S/PV.332 Security Council

The ~ecurity Council will now consider the situatian brought about by the Violation of the truce by Egyptian troops. , MahmoudBey FAWZI (Egypt): 1 did not want to speak at aIl at thisstage, but since the Presidènt has aIready seen fit to speak of 'a violatien of the truceby Egyptian troops or by Egypt, . , 1desire to'state most unequivocally thatI 'cannot accept the levellingof such an accusation at the Egyptian Government. Theonly daimwe have that such a violation took place is this paper circulat~d in document 8/871, and 1 cannot, therefore, make any comment on,the basis that there has beeIll.a violati,on of the truce by Egypt. .on the contrary~,1 say that nosuch violation has ' takenplace. "

Perhaps the reptesentative of Israel would like to make sorne further comments and give us mqre detailedinformation, if hehas any, on Mr. 8hertok's telegram. ' Mt. EBAN' (Israel): The informationavai1~ able to the Governmentof Israel is tliat containcd iti the two documents 8/871 and 8/872 which have been distributed to the 8ecurity Counçil. 1 1 fee! that it would be easier to contribute to this discussion if the exact ~ext'of the replies of the Arab Governments --,or,,at least, the Mediator's versions of those replies -'- were before us. "The PRESIDENT (translated trom Russian) : Unfortunate1y, owing to technicaI difficulties the . document justreceived will not be available for anbther ten minutes. l have just beenpromised itÏJl five minutes. 1 do not think this·need mter.. fere with our e:xchange of views in the meantime. Mr. GROMYKO (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). (translated'trom Russian): Perhaps' we inight adjoum fOl: ten minutes. .

As there areila speakers, and as it has been suggested that we await Mr. Bemadotte's statement, wmcI"l. shouldbe hereinfive minutes' time- 1· think ,th'1.t owitrg to technicaI difficulties ,it will probably ,be ten - the·' meeting will adjourn for tenminutes. The meeting was suspended a(4.15 p.m.and resurned at 4.30 p.m. ' .

1nowask ~e Assistant Secret~ry~GeneraIto read Mr. Beniadotte's message. Mr, Hpo .(Assistant Se~retary-GeneraI, in charge of the Department of Trusteeship): The telegram from the United Nations Mediator, dated 8 July 19.48, add~essed to the Secretary- Generalconcernmgthe statement of the Mediator on the Arab, and Jewishreplies to the Media.,. tor's proposai for the prolongation of the truce isreproduced in documentS!873 and reads ~ folIows: "Statement of the 'Mediator on the Arab and Jewish replies: "The replies{roll?- the Arab and Je~h representatives havebeenreceived. The Jewish replies were handed to me by Mr. Shertok ID,Tel Aviv yesterday aftenlOon7 July. TheArab replies; the full text of which have notbeen received, were cabled to me aiHaïfa in paraphrase by my representative in Cairo, who received them earlv this mornmg from Azzam Pasha. . 1 "2. A temporary cease-fire in Jerusalem as a rnéans of concluding arrangements for the detnilitarizatjon of that city. ' "3. The demilitarization of the Haïfa refineries,,terminals and port area. "The Jewish reply agreed to a prolongation of , the truce for, a period of thirty days from 6 a.m. GMT on Friday, 9 July on the understanding that the conditions of the prolongedtruce would be substanti~lly the same as those govel'lÙI,1g the ,existing one. " , "The Arab reply, the translated text of which l has not been rece~ved, ~tates that the Arabs are not prepared to accept a prolongation of the truce' under present conditions in view oftheir experience of the past four weeks.' "A requf;st had also beèn presented to the parties that, in the event there w~ no agreement on the prolongation of the truce, a three-day .extension would be grantedin order to facilitate .: the evacuation of the United Nations observers and their equipment~ The Jewish reply accep1+d this proposaI; the Arab reply makes no specific reference ,to it and' it is apparently rejected. Despit.e this apparent rejection of the three-day extensIOn, however, aIl necessary steps are being immediately taken for the safe e:vac~ati?n of all United Nations observers and personnel and their equipment. "As regards the demilitarization.of Jerusalem, the Jewish reply has indicated a willingness to discuss this proposaI and to accept an immecliate cease-fire in JerusaIem in order that a final deci· sionmightbe reached on, dernilitarization; since the precîse meaning of the Arab reply tothe pro.. po:,,~ is not clear, a request has been made for clarificatiqn. 1have a;lso informed the Arab representatives of my willingness to meet with them in Caïro on Saturday to discuss à temporary 'cease-fire in the wbole city of Jerusalem, lookiIig toward fuîther discussions concerning.its detnilitarizatj.on. 1 have aIso informed Mr. Shertok by telephone of my desire to carry on similar discussions in Tel Aviv. .téléphone, "As regards the Haïfa proposal, the replies of the two parties are so divergent as to indicate that the~e is no' prospect of an agreement on this proposal. . ~'I am disappointed that hostilities are to' be resumed in Palestine, since it appears quite impos-' sible foi me to,obtain agreement of the two parties not to resume hostilities. 1 will now con- .centt~a~e my efforts during the. n,ext few days on obtammg a cease-fire in Jerusalem and it~ ulH· mate demilitarization. 