S/PV.343 Security Council

The main subject of our discussion today will be the question raised by the United Kingdom representative and discussed at a previous [340th] meeting of the Security Council, namely, the detention of five United Kingdom subjects by the authorities of the State of Israel. A number of members made statements on the subject, and the majority considered that the question was not one capable of endangering peace and security, A letter received from the Icpresentative of the State of Israel on the substance of this matter is before the Councll. 1 think that we should now ask the Assistant Secretary-General to read out tbis letter. Ml'. SOBOLEV (.l\ssistant Secretary-GeneraJ in cha.-ge of Security Coutlcil Affairs): This docu- ~uent reads s follows: HI have communicated to the Provisional Government of Israel the views expressed at the 340th meeting of the Security Counci! on 27 July on the question raised by the Unitt:d Kingdom representative with respect to the trial in Tel Aviv of five employees of the Jerusalem Electric Corporation. In my letter of 29 J uly [S/937], 1 conveyed information received from the Provisional Government of Israel showing that this incident had no bearing on the status and immunity of United Nations premises. On the legal aspect of this quest1.on, 1 now have the honour ta submit the following facts, based on information received directIy from the Foreign Minister of Israel: soire let, de de [8/937], muniqués d'Israël fiait des juridique neur vants, muniqués étrangères "The Iaws in force throughout the territory of Israel and territory occupied by Israeli forces are those enacted by the British Mandatory Power during its tenure of the Mandate, except with respect to such legislation as has been enacted or repealed by the State Counci! of Israel since 15 May 1948. In the Official Gazette, No. 1, page 3, published by the Provisional Government of Israel, the following announcement occurs from which 1 quote in part: d'Israël et sur les territoires occupés israélies Grande-Bretagne Puissance mulguées d'Israël, No vernement vant " '(a) The Provisional Council of State is the legislative authority... en " '(b) Legislation based upon the White Paper. of 1939 is hereby repealed and becomes void.' (There follow specific references ta legislation on land purchase and immigration.) sont est l'achat " '(c) Sa long as other laws are not enacted by or on behalf of the CDUnCi! of State, Jaws valid in Palestine on 14 May 1948 remain in force in the State of IsraeL' mulguées celui-ci, tine l'Etat "It follows that the law governing the trial of these five men is that in force during the British Mandate, since no new enactments have been made·releyaut to this branch of legislation. The following measures which the courts of Israel cinq vigueur cune domaine. "4. Charges were laid on the 27 July under the Official Secrets Act and the Emergency Defence Regulations. The magistrate hcld that the prosecution had not yet produced evidence adequate for trial, and adjourned the hearing for fifteen days. The prosecution is being conducted under the personal supervision of the Attorney General. . "5. Mr. J. Sheringham, representing the British consular authorities, has been given copies of the charges and has been able to interview the accused in private. The Provisional Government of Israel has also promised visa and entry facilities for British counsel should their services be required by the accused. "6. The Attorney General is now making an effort, before the lapse of fifteen days, to accelerate the resumption of preliminary investigation before the magistrate, whereupon the magistrate will decide whether or not the ,accused will be brought for trial. "The Provisional Government of Israel regards this case as being sub judice, and accordingly considers that it would be contrary to legal principle to comment on the merits of the case itself" [8/936]. In the second letter, dated 29 July, it is stated: , "At the 340th meeting of the Security Council held on Tuesday, 27 July, l undertook to c1arify certain matters arll;~ng from the statement of the United Kingdom representative with respect to the arrest and trial of five employees of the Jerusalem Electric Corporation. l am now in a position to make a preliminary comment on one of the central points in that discussion. "2. In the course of bis statement on 27 July, the representative of the United Kingdom said: " 'The Truce Commission has previously informed us that the building from which the five men were abducted was . . . protected by the flags of the three Powers represented on the Comïp.