands and feet while the Jews enjoy the use of their loot-for the reason that the discussions in the special session of the General Assembly and the resolution of 14 May,' as weIl as the decision of the Security Council in March [document S/705J, took the clear trend of a reconsideration and a revision of the recoÎnmendation made by the United Nations in November of last year. According to what we heard yesterday" from the zionist spokesman [311th meetingJ with regard to the Jews' un- willingness to discuss the Palestinian question on any basis, other than the existence of what they calI the State of Israel, with the definite bounda- ries and powers embodied in the recommenda- tion, we do not really see any purpose served by that truce. The Arabs ar~ fighting against the partition of Palestine, a recommendation which was neither accepted by the Security Council nor affirmed by the special session of the General Assembly. The present truce is being proposed FinaIly, in arder ta make this truee effective, we appeal ta aIl Governments, especiaIly those of the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, t'rance, Italy and the Balkan States, ta do their utmost ta tighten their control on aIl sales of arms and ammunition ta the Zionists ~d the smuggling of the same ta Palestine. We appeal ta them aIso ta restrict the movement of Jewish immigrants ta Palestine and theiï departure from the ports of these countries. lv.lr. EBAN (Jewish Agency for Palestine): 1 shaIl leave it ta the Security Council ta decide if the spirit of this cease-fire project is assisted by hostile and provocative pronouncements, such as those which have emanated from almost every Arab Government and authority in the past few days, and of which we have Just listened ta a particularly virulent example. Our attitude on the text of the truee resolution is that the text must be taken as it is, and that no unilateral and subjective interpretations are admissible which cannat be based upon a correct and normal reading of that text. We have just heard the representative of the Arab Higher Committee endeavouring ta interpret the resolu- tian in the light of his own desires. A similar effort at unilateral interpretation appears ta us ta be implicit in a decision which has just been published, the effect of wmch is that aIl Jews of military age be detained on the island of Cyprus are to be prevented by force from reaching their destination in Israel. The resolution adopted by the Security Coun- cil on 29 May entirely rules out any general ban on the immigration of men of military age. In- deed, the resolution was amended for the specific purpose of ruling out any such general ban. The resolution clearly and unmistakably aIlows the immigration of bona fide civilians of aIl ages to take place freely. It would appear from the news which has reached us concerning Cyprus that the Government of the United Kingdom has chosen ta interpret the resolution as though the text forbidding the entry of men of military age had not been amended. But ta prevent a process which this resolution aIlows is to violate the reso- lution. The spokesman of the Arab Higher Com- mittee has assured us that he cannat under- stand how Jews can be impelled, at this time, ta immigrate tO,Israel for purposes of building the new nation and lending their talents ta its con- o struction. But those who do not understand this do not understand anything about the essence of the Jewish and the Palestine problems. The . fact is that there is a widespread and whole- Referring once more ta the position in Cyprus, it is our view that, in any case, these men are being detained in those camps without any legal basis whatever, and that the absence of a legal basis for their detention has been particularly conspicuous since the terminatiûn of the Man- date. Ta add ta the cumulative ef!ect of these irregularities, there is the circumstance that they are ta be prevented from leaving those camps in the name of ·a resolution wbich has not yet come into force and which, evel1 when it does come into force, will not justify their continued and wholesale detention for a~ !!ingle moment. It is surely the task of the Mediator, and not of the Arab Higher Committee, and nqt of any mem- ber of the Security Council acting unilaterally, ta establish methods for observing the activities of men of military age who, under the terms of this resolution, can and will enter Israel. Even the Mediator, under the terms of thisresolution, has power ta exercise that control on1y when these men have become immigrants and have entered the country. It is id1e for the repre.sentative of the Arab ffigher Committee ta assert that there is no dis- tinction between fighting personnel and men of military age, when the entry of the formeris entirely forbidden, while the entry of the latter is most specifically provided for. It seems ta us that anybody who is sincerely anxious for this agreement ta come into force should hesitate very long indeed before amending that resolution in the terms of his own subjective views. Dnder the terms of this resolution, any peaceful and unarmed Jews wishing ta enter Israel for peace- fuI pursuits can do so, just as any peaceful and unarmed Arab who wishes ta enter any of those countries is free so ta do. In conclusion 1 should like to refer ta state- ments which have recently been made by the Prime Minister j of Lebanon and the King of Transjordan-regrettable statements-in which they affirm that their purpose in entering upon this agreement is not ta seek peaceful relations with the State of Israel, but ta secure the aboli- tion of the State of Israel. In the light of these statements it is my duty ta say that the Provi- sional Government of Israel will not, either now or at any other time, take part in any negotia- tians with any authority or person concerning the existence and the full independence of the State of Israel, nor will the Provisional Govern- ment of Israel enter any nègotiations raising any question which undermines the full independence or e:l".istence of any other State. . tions Saturday last [31Oth meetingJ we adopted a text which has become a Security Council reso- lution [document 8/801J. It contained an appeaI to the two parties and, in the penultimate para- graph, a decision indicating that, should we fail ta attain the desired results, we shall consider the application of other measures under different provisions of the Charter. The two paI1Ïes pres- ent should support our efforts by showing the good wiU which we are entitled to expect. The points which have been raised seem ta me at present highly inappropriate. We have adopted a resolution which, ta my mind, is c1ear. It is possible, nay certain, that questions of interpre- tation will arise at the time of its implementation. It is a rare textthat does not raise such questions . at the timt: of its implementation, particularly when the text is brief and applied ta so complex a situation. . ln my opinion, we must certainly leave it to the Mediator, who is on the spot, in contact with the two parties, and who sees the practicaI as- pects of the matter, to interpret the resolution adopted by us. 1 can understand that we should be consulted on the matter of interpretation if that given by the Mediator shouldbe challenged on ah important point. But an a priori discussion on the meaning of last SaturdaY's resolution would be quite premature. , We do not know whether the questions raised have any practical importance. It is quite pos- sible that tomorrow the' Mediator will induce both parties to accept a compromise solution which in practice will dispose of the problem. .moyenne 1 would suggest, therefore, that we should not continue .a discussion which, ta my mind, can have' but one result, that is, ta spoil what has been accomplished here and ta compromise the carrying out of the truce. Once more, 1 believe that we must have con- fidence in the M:diator and' leave hiI.n wide powers for the irnrlementation of the \fesolution adopted by us.