1 will do my utmost to J "It is myinten.tion to make atull report to the Security Council at a very.early date. l donat consider my riûssion as Mediato!' tobeat an end as a result of this temporary setback. ,1 Will continue fo work on the task assigned to me by the 14 May resolution of the GeneralAssemblyl with a view, to attaining at the earliest possible day,a peacefuI adjustment of the future situation of Palestine." "Mr.. JEssup(United States of America) : The Security Council is confrontedwithanextremely serious si~uation. It is unfortunatethat, apparently due to difficulties of communication, the mêSsage we have. received from .the Mediator, which has justbeenread, isnot as complete as theSecurity Council would wish under fhe present ciJ'cUlllStances.l note that the Mediator states that he h~,notyetreceived fhe text oftheArab reply. The·summary wmch hehasgiven us here is based upona report :which he lias réceived· fromr.Ïs representativc in Cairo. There are a number of passages in this document, aS one examines iffor the mst time, wmch leave one in ·some dôubt as to the exact nature of this .Arab text· of whîch we are not yet informed. '. There is,a paragraph here .which says fhat the Arab reply statesthatthe Arabs are not prepared to accepta prolongation ofthe truce underpr,et " ent conditions. We are not irtformed of.what they niean by "present conditions", or whether they haveindicated fhat,under other conditions, they - are •prepared to acéept, a prolongation of the ~ce. . In regard to fhe three-day extension, fhe · Mediator statesthatthereisno reJerence to it: whether that means thatthere is no referencein: .the full text or in the brief text reported to hiin by bis representative, is not cIear. He says that apparently the. tlu'ee-day prolongation was_ rejected. 1 confr-J8 1 am puzzled by ,the language of the ensuing sentence wmch states that, despite the rejection, aU necessary stepsare being taken for the evacuation of aIl United Nations observers. and personnel. One would. assumethat if the 1v.fedjator meant to convey that he was sure that there had been a .comple~ rejection, .he wollld have said "because of the rejection." ln anofher paragraph he says thât. the reply of the Arab Governments in regard to the demilitarization of Jerusalem is ~ot clear, .ang that·he has asked for a clarification. ln the 1ast paragraph butane of the document, the Mediator seems to assume that hostilities are ta be resumed in Palestine. But, in the last paragraph, he considers that bis mission as Mediator It isgoing over familiar ground 'to say that a resort to force is clearly proscribed by the terros of the Charter. It is quitr. "c1ear, ID my opinion,. that in a situation in which one of the contesting paÏties has clearly indicated i~ Willingness toprolong the truce,Jhe other party could nQt allege thata resort to force was an act .based upon a necessity of self-defence. ItÎ8 not clear fr<,m the information wmch is before us in the telegram from .the Mediator, whether theArab reply to which he refers was sent before theArab Governments received the text of the resolution adopted by theSecurity Council yesterday [dhcument 8/875]. We are aware thatthe actual hour for the expiration of the truce.bas not yet ârrived; we areaware that the replies were sent inadvance. and in anticipaw tion of that hour. 'il There is surely an overriding necessity for the prolongation of the truc:.e,. which would provide anensuing opportunity for the Mediator to contÙlUe the excellent work which he.has carried on in bringing about thettuce in the firstplace and in establishing an elaborate system for the observation of the truce and for carryïng it through under diffi·· :t cîrcumstances.Pnly through· a prolongation of the truce,With a continuation of thé machinery which has been established, can it be hôped that a lasting settlement can be obtained in Palestine. Only if a lasting and peacefuI settlementis obtairted in Palestine, can·the peoJ?lesand the Governments concerned hope tü 8ecure the protection of their· vitalinterests. Neither side could hope toobtain an·advaritage from a resumption of.the fighting. Theywould reap o:nJ.y a harvest of destruction, bitternessand resentment. If they reap those·fruits, they might weIl destroy that one "common denominator" to which the Mediator refers in bis communication [documen~ 8/863] containing the text of bis suggestions submitted to the two parties on. 28 JtUle. In paragraph 7 of that paper, the Mediator says: "Despite the present conflict, there is a com- ?1on denominator in Palestine. which, happily, 18 acceptable to and affirmed byboth sides. There is the recognition of the necessity for peaceful relations betw~en Arabsand Jews in Palestine and of the principle of economic unity." .. ' Those peaceful relations between Arabs and Jews and the principle of economic unity can ctrtainly not he secured in the atmosphere which On the.basis of the document which is before us, to which 1 have already referred, it is clear that the Security Council is confronted with a certain degree of uncertainty andambiguity. 