ÎSsion. The abduction was 'consequently . an affront to the prestige of the Tl'Uce Commission' [340th meeting]. "3. The Security Council may therefore be glad to hear t'\at no issue of disrespect tù the flags of the Truce Commission is involved. Sir Alexander Cadogan's :;~atement that the Truce Commission had 'previously informed' the Council that 'the building from which the five men were abducted was . . . protected by the flags of the three Powers represented on the Commission' must be based on a misunden;tandillg. No such information relating ta the place of these arrests is conveyed by thL Truce Commission in any of its published messages on this question [8/898, S/905, 8/915, 8/920J. "4. 1 have now received information from the Provisional Government of Israel that the five men were taken, not from the power station itself, but from their private dwelling nearby, over which no flag of the United Nations or of any Power was hoisted. lt is cIear, therefore: that no issue affecting the status of the Truce Commission or of United Nations premises arises at aIl. "5, 1 am awaiting the comment of the Provisional Government of Israel on other mattérs which arose during the 340th meeting, and will communicate with the President of the Security Council at the fust opportunity" [8/937J. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): The President was good enough to calI this afternoon's meeting of the Security Council at my request; 1 made that request b.:cause 1 had been instructed by my Government to l'aise, as soon as possible, two important points in connexion with Palestine. Therefore, with the President's . permission, 1 should Iike to make a statement with ~gard to those two points. The other matters to which the President has referred and in regard to which two documents have been read out, could, 1 suggest, if the Council so wishes, be discussed later. 1 6hould certainly have some observations to make then, though, as a matter of fact, 1 think that both the Jewish representative and myself will find ourselves in the same situation, namely, that we are both 'still waiting for further information. J shall now with the President's permission make a short statement in regard to the two points which my Government wishes me to l'aise. My Government feels strongly that there are two aspects of the Palestine problem that direct1y affect the chances of finding a solution for it. These are the fate of the large number of displaced persons in Europe for whom no home has During its l.ast fifteen years, British mandatory administration in Palestine was greatly complicated by the Jewish refugee problem resulting from the Nazi persecution, first in Germany and then over a great part of Europe. It was this new factor in the situation that finally destroyed the hope with which we had administered the Mandate during the first ten years, namely, that a Jewish National Home there would deve10p in such a way as to enable it ta play a harmonious part in the development of the Middle East as a whole. Since 1933 there has been increasing pressure for the entry into Palestine of Jews displaced from their homes in :f.uroï -e, and this pressure has greatly intensified Arab fears of the consequences of Jewish settlement in Palestine. This Arab fear has been accompanied by a sense of injustice arising from the fr'c:t that other Powers have been content ta leà."~ the problem of anti-Semitic persecution ta be solved almast exc1usive1y by settlement in Pa1~stine. Palestine has absorbed more Jewish refugees than any other country, and far more in proportion ta if" total population. My Government realizes that the Economic and Social Council and other specialized agencies oftlle United Nations have special responsibilities with regard to this problem, and it does not wish to interfere with those responsibilities. On tills aspect of the matter it only wishes ta point out now that continued failure ta find a home for the displaced persons has aggravated the Palestine difficulties and will continue to do sa. If the existing agencies cannat make sorne marked progress in the comparatively near future, it will be necessary ta consider what other steps might usefully be taken. Meanwhile, apart from this already ex.isting amI well known problem, there has arisen a new problem of a siIni1ar kind and of perhaps even greater magnitude, in connexion with the Arab refugees. The General Assembly, last November, hoped that its proposais' for a settlement in Palestine would have the effect of solving the problem of Jewish displaced persans in Europe. Unfortunate1y, an even larger problem of Arah displaced persans has in fact been created in the Middle East. There are now about 200,000 Jewish displaced