Before calling on any other speaker who may wish to speak, 1 would repeat what 1 have aIready said, .in accordance. with what has just been said by therepresentative of " France with whom 1 fully agree.· The purpose of our meeting is simply'to hear the opinions of the members of the Security Council ànd'not to If that interpretation is challenged, the matter will then be submitted to the Security Council for further consideration. Then and only then would such a point as interpretation be discussed. The representative of France has said that he does fiat feel that it is necessary to contL.'1.ue the discussion on this point, and that he feeis that the M\ediator should be given full authority to act witbin the framework of the resolutions of the,General Assembly and the Security Council, which he aIready has in hand. . In that case, if the other members of the Security Cauncil agree and if they are not now willing to give any instructiQns to the Mediator, 1 shall consider that the Security Council does not feel it appropriate, at this stage, to give the Mediator any instructions, that he should be given a free hand to act in accordance with the resolutions which he now has before him, and that the Security Council should await his first report. If there is no objection to what 1 have said, and if the members do not wish to state any opinions on that basis or on other matten: with regard to instructions~I.shall consider the debate c1osed, and 1 shall adjourn the meeting. 1 take it that the' Security Council accepts what 1 am saying. One paragraph of the resolution of the Seçurity Council instructs the United Narions Mediator to make a weekly report to the Security Council during the cease-fire. Thus, we have to wait for the first report of the Mediator. However, to provide for' arr eventualities and, possibilities, we could hold a meeting of the Security Council on Monday afternoon,,7 June at 2.30, to discuss anything which may appear necessary to be 'discussed. This question will be included as one item of our agenda of that day, and we may' also include sorne other items. As there is no objection, r shall adjourn the meeting. The meeting rose at 4 p.m. EGYPT-EGYPTE Lihrairie "La Renàissa'nce 9 Sh. Adly Pasha CAIRO AUSTRALIA-AUSTRAUE H. A. Goddard Pty. Ltd. 255a {;ieorge Street SYDNEY, N. S. W. FlNLAND-f'NLANDE Akateeminen Kirjakauppa 2, Keskuakatu HELSINKI BELGIUM-BELGIQUE Agence et Messageries de la Presse, S. A. 14-22 rue du Persil BRUXELLES FRANCE Editions A. Pedone 13, rue SoufBot PARIS, Va GREECE-GRECE "EIeftheroudakis" Lihrairie intema-:;ionale Place de la Constitution ATHÈNES BOLIVIA--BOLWIE Lihreria Cientifica y Literaria Avenida 16 de Julio, 216 Casilla 972 LA PAZ CANADA" The Ryerson Press 299 Queen Street West TORONTO GUATEMALA José Gouhaud Gouhaud & Ciao Sucesor 5a Av. Sur No. GUATEMALA CHILIe-CHIU Edmundo Pizarro Merced 846 SANTIAGO HAITI Max Bouchereau Librairie "A la Boîte postale 111·B PORT-AU·PRINCE CHINA-CHINE The Commercial Press Ltd. 211 Honan Road SHANGHAI INDIA-INDE Oxford. Book & Scindia House NEW DELHI COLOMBIA-COLOMBIE Lihreria Latina Ltda. Apartado Aéreo 4011 BOGOTA . IRAN Bongahe Piaderow 731 Shah Avenue TEliERAN COSTA RICA-COSTA-RICA . Trejos He~manos Apartado 1313 SAN JOSÉ IRAQ-IRAK Mackenzie & Mackenzie The Bookshop BAGHDAD CUBA La Casa Belga René de Smedt O'Reilly 455 LA: HABANA ~.EBANON-UBAN Librairie universelle BEYROUTH CZECHOSLOVAKIA- TCHECOSLOVAQUIE F. Topic - ·Narodni Trida 9 PRAHA 1 LUXEMBOURG Lihrairie J. Schummer Place Guillaume LUXEMBOURG DENMARK-DANEMARK Einar Munskgaard Norregade 6 KTOBENHAVN NETHERLAND5-PAY$-BAS N. V. Martinus Lange Voorhout S'GRAVENHAGE DOMINICAN REPUBLlC- REPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE Lihreria Dominicana Calle Mercedes No. 49 Apartado 656 CIUDAD TRUJILLO NEW ZEALAND- NOUVELLE-ZEI.ANDE Gordon & Gotch, .Waring Taylor Street WELLINGTON ECUADOR-EQI 'AT~UR Muiioz Hermanos y Ciao Nueve de Octuhre 703 Casilla 10·24 GUAYAQUIL NICARAGUA Ramiro Ramirez Agencia de Puhlicaciones MANAGUA, D. N.