1 take it as elementary that the Security Council cannot, in any situation, act merely upon a report of a fact or an allegation of a fact by one party to a dispute. This.carries no reflection upon any party reporting a situation or making ar allegation. But the Security Councilparticularly in this situation where it is represented in Palestine by the Mediator, the Mediator supported by' a competent staff of observers - cannot act on a situation until it is clearly reported by the.representative of the United Nations in that area. 1 would asSume that, perhaps in a matter of hours, we will have â complete and final statement of the factsin this situation. If the truce has not been prolonged, if the prolongation of the truce has been prevented by the action of the Govemments which constitute one party to the dispute, or to the situation, in Palestine, a situation will confrontthe Security Council the gravity of which cannot beover-emphasized. The Security Council will have to meet upon that situation and, in so meeting, would unquestionably take into account the view which it expressed in the "resolution which it adopted on 29 May [docu=- ment 8/801], in which, in the last paragraph but "one, it is stated: "The 8ecurity Council uDecides' that if the present resolutionis rejected by either party or by both, or if, having been accepted, it is subsequently repudiated or violated, the situation in Palestine will be reconsidered with a view to action undet Chapter VII of the Charter". My. Govemment will be prepared·to carry out its obligations as a member of the Security Council and a Member of the United Nanons. Fortunately, no situation has arisen, sinee the Charter of the United Nations came into force, requiring .the full application of Chapter VII. But it must be recognized that Chapter VII is as much a part ofthe Charter as any other chapter. It must aIso be·recognized that the obligations of abstention from the use of force, the obligations to seek peaceful settlement of a dispute are essential parts of the Charter. It is my fervent hope ilictthe further news which may be communicated to the Security Council will make it clear th~t the anticipated Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): The representative of the United States has suggested that the representatives of the Arab States sitting at the Council table should give information to tile Security Council on the present situation in the East, and has stated that, in the absence of adequate information, he asks them to advise. their Goyernments of the present concern of the Security Council. In that respect, as l am one of those representatives to which reference is made, l should like to say to the representative of the United States· that it is noteasy fOl,' anypt:eacher or adviser or counsellor, however eloquent and sincere he may be, to convince the Arabs to yield meekly and humbly to te.:: situation wh~ch has been created there under force. When such hordes of foreign elements are inserted into their country and are givenauthority and militàry, moral, and politieal help to create ,a sovereign State there for themselves, in spite of the people of the country and against the interests of the inha1Jitants, who are the lawful owners of the country, and w4en such a capri~ious act has been done as the recognition of that State by' great Powers as the de facto authority and legal government there, against justice and the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, how can one say to the Arabs "you should 'yield ta such a situation without any opposition"? When it is c1ear that the Zionists '.in Palestine have aiready molested more than 300,000 peaceful and Îl:tD"_~cntinhabitants of the towns in Palestine, have expelled them from their homes after m':llesting them, and have looted aU of their be10ngings and left them as refugees in displaced persans camps to be fed bythe countries around them,- how can you tell them "you should not say anything, but should look to the Upited Nations to get justice"? , You ,say that they should have confidence in the acts of the United Nationsand in the acts of the leaders of the United Nations - the big Powers-' who are expected to display the greatest and most brilliantexamples of justice and equity and integrity, in respecting the Charter: Now these Powers say, "refrain from using force" and so on; "itis a violation of the Charter", They do not consider as a violation of the , Charter the acts which have' been committed against the Arabs in their own homes and . hea~y responsibility and shocld carry out the' terms of our resolutions. It was,triedonce, andit was said that we never were obliged to take action under Chapter VII of the Charter. The representatives here once tried to·take action under Cha.pter VII of the Charter, in the Greek case. They submitted proposaIs, and even" though their proposals, under Article 39 of.the Charter, had the necessary majority, ,they were obstructed bythe veto, and things' are stiJl going on wiL.'lout any result or action.. TheIll the General Assembly sent a Commission there and the Commission was not permitted to go anyvvhere. ' There are other things.going on now. We know that in northem China millions arenow engaged in a war among themselves and .thousands of people are being killedevery day, and the Security Council has done nothing, has not said a word about that situation, and, has not said that it is against the principles of the Charter. In.what way have the big Powers protected or defended the Charter in all respects? Everywhere they are engaging in power·politics. They have, established a case for PaleStine under power politics. In Korea they have divided' it into two sections, because of power politics.T.hey have dividedGermany into sections.because of power ,.politics. Things are still going on there and a detrimental situation exists all over the world, .while the big l?owers remain quiet and are hêlping ail, 'these animosities and; fatalities which are going i~ the United States ready to help, ready to stand up, ready to jump, in order t<> take part in that affair. Why should that be' the case? One should consider the matter from its foundation and ask himself: are the Arabs being ill-treated or justly treated in Palestine? One should consider the matter on thebasis of its origin. One should deal with the