persans in Europe, while the number of Arabs djsplaced is certainly not less than ~50,000.Since the position of the Jewish refugees A great number of the Arab refugees p.3.ve sought shelter in ncighbouring countries. Thus my Govemment understands that sorne 56,000 are in Transjordan, approximately the same number in Lebanon and sorne 70,000 in Syria. Tàere are at present comparatively few in Iraq, but sorne 5,000 more, women and children, are likely to reach that country in the near future; In addition, there are a considerable number of clisplaced Arabs in Palestine itself. Sorne idea of the magnitude of the problem is given by the fact that of the total Arab population of Haifa, which used to number upwards of 100,000, only 3,000 at most remain. As a matter of fact, information which we have received from Jerusalem suggests that the figures which I have given are an understatement. According ta Arab social workers there, there are in all, inside and outside Palestine, sorne ,550,000 displaced Arabs and about 70,000 Arabs left in the areas of Jewish occupation, where there were previously sorne 400,000. According to the same sources, of the 550,000 Arab refugees, about 300,000 are now outside Palestine and 250,000 still in the Arab a"ea of that country. In the'le circumstances, I hope that the Security Council will think it well to impress upon the Mediator the gravity and impJrtance of this aspect of the difficult task which he has to perform. We know, of course, that he is not unmindful of it and has already begun to give it bis eamest consideration, but it might well strengthen·bis hand if the Security Council were ta lay special emphasis upon it. Apart from the 10ng-term aspects of the proble~ of Arab refugees, with which, as I have indicated, my Government hopes that the Mediator will deal, there is the even more urgent qUestion of short-term relief for them, which in our view it is necessary for the United NatiGns to consider. Sorne of the refugees are being cared for by the Arab Governments, but others, particularly in the Arab areas of Palestine, are living in extrernely precarious conditions, and it seems aImost certain that local resources will be unable to cope satisfactorily with the problem which they present. The United Kingdom delegation has no fixed ideas as to the kind of international action which would be most effective to .remedy this situation, but it is inclined t~ feel that .the International Red Cross, no doubt working in tonjunction with the Red Crescent, woul<l be the most appropriate organization, The PRE~IDENT (transtated tram Russiatt): i It is ciear from the speech of the representative of the United Kingdom that at today's meeting he is bringing up three entirely new questions having no direct bearing on the matter for which today's meeting was called at his own request. At a recent meeting [340th meeting] the representative of the United Kingdom to!d my predecessor in the Chair, Mr. Manuilsky, thatîf any documents or information on the subject of the five United Kingdom subjects detained by the authorities of the State of Israel were received ,vithin the next few days, he reserveà the right to request the President of the Security Coullcil to call a special meeting. Last Saturday 1 received a request from the representative of the United Kingdom to call a meeting of the Security Council for Monday to discuss the question of the five British subjects arrested in Palestine. Today's meeting was called to discuss this matter. In view of this, l, as President of the Security Council, am somewhat surprised by the speech made by the reprcsentative of the Ulùted King- .dom today raising three serious and important questions which undoubtedly deserve attention. But the Security Council is not prepared for a discussion of those questions, as the text of the speech just made by the United Kingdom.representative was not distributed to the members of the Council before the meeting, and the questions he has raised were not included in the d,genda in accordance with the rules of procedure. Rille 8 of.the rules of proced1!~e reads: "The Provisional Agenda for the meeti..'lg shall be communiCated by the. Secretary-General to the repœsentati'/es on the Security Council at least three days before the meeting, but in urgent At today's meeting, however, the representative of the United Kingdom has l'lot said a single ward on that subject. Consequently, 1 think members of the Security Council would e~peri­ ence sorne difficulty in discussing this matter. If no new proposaIs are received from the representative of the United Kingdom or ")ther representatives on the Security Council, 1 take it that we shall vote on the draft resolution [8/923J on the question of the five detained United Kingdom subjects submitted at a recent meeting [340th meetingJ by the represcntative of the United Kingdom. As for the questions raised today by the representative of the United Kingdom, 1 think wc cannot examine them without consulting and receivulg sorne information from the Mediator, who is dealing with all matters connected with the truce. It therefore seems desirable to bring the remarks made by the representative of the United Kingdom today ta the notice of the Mediator. The Mediator may be able ta solve these questions on the spot with the help of representatives of the State of Israel and the Arab States, and no special.examination of the matter by the SecUTity Council may prove necessary. 1 make this proposal without toucmng upon the substance of the questions brought up by the representative of the United Kingdom, and bearing in mind the fact that they were raised on the spur of the moment, without warning and contrary ta the mIes of procedure of the Security Council. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : 1 am very sarry if 1 have transgressed any of the rules of procedure.· If 1 have done sa, 1 can assure the President that it was done quite unconsciously. 1 think there was sorne slight misunderstanding. When 1 asked, on Saturday, for a meeting ta hé held this afternoon, 1 did not say specifically that it was ta deal with the five Britishers who have been abducted in Jerusalem. 1 did not, it is true, indicate ta the President exactly what question 1 was going to l'aise. 1 ~~:::~:,~~~~:~:~il~g~:~~;P~ 1 h;::~Udéjt As 1 said in my opening rcmarks this afternoon, 1 am not quite sure that we 5hould carry that to a conclusion, as 1 think the Jewish representative is still awaiting certain information, and l, too, am awaiting certain information. 1 am perfectly prepared, however, to join in a further discussion of this question, if that is the wish of the Security Council. With regard to what the President said concerning the declaration 1 made earlier this afternoon, 1 entirely agree with him. '1 think the best thing to do would be ta convey it, if the Council would agree to that, to the Mediator, with, 1 should hope, an indication that the Council itself wished to endorse what 1 said about the grave importance of this qu~tion of the Arab refugees. It is with that question that the Mediator is directly concerned. 1 do not know whether he is so directly concerned with thè; first question 1 mentioneà, the displaced persons in Europe. As 1 indicated, that particular matter is being dealt with and is the responsibility of certain specialized agencies, and 1 hope that the mention of that problem here, before the Security Council, might induce those agencies to proceed with greater expedition and effect. But 1 do not think that that is primarily a matter with wmch the Mediator would find himself, at the moment, able to deal effectively. Therefore, to sum up, if the Council desires to resume a discussion on the five kidnapped Britishers, 1 have obviously to bow to that, and 1 8h&11 be perfectly willing to join in a discussion. 1 quite understand that the declaratio~ which 1 marl~ on these other two questions was made only this afternoon and without previous warning. Members of the Council have therefore not had time to consider h, and any action that is to be taken on it might have to be èeferred to a later meeting.

If the representative of the United Kingdom is not bringing up today the question of the five United Kingdom subjects arrested in Palestine and confines himself only to the questions mentioned by him in his speech, it seems that our meeting will be a short one, since members of the Security Council need time to study these questions before they can discuss them. A., regards Sir Alexander Cadogan's remark to the effect that when he approached me on Saturday he did not say he was asking me to call a meeting of the Security Coundl to discuss Acting on the statement of the United King~ dom represcntative--Sir Alexnnder's deputywho asked that a special meeting of the Security Council should be called if additional information on the subject of the five United Kingdom subjects '.vas received, 1 called today's meeting to disctlss that question and not the new questions which are now being raised. 