disease and its fundamental causes, and not stop with the symptoms. If the A;rabs were to give up their cause and leax~ it, to whom would they leave it? From whom could they expect justice? From the United States? From New York City? From thesepersons in the United States who now have authority? Are they impartial or are they biased toward one side, making declarations and speeches everywhere, and supporting one side, while leaving the other side to be molested and persecuted? Is that just? How ca...'1· we gain the confidence of the Arabs? What bad things have the i\.rabs done ta the world ta deserve such treatment from the United States of America or from the Unio..: of Soviet Sodalist Republics, or from the oth,er States which are supporting the Zionist cause? What is the reason for this sitùation? Is it just? 18 it correct? Let us ask any jurist in the world. 1spoke to the representative.of the United States, who isa profes~orof internationallaw. When he came to join us here, 1 we1com.ed him and said . that it would be a he1p for the Security Council 1 to have with it.a professor of ~terhati?nallaw,. and that we rrnght hope that mternatlOnal law would be respected. Let.usconsider the matter in this case. According to' the report which has just been received from the Mediator, it has been stated that the Arabs are not ready to accept a prolongation of the truce ut;lder present conditions. 1 have heard -that they have given adetailed·report about these present conditions and what has hàppened during the. last four weeks. How many things have occurred ontheJewish side?The Arabshavedone nothing new· in that time..They have not augmented or increased their force or changed their situation during the four weeks, whilethe Jews, by clandestine. and open lT.teans, and in spiteof the observers of the United Nations, have been doing all' sorts of things, and they are notsubmitting.,.,to rUIes or orde:-s. There are groups among them who are not~obedient even to their own chiefs. Things like that are going on.' Whit shaH we do? Onwh0Il"! shaH the Arabs depend in obtaining their right"'il Have they had any evidenœ during the la<J1: -rilrtyyearsthSlt their cause ortheir rights have been preserved or cared for? .Let us consider the Bl:l1four Declaration. Lord Balfour gave Palestine tothe.Je~s, saying that a national home would he established for the Jews there. Until now we have come to the United Nations and we have felt that the Charter of the United Nations is preferable to the Covenant of. the League of Nations, and that h ~re, we might find justice. We found· that, in the firllt place, the great Powers imposed·the partition plan on the countries, and by all kinds of pressure had that proposal accepted.· After that took place, they found that that proposal was impossible of pxecution. The Security Council found no way in which it could implement the proposal, because it did not fall within the provisionsof the Charter. '!.'hen .they tri~d to establish a trusteeship there. The trusteeship failed. They then turned to the preseIlt situation and said, "We, will present the ~àbs with a fait accompli. We shall recogpize the. Jewish State in Palestine, the State of Israel, aJ?d we shall estab~ish diplomatie relations." , They have allowed suç,h a situation to take place and have' furnished all sorts ofhelp by means of explosives, arms .and· ammunition. Troops andfighting men are being.trained .here in the United States and' over all of Europe, in different places, through Zionist a.1Tang~:m.ent and influence, .and these troops are being prepared te;> be sent forward~ They are being sent, not neces-: sarily openly, but through smuggling, in which the Zionists are so able. They have much capit~, throughout the world. They have· centres for aIl things. They are continuing their work in that manner. The Arabs feel that if th,ere is no justice in the world, there will be no other way except to defend themselves andtheir rights by their own me<lns. They do not care what the result will be. Ifthey are gning to perish at the hands of the. United Nations and the great Powers, then they shall perish.·They qo Dot care for life, after the present, situation~ .Have they been given any assurance of justice?· The Cauncil passed, a resolution [document 8/801] to have a tiuce in Palestine for a periodof·four weeks. We said that the Mediator shouldgo there to find a solution. The Arabs said, "weIl, let us try it.We do not wish to be consid... ered as· not· being in harmony with the wishes of the SecurityCouncil". The truce 'was agreed upon for four weeks. The Arabs have not molested anyone or violated .the truce in any way, while the other side has violated the, truce. l, have a series of telegrams here and information from my Government with. regard ta th~incidents by which the Jews have violated the truce, and my Government has submitted all of .. these .accusations to the Meçliator. The Mediator cOnSidered them as being insignificant,or as minor matters which would not endanger the situation as a . whole. . . If the United Stateswishes to continue this policy in the way in which it began; joinillg wi~ the USSR in a race to gain the fav6ur ~d satisfaction of the Zionists, that is a matter for them. The Arabs cannot support that. They rely upon the justice which they are seeking. If we are readY' to give them such justice, let us Show it in a reso.. lutioÎl making it clear that the truce willlead to a settlement in Palestine without, for instance, a . State of Israel and without,sovereignty for the Jews. The Arabs are ready, to acçept the Jews in