1 wish to make that dear. 1 caH upon the representative of Syria provided that he wishes to speak on the question on the agenda. Let me malce myself quite dear. The represt'.ntative of the Ukrainian Soviet S!l<:~alist Republic has asked to speal< in connexion with the agenda. If the representative of Syria also wishes to speak on the agenda, 1 shaH caU upon him to speak. If, however, he.intends to speak on a matter of substance, 1 shaH calI first upon the representative of the U1<:rainian Soviet Socialist Republic in accordance with the rules of procedure. Questions connected with the agenda are taken fust. Ml'. EL-KHOURI (Syria): 1 shali speak on a point of procedure and also on the other point on which the representative of the United Kingdom spoke. l do not know exactly what happened between the President and the representative of the United Kir!~dom concerning the convocation of this meeting and the purpose for which it was convoked. As far as we understood from statements in the Press, the subject of the Arab refugees was to be discussed at this meeting. Looking at the agenda for today's meeting, which, according to the rules of procedure, is prepared by the Secretariat with the approval of the President, we find that the second item is the Palestine question. The Palestine question comprise~ aH the matters concerning Palestine. Therefore, 1 came to this meeting-as 1 believe other members came-with the understanding that the Palestine question was to be discussed. This question concerns not only that of the five British subjects who were abducted in Palestine, which is a matter not closely connected with the Palestine question, but also other matters. As long as the agenda for today's meeting is the Palestine question, 1 think that the issue raised by the representative of the United Kingdom is one of greaf importance and one which should be discussed. If the President did not understand that this matter would be discussed today, but çhought that only the question of the five The questi\>u of Arab refugees from Palestine is not a new one. We have discussed that ques.. tian on severa! occasions, and we have called the attention of the Security Couneil to it on more than one occasion in the pasto It is ta be noted that this question has a very intimate connexion and relation with peace and security in Palestine, a matter in whk:h the Security Couneil is interested and concerned. It is to be noted that the greater part of the refugees, about 250,000 or 300,000, were expélled from their homes before 15 May, before the Mandate was terminated. They were expelled from Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Tiberias, Safab, and other places. They were all expelled before the Arab States interfered militarily ln Palestine. It is to be noted also that when the Arab States put forward the reasons why th.ey interfered in the matter of Palestine (S/745J, they stated that one of the important points was to repatriate these emigrants. The presence of these refugees outside of Palestine would constitute a threat to the peace, a matter which is sub:.tantially the interest of the Security Council. The Security Cauncil should try ta eliminate the causes of this threat. In arder to find graund for the establishment of the truce, which the Security Couneil has decided should be permanent until the political solution on Palestine is reached, it is necessary to remove the causes of the violations of the truce and the causes of the people's becoming upset in both countries. The presence of so many hundreds of thOl'sands of Arabs outside of their homes cannot be ignored. l agree with the President when he says that" the Security Council cannot take a substantial position on the matter of refugees before a report is received from the Mediator. That is true. We have placed our confidence and full trust in the Mediator, and rely on him to study all questions of conflict and submit bis results to the Security Council. l believe that the representative of thè United Kingdom did not say more than that. In the statement which he made today, he did not ask that the mattel" be definitely settled in the Security COU1:1cil today. He stated that the Mediator's attention should be drawn to that point by the Security Council, and that the Security Council attached great importance to the matter. In bis statement, the President said that the statement of the representative of the United Kingdom would be brought to the Mediator's attention with a view to bis taking steps in the matter and reporting to the Security CouneiL He did not say allY more than th~ '. l agree with 'c~.~ President on how the maüer should be l;,andled. l believe that the Mediator's attention should be called ta the suggestions on the question of refugees made in the Security Council by the representative of the United Kingdom. The di~placed persons for the purpose of settling new immigrants from nbroad. This is a matter which 1 think the Security Council would be interested to dis~uss.

The speech of the representative of S: "J.(, has only confirmed my view that the Security Council is not ready to discuss the questions raised today by the representative of the United Kingdom. Ml'. MANUILSKY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) (translated trom Russian): 1 shall confine myse1f to the question of the agenda, although a great deal could be said on the substance of the matter. AlI 1 actually want to do is to support the President's extreme1y correct and sensible suggestion that today's meeting should be adjourned. At the present moment it does not seem desirable to continue the meeting, for the following reasons: The first question placed before us is that of the five arrested men accused of espionage. lNe aIl know that every State has the right to protect itself against spies and tG take various measures in self-protection. Such measures are entire1y wi:hin the domestic sphere of competence of the State which arrests and detains persons accused of espionage. I should like to know in what way the arrest of five British subjects accused of espionage against the State of Israel can constitute a threat to international peace and security at the present moment. After aIl, we know of a number of parallel cases in other countries. There are even (~ountries where spy trials are artificially staged, yet the Security Council does not interfere, since it considers them to he the domestic concern of the States having recourse to such practices. In the light of these considerations I think we should be simply wasting time by interfering in matters which do not concern the Security Council and do not in any way threaten international peace and security. That is aIl I wanted to sayon the subject of the five British subjects which Sir Alexander Cadogan wished to discuss. If he opens a discussion, I am prepared to participate. Now for my second point. We have been quite unexpectedly confronted with three prob- . lems: nous les (a) the position of displaced persons; (b): the positif,., of Jewish refugees; Therefore, if the question of refugees, disp1aced persans and Jews is raised, an attempt should first be made to supply us with information of such a kind that, having studied it, we might proceed to examine this matter with a c1ear conscience. Second1y, as regards other disp1aced persons of Jewish nationa1ity, we know there are who1e groups of displaced persons living in the most wretched p1ight on the is1and of Cyprus; and it wou1d be most usefu1 if the United Kingdom Government, which has raised.a problem of such humanitarian interest, could provide us with appropriate material on that section of the Jewish population. The third point, which 1 also consider important, is the question of disp1aced persans of Arab origin; according to the representative of the United Kingdom, it a1so shou1d come under discussion in the Security Council. But how can we discuss this question if we have not a single scrap of paper, not a single memorandum and abso1utely no statistics before us? Let us at least have a memorandum on the matter. How can a question of such importance be placed on the agenda of the Security Council without any information having been made available ta it? 1 am sure that if we were ta turn ta the Mediator, he could not supply us, even if he wished, with the information which the Security: Council needs in arder ta discuss this important question, which requires a thorough investigation and verific4tion of all the facts. That lS why 1 entirely concur with the President's suggestion ta adjourn the meeting now and instruct the Secretariat ta collect f ~ necess:)~1' information on displaced persans lL Jewish and Arab nationality in different parts of the world, ta request the State of Israel and the Arab States ta supply such information, and only then ta discuss the matter. At the same time 1 should like ta express the wish that the question of the five United ~ingdom subjects arrested on the charge of subversive activity against the State of Israel shûuld be removed from the agenda.

1 should like to ask the representative of the United Kingdom whether he wlshes to withdraw the question of the five United Kingdom subjects arrested in Palestine and the draft resolution submitted by him on that Bubject at a recent meeting [340th meeting] or whether he thinks we must discuss the matter and the draft resolution today and arrive at sorne definite conclusion. . The representative of the State of Israel has already asked to be allowed to speak, but since a question has been put to the representative of the United Kingdom, 1 shall call upon him fust for an answer. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): 1 do not withdraw the question of the five British prisoners from the agenda, nor the draft resolution which 1 had the honour to submit [8/923]. 1 have said already this afternoon that 1 am perfectly willing to joïn in a discussion of that question this afternoon if the Council so desires. As neither the Jewish representative nor 1 have complete information in our possession as yet, it seems ta me we shall be unable ta reach a decision, but, as 1 have said, 1 am perfectIy willing to joïn in· further discussion of that question this afternoon if that is the wish of the' Council. Mr. EBAN (Israel): On the question of the five employees of the Jerusalem Electrlc Corporation ta which reference was made at a previous meeting [340th meeting] of the Security Council, 1 have no further information beyond that which 1 have conveyed ta the President of the Security Council and which has been embodied in the documents [8/936,8/937] which have been read out to this meeting. The first of those documents refers ta the institution of judicial proceedings, and the information which 1 am now awaiting is ïn regard ta the progress of those proceedings ta a next decisive stage. Therefore, 1 am afraid that if there were a discussion on this question at this point 1 should not be able ta say more than that the matter is sub judice, and that we should regard it as improper ta comment on the ments of the case itself at this stage. 