Palestine. They will even accept those who came there illegally. They say, "we are in the fac,e of such a disaster that we will accept it and swallow it \vith patience. We will live with them on an equal footing". Let the sattl~ ,rights enjoyed by the Arabs begiven to the Jews also. Let the Jews 1iye there as theyare living in New York, for instance. They would be in a very good position there. The Arabs were never against the Jews; they are not anti-Semitic. The' Jews have, been living with them for centuries in different cities and countries. Can anyonecite any mcident where the Jews have been massacred'in any Arab' country in the past? Were the' Jews ever expelledfrom an Arab country aï any time, as they havebeen expelled from all the' States of Europe? They were massacred by the Europeans, but the Arabs never massacred nor molested them. They are enjoying equal rights and have representatives as deputies in Arab parliamç:nts. , Nous Many' of' the Armenians who were expelled from Turkey 'during the First World Warcame to Syria, and now we have there many Annenian Members of Parliament. The Armenians, ho)V- -ever, came not to establish sovereigtlty for themselves" but to live with our people peacefully without ahy separate political daims. They are enjoying the same rights as the people of Syria. Why cannot the Jews accept equal status in the same way? They are now in Palestine in good riumber~; they would be a minority, but aminority whose privileges and rights and duties would be exactly equlil to those of their compatriots, the Arabs, who have been in the country fcr thOu:, sands of years. While the Arabs are ready to make the sacrifice, to make this compromise, the Jews willnot accept . such an arrangement - they want sQvereignty' for themselves: Why? .Do they have sovereignty for themselvesin New York, or in any oilier'part of the world? They are a religion, ther exist all ôvet the world and are of differentraces, allliving This is the situation.,Accordingly, l say'to the United States: Hyou wish taact underChapter .VII" weIl, act under Cliapter VII; the Arabs are ready to be killed, even by your atomic bomb if you wish to useit and to go tothatlength; if you wish to trample under foot all principlesand justice. to humanity, weIl, do,it. The ,Arabs ,are prepared to die, under your~rJ:ns, and under the arms of the USSR, if they wish to join youin this respect. In respect to thissituation, 1 douotsee that we Can press our Government in any way. 1 said before ~at 1 did not wish to,give ',any, personal opinions, and 1 have receiyed ,no .instructions from my Goveinment, nor from any part of the Arab world. ft. is ,left for t.hem to cQnsiderthe situation at their discretion; they]mow" andthey despair of life. The are.Members of tlte United Nations, but it willbe a. pityif this meI{lbership in the United Nations is to lead them to such destructton. It'is a pity for" thern, and for the human rights, the international law and the justiceofthe world. . ' Mr.EBAN (Israel): To meettogether twelvè hoursbefore theresumption of hostilities.inPalestine and heat a familiar lecture bythe Syrian representative on' the non-existence of Jewish nationality in Palestine, is surelya fantastic'experience in international life,' an episode in irrelevan,ce which,1 would not for a moment'prolong. Instead, 1wouldaddress myself to tliedocume.nts which, are before us and, .'wmch presumably caused the Security Council to he convened in urgent m.eeting tij.is afternoon. 1 cert~y agree withtherepresentative of the United States wheriy.esays that, theM~diator's cable, [document 8/'873] is full of linguistic obscurities, but now andagain the true essential facts do manage tostruggle into 'view through The position, then, is quit~ clear: name1y, that hostilities are going to break out tomorrow morning unless the Security Council can manage td takesome action to elicit ,an affirmative reply; iilstead of the negative reply wmch the Mediator has received. ... The Syrian representative c1early indicates that he does not see a likelihood of"seeing the truce being resumed on msside; He consoles us for the thought of Jurtherbloodshed in Palestine by the comforting vision of butchery goirig on in other countries. He is clearly notgoin,g touse his influence or capacity to prevent fighting, but rather to justify it; He is dissatisfied with violations w~ich have takenpJace,' but indeed, we do-not deny that there have beenviolations of thetruce. -Two episodes of violation have taken place, WIDch _des the Mediator has certified as.,\iolations; one by the Government of. Egypt reported ten days,ago [documents 8/856, 8/856/Add.1' and 8/856/ - Add.2], and 'one by the, Government of Transjordan, reported in the;communication of the Mediator [document 8/869] yesterdayafternoon. l'revertheless, despite theseincidents, the MediatOI' turned again to the two parties and addressed aninquiry [document S/865]asking -v.hether they would notagree to prolong the truce initiated on 11 June, inaccordance with the resolutiôn adoptedby the Security ,Council on 29 May. In presenting this request to the Government of the Arab States and o,f Israel, the Mediator made the fo1l6WÏhg observations: ,tant "Therecan be little doubt that a decision to resumè fighting in Palestine will be universal1y condenmed and that the party or parties taking sucha, decision,will be assuming a responsibility which will he viewed by the world with the utmost gravity [document 8/865]." Those are the terms in which the Mediator addressed his inquiry to the Provisional Government of Israel. 1 defence of Israers integrity, and on compliance with the United Nations Charter. Those two principles are not in contradiction. They are not even separate principles, for the Charter summons aU States to>defend their integrity.and to avoid .the use of force against the integrityof any State, be it a Member of the United Nations • or 'not, be it recognized by fewor by man'y, by the great or the small among the Members of the international· .community. Indepd, the'Charter leaves no moral or legal choice to a Government which iscalled upon by an organ or a representative of the United Nations merely to desist from the use of force. And such was' the '. call which wento~t fromt.he Security Council yesterday afternoon [331st meeting]. The hab a~wer appears to have comeswiftly. The Security Council's most, solemn appeé!l, affecting the very existence 'of the Charter, and the profound senti., menti of peace-Ioving men throughout the world, have either beenopenly flouted or are; at least, in danger of being flouted. We have before us the telegram of the Foreign Minister of Israel [document S187J] in which he states: '~This morning 1 a.m., GMT, Egyptian force consisting of two' armoured columns and ihfantry'launched offensive against our positions in south Palestine. Battle now in ,progress." It is true that we haveheard a denial from tlie representative of Egypt, but if Iallow myself to be 'sceptical as, to the' value of that denial, it is beçause 1 base'myself on harsh and recent experience. On7 May. [289th meeting] 1 had the occasion to draw attention to the imminence of an Egyptianinvasion of Palestine. The representative of Egypt vehemently denied any such possibility, and he described it as "id1e rumour". A few days later, he himself came to the Security , Council to announce that thàt invasion hadtaken place [292nd meeting]. Therefore, what we are confronted with is the contravention of the existing truce, accompamed by a declaration of intention not ta prolong the truce. Ail of us may share the hope of the representative of the United States that that negative reply is notfinal. But -yve are not free, in thelight of the Mediator's cablegram, to rule out a strong likelihood or probability that such a final refusal must be contemplated. Least of all can we .ru1e Therefore, we askourselves howcan any term but "a t.hreat to the peace" conform with the situation which faces the Security COlPlcil and the civilized world at this moment? Let us assume for argQI:llent's sake that no act of aggressioll has taken place. Let Us assume thateven the negative - reply received by the Mediator may be open to modification: nevertheless, that a threat, or a danger, or a possibility of a breach, of the peace exists, is surely not open to any dou~t at aU. Five armies of Arab States are o.perating putside theit frontiers'with the aim of overthrowing the political and territorial integrity of a neighbouring State. Approached by a representative of the United Nations wi~ the request to give .assurance that they will not resume hostilities tomorrow mornip.g, they have not given any such assurance. T~e question then arises: What is the purpose which those forces will he effectively fuIfilJjng from tomorrow morning? Inàeed, what are those forces doing outside theit frontiers at aU? Are the Egyptian forces putting out a, fire, or are they going to lcindle anew a conflagration which the patient efforts of this Council, sustained hy moderate influences on both sides, have managed at length to extinguish? ' No one has attacked Egypt or Transjordan or Syria or Lehanon or any of the countries which are assodated in this refusaI to give an ùndertaking of non-aggression.. Therefore, they resort to armed force neither for se1f-defence, nor in the . de com~on' Purp9ses of the United Nations,nor in the pursuit of any other; valid purpose to the fulfilment of which they may rightfully he called. 1 should like to repeat here that Israel asks nothing of these States. It demands not an inch of their territory; it seeks'no iimitation of theit sovereign rights. And making no such daims upon them, Israel admits of no such daims which they can lawfully make upon it. In the light of the information which the Mediator personally conveyed yesterday to the Foreign Minister of Is:rael to the effect that the Arab Governments had rejected both proposaIs, maximum and minimum, for the extension of the truce, there oliviously remains no doubt of where Israel's duty lies and of the preparations . ,,:,hich it ought to make. ' But in our view there is no doubt, either, of the responsibilities whichthe Charter imperative1y requites' the Seèurity Council to discharge. The Government of Israel is prepared now and shackl~ confederations of the previous age. To reconcile political indepeudence and sovereignty with theevident need for regional co-operation, is the modern Ideal of international relations. That is thelanguage of the.Charter, and'that is the only language which Israel can speak in international councils. But ,how different is that languâgefrom the terms of this Arab refusal and, 'of the Syrian speech this afternoon, with their sinister arrogatian of justified responsibility for setting fire to the Charter and to the hopes of peace;.loving· men throughout the worId! 