1 understand that the President prefers ta have specifie advance notice of questions ta be raised for discussion in the Security Council. In that event, 1 should like to ask for opportunity, at an early-suitable occasion, ta raise a quemion affecting the Interpretation and application of the truce resolution [8/902], namely, whether it is a proper interpretation of the truce that the GoveÎ'nment of Cyprus, which is resplJIlsible ta the Government of the United Kingdom, should be detaining 10,000 or 11,000 refugees in Cyprus on the grounds of the age groups in which they Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : May 1 say one ward in regard to a point which has been referred to by the Jewish representative? Earlier this afternoon 1 was challenged on the question of the Jewish detainees in Cyprus by the representative of the Ukrainian SSR, The . Jewish representative has now given notice that he would like that question discussed. 1 suppose, impressed by the exchange of views we had earlier in the afternoon, he thought that this was another new question which, according to the President's ruling, would require notice before it could be discussed. 1 only wish to say that for my part 1 am perfectly ready· to make a statement immediate1y if that would help at all. There is one other point; the representative of the Ukrainian SSR also challenged me for not having distribut~d a document. He said that there ~as no paper before the Security Council on WhlCh representatives could work. 1 quite agree that that is so, but 1 followed the system, which 1 think is not entirely new, of making a declaration. That declaration, if our procedure -is the same as it usually is, will have been taken down verbatim and will be distributed to representatives. ~l,1 th~ Security C?uncil. They will aIl have It m thelr posseSSIOn lU the course of a few hours and 1 hope it will assist them at sorne later date to pursue a discussion of the subject.

1 think we should first agree on the one question we are here today to discùss-that of the Dve British subjects-and then come to sorne definite decision on the questions which were raised unexpectedly today. Three questions were raised by the United Kingdom representative, and a fourth question regarding Jewish refugees and Jews interned in Cyprus by the United Kingdom authorities was subsequently raised by the representatives of the Ukrainian Soviet SociaIist Republic and the State of Israel. Inasmuch as the representatives of the United Kingdom and the State of Israel have declared that they are not prepared for a discussion or decision on the question of the five British subjects because they have not yet all the necessary information at their disposaI, 1 do not see any purpose in our continuing the discussion of that matter at today's meeting, and 1 propose the discussion should be postponed. As there are no objections the proposaI is accepted and the discussion of the matter postponed. We must arrange the time of our next meeting and reach z.greement on the questions raised by the United Kingdom representative today. Let me recapitulate them: Firstly, the question of displaced persons on the international level, or if you prefer, on the European level, since Europe and in particulaI' the British and United States occupation zones of Germany are the main centres of concentration camps for displaced persons. A large number of displaced persons of various nationalities are living in those camps, including a good many Jews the question of whose situation was raised by the United Kingdom representative today. 1 am not sure whether there are any displaced persans in the territory of the French zone of occupati.on in Germany, but if there are, the representative of France will give us the pertinent information. The second question is that of Arab refugees from Palestine. The third question is that of assistance both to displaced persans and to Arab refugees. These are the three questions raised in the Security Council today by the representati·.te of the United Kingdom. The fourth question was raised by the l'epresentative of the Ukrainian SSR and the representative of the State of Israel. The representative of the Ukrainian SSR submitted a proposaI that the Secretariat be instructed ta obtain The Security Council will be able to deal with this matter, only if full information is available and it decides that the matter cOilstitutes a threat to peace and security and is therefore a proper subject for discussion by the Security Council. There is also the possibility that the Security Council will find it advisable to request one of the other organs of the United Nations to study the matter and make an appropriate recommendation. Ml'. JESSUP (United States of America): In the summary which the President has just been good enough to make to the Security Council on the issues before us, 1 missed a reference to an earlier suggestion which, as 1 understood it, seemed to me to be a very good one, namely, that the statement which was earlier made by the representative of the United Kingdom should be trar.smitted to the Mediator as an indication of the interest which the Security Council is takiIig in the particular question of Arab refugees. 