1have said that in the event that hostilities are resumed, Israél's dutYwill shine clearly before it. 1 cannot expressthat duty otherwise than by repeating what was said on behalLof the State of Israd wheIi it :fust'became the victimof this aggression. li the Arab States want peace with Israel, theycan have it. If they want war they can have that, too.But whether they have peace.ils or war,. they will have it only with the State of Israel. . We .could .' most fervently have wished that sorne echo of the Charter and of world opinion had reached the ears of the Arab r~presentatives, 50 .that they might have discerned, or might still discem, the prospect of mutual harmony, and set that prospect above the temptations of sterile conflict. If that had come to pass,. then the peaceful cOaoperation of the sovereign independent Israel with sovereign independent neigh- ,bours.would become a perfectly simple and feasible prospect. But if this aggression is resumed - and aU indications are that it will be resumed pec~ations uponthe :messages and the 'documents which we have received,.arid we fear that the ordinary Iogic and momentum of '~vents in the present circumstances, failing sorne urgent action by the Security Council, will fail to bring about any such change.. - . , Since the representative of Syria, has ,re1ated this discussion ta a more general context, 1 would oruy say one word on'the United Nations aspect ofthis controversy. The principles of international co-operation are associated in histoty with the immemorial prophetie ideals of Israel, and this community of historic 'experience, together with the consdous motives, of if] contemporary' life, may help to explain Israel's record of unbroken compliance with the recommendations and the policies of the United Nations. The Government of Israel came into existence as -a result of the incentives oÎ'thé General Assembly's recommendatiori. It aœepted and complied with the Security.Council's ceasefire appeal [doèument S/723], it accepted arid complied with the Security Council's second' cease-fire appeal [document S/773], it accepted a~d complied with the" Sècurity Council's truce resolution of 29 May [document S/801], and it accepted and complied with the interpretations given to that reSolution by the Mediator. It cooperated with èvery organ, commission, representative or agent of the United Nations which .-this Organization h.. ever assigned to the . adjustment of this problem. " Now, despite and after all this, Israel is again menaèed by a definite prospect of violent attack, in direct repudiation of this Council's will. Will not Israel in that case be'entitled and compelled to invoke the aid of the United Nations; of which a primary purpose is to suppress acts of aggression, or other breaches of the peace? Can ~Qse who previously doubted if the means of peaceful settlement had been exhausted possibly retain a vestige of their doubts when a negative reply to·this truce prolongation pro'" posal is received? Does anybody now need any proof or token to indicate where the guilt of .aggression lies? Can· anyone say that no threat . to peace exists, if at this moment we have a communication from the Mediator expressing It is in that spirit that.the defenders of Israel .at this moment are preparing totake up their heavy tasks with·redoubled energyand insp~I"a­ tionj in the knowledge that their cause, if the fight is thrusi upon them, will be linked with the defencê of. universallleace; We are moreover convînced, as is the representative ofthe Uniteri . States, thata refusal to complywith the resolutionadopted.yesterday cal1ing fora .prolongation .of the, truce, would surely bring to ,an end thepossibilitiesof a settlement of this. dispute except under Chapter VIl of the Oharter: In conclusion, lwouldrefer to anastonishing passage, in ,the Mediator's telegram [document S/873]wherein he says:'"Iamdisappointed that hostilities are to be resumed in Palestine, since it appears quiteimpossible for m,e to obtainagreement ofthe twoparties nottoI'esume hostilities." The sensé of thatobserVation is that neither PartY hasagreednot toresume hostilities and, therefore,both are responsible if hostilities are resumed. Surely, this isn'otan a~curatesentence, ,being refuted byan earlier 'part of this cable, in \Vhich the Mediator makes •it c1ear" that the Jewish reply hasbeen~ativeand the Arab feply negative. If is'also. rèfuted, bythe reply of the Provisional Government of Israel to' the Mediator, which' he quotes a'3 follows: "'l'he Jewish'reply agreed to a prolongation ofthétruœ f()r aperiod ofthirty daysfrom 6 a.m. GMT oll,Friday, 9 July on the ,understanding 'thatthe conditions of the.prolonged truce, would be supstantially die same as those governing the existiDg one." We ,ascribe t..his error to inadvertence, but th~ Provisional Government of Israel would Iike, to ask for this mistake tobe br.ought to the,notice of the Mediator in order that hemay bring it into accord with accepted standards ofaccuracy. The PRESIDENT (translated· [rom, Russian): If thereare no'Illore speakers,. 1 sliall. "'!!k t'te UJ;litedStates representative whetherhe·h~ any written suggestioI,lS in connexion with.his statement whichcould be placedbefore the Security Council as a proposaI designed to remove the . threat which hasnow arisen in Palestine. , Mr. JEsspp(United' States' of America) : Noi"'r have no.written-proposal' to submit. 1 , 1 would. add that we must naturally ask not only the Mediator, but also the Arabs, for in· forination, .and, perhaps, obta:in sorne ·additional data from the State of Israel. Mr. GROMYKO', (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (translated trom Russiàn): 1 agree with .the President's proposaIs. He does appear to •have insufficient iI!formation 'on the present situation in .Palestine. Itis dear from the· Mediator's message that it was dispatched to the Security . Council before the Mediator had received the news of the·resumption of hostilities in Palestine. It would therefore·be pedectly in order to invite the Mediatorto report tothe Côuncil without delay on the present. situation in Palestine. Furthermore, 1 think it perfectly correct to draw the ,attention of the Arab State.'l to the fact that ther should ,immediately report· to the Security Council on the present situation in Palestine and on theii'attitude to it; 'theirreply ,shou.1d be sent to the Coundl, because if we rely on the Mediator alone much·· more timc will be lost before we can obtain t.his information. - Instead of recommendhlg these States to get in touch with the Mediator _. sothat we may then rèceive information on their attitude .through him - it is essential, as 1 have aiready said, to caU uponthe Arab States to submit suehinformationto the· Security·Couneil directly and withoùt delay. It would be well if this informâtion couldbe submitted tomorrow, so that the Çouncil may at.once deal with it, form definite conclusions and take a. decision on the situation which has .now arisen·in Palestine. . ~e sion Palestine. M."Gromyko russe.J: prendre nent d'être communiquées par dtïstaël, .pour qui hostilités 1 should like to add a few words. It is. clear from, ~e informati~n already received, by the Security Council, name1ythe message from the ~inister for Foreign Affairs of the State of ===Israel, that the. situation now arising in Palestine is ~erious, as hostilities have)'Jeen resumed. The Seeurity Council must, thercfore, come.to sorne

We tberefore have before us a proposai made by me and elaborated by the representative of the USSR, name1y to request' further information from the Mediator and, above aIl, from the Arab States which, according ta Mr. Shertok's and the Mediator's telegrams, have launched an offensive in viola~on of the truce. 1 would ask the Secretariat ta ensure that we receive a reply from the Mediator, and to request the Arab States represented here ta submit the required information if possible not later than tümôrrow, sa that we can meet tomorrùw aftemoon. Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): The telegram of the Mediator said nothing to the effect that aggressive action had been taken to violate the truce. He does not say what the President said - at least what 1 understood from the interpretation of the President's remarks into English. The Mediatordid not say anything of that nature. The President's statement was to the effect that, on the basis of the telegrams from Mr. Shertok and' the Mediator, there are aggressive actions viulating the truce from the'Arab side. There is riothing of that nature',from the Mediator. How are you going ,to ask the Arabs if the Mediator said that, when the Mediatorsaid nothing of the sort? Sa, if youare goingto ask the Arab States, or the Jewish authorities in Palestine, or the Mediator, togiveus 'a report, as early'aspossible, on the present situation and their attitude towards the future of Palestine, will you please show us the text of that telegram? If you are consideriilg making a proposal,regarding asking,for information about the present,situation and putting it to' the vote, we shaIl be ready to consider it. Would you please put ,it in that form?

1 cannot judge without the necessary information. We can' therefore entrust the Secretariat with the drafting of the text " . . Mr. EL~KHOURI (Syria) :translated [rom French): Solely to ask for information . .. ' The PRESIDENT (translated trom French): In particular, information about the a:r,~usations contained in the Mediator's tf.;legram. , Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria) (translated trom French): The Mediator's telegram COlJ.taÏ!J.S no accusations. The' PRESIDENT (translated trom, Frénch) : There is the accusation that the 'Arabs .have rejected the proposal.to prolong the truce. AUSTRALIA-AUSTRALIE H. A. Goddard Pty. Ltd. 255a George Street SYDNEY, N. S. W. FINLAND-FINLANDE Akateeminen Kirjakauppa 2, Keskuskatu HELSINKI BELGIUM-BELGIQUE Agence et Messageries de la Presse, S. A. 14·22 rue du Persil BRUXELLES FRANCE Editions A. Pedone 13, rue Soufllot PARIS, Va GREECE-GRECE "EIeftheroudakis" Librairie internationale Place de la Constitution ATHÈNES BOLIVIA-BOLIVIE Libreria Cientifica y Literaria Avenida 16 de Jullo, 216 CasiIIa 972 LA PAZ GUATEMALA José Goubaud Gouhaurl & Ciao ,Sucesor 5a Av. Sur No. GUATEMALA CANADA The, Ryerson Press 299 Queen Street West TORONTO CHILE-CHILI Edmundo Pizarro Merced 846 SANTIAGO HAITI Max Bouchereau Librairie "A la Boîte postale l11·B PORT·AU·PRINCE CHINA-CHINE The Commercial Press Ltd. 211 Honan Road SHANGHAI INDIA-INDE Oxford Book & Scindia House NEW DELHI COLOMBIA-COLOMBIE Libreria Latina Ltda. Apartado Aéreo 4011 BOGoTA. 'IRAN Bongahe Piaderow 731 Shah Avenue TÈHERAN COSTA RICA-COSTA-RICA Trejos Hermanos Apartado 1313 SAN JOSÉ IRAQ-IRAK Mackenzie & Mackenzie The Bookshop BAGHDAD CUBA. La Casa Belga René de Smedt O'Reilly 455 LA HABANA LEBANON-LIBAN Librairie universelle BEYROUTH CZECHOSLOVAKIA- TCHECOSLOVAQUIE F. Topic Narodni Trida 9 PRAHA 1 LUXEMBOURG Librairie J. Schummer Place Guillaume LUXEMBOURG DENMARK-DANEMARK Einar Munskgaard Norregade 6 KJOBENHAVN NETHERLAND5-PAYS-BAS N. V. Martinus Lange Voorhout s'GRAVENHAGE DOMINICÀN REPUBLlC- REPUBLIQUE DOMINICAINE Libreria Dominicana Calle Mercedes No. 49 Apartado 656 CWDAD TRUJILLO NEW ZEALAND- NOUVELLE-ZELANDE Gordon & Gotch, Waring Taylor WELLINGTON ECUADOR-EQUATEUR Muiioz Hermanos y Ciao Nueve de Octuhre 703 Casillli 10·24 NICARAGUA Ramiro Ramirez Agencia de Puhlicaciones MANAGUA, D. N.