1 mention that particularly, not through any lack of realization of the importance and seriousness of all aspects of this broad question, but because the question of the Arab refugees has been a matter under consideration in the Security Council before, and, at least according to Press reports, has been under particular consideration by the Mediator in the last few days. We understand also from Press reports that it has been the subject of negotiation with the parties concerned. ln sa far as any'of these important questions are properly subsumed under the item on our agenda, which is the Palestine question, they are obviously questions of importance and appropriate for discussion in connexion with the Security Council's consideration of the Palestine question. But the purpose of my intervention particularly, is to express the hope that the President still has in mind· that earlier suggestion of his that the Mediator should be informed of the interest at present taken by the Security Council in tms particular aspect of his negotiations in Palestine. The PRESIDENT (translûted trom, Russian) : The one does not rule out the other. Obviously, we can send the Mediator the text of the speech made by the representative of the United Kingdom at today's meeting of the Security Council. But as the representative of the United Kingdom has treated those three matters-displaced persons of Jewish nationality in Europe, Arab refugees and assistance to both those groups-as an Thus, in the course of the discussion on the matter raised by the representative of the United Kingdom at today's meeting of the Security Council, we have been presented with a single question divided into four sl:b-sections dealing with one and the same problem, that of persons of Jewish and Arab nationality displaced as a 'result of the events in Palestine. It would be a mistake to settle that question by considering its various aspects separately. Summing up today's discussion in the Security Council and bearing in mind the sensible suggestion made by the representative of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic that we should_ request the appropriate Governments and authorities for information on the questions raised by the representative of the United Kingdom, l therefore think it would be best if the Security Council were to obtain such complete and comprehensive information. Only in those conditions would it be possible to proceed to the discussion of questior.s of substance and to see whether they constitute a subject to which the Security Council might properly give its attention. The questions concerned are very important-I do not think there is any disagreement among us as to their importance-but, as l have already stated, the Security Council may possibly request sorne other organ of the United Nations to study those questions. l think that snch a proposaI will aIso meet the desire expressed by the representative of the United States of America that the question of displaced persons of Arab nationality should aIso 'be examined. M. PARODI (France) (translated trom French): l do not wish to raise any objection to the proposaI that we calI the Mediator's attention to the matters we have discussed today and, in particular, the question of refugees. l even think that this is the most normal procedure to follow. l should simply like to point out that, in my opinion, this communication should not be made in circumstances which might seem to imply that we requested the Mediator to deal with this matter first, giv.mg it priority over alI other questions. l think that it forms a part of a generaI settlement which the Mediator has been instructed to seek and that certain questions-.for exaniple, th~t of the generaI arrangements for supervising thé truce-are matters of which the Mediator shouldnot lose sight,·even for a moment. "My Government realizes that the Economic and Social Council and other specialized agendes of the United Nations have special responsibilities with regard to this problem, and it does not wish to interfere with those responsibilities. On this aspect of the matter it only wishes to point out now that continued failure to find a home for the displaced persons has aggravated the Palestine difficulties and will continue to do so. If the existing agelicïes cannot make sorne marked progress in the comparatively near future, it will be necessary to consider what other steps might usefully be taken." 1 only repeat that because it seems to me, from the course the debate'has taken, that there maybe sorne idea that the Security· Council should interfere with the proper activity of those bodies and specialized agencies which have special responsibilities in this matter, and t.hat, at least, is not the intentkm of myGovernment. It wishes only to give impu~e to the work already being done by thalle bodies by discussing the matter in general hefore the Security Council, and showing that the Security Council did take an interest hl. this aspect of the problem. Mahmoud Bey FAWZI (Egypt): At the present stage 1 shall do no more than make a passillg reference to sorne of the things that have been said in connexion with the question of the Ara~ displaced persons, and to one other point that 1shall mention later. 1 shall h _~, of course, go il'lto any detail with regard to the qu~tion of the Arab displaced persons, in view of the fact that the Council has notyet decided to open the discussion of this problem. 1 would, however, refer to a i'eply which the Council heard from the Mediator to a question 1 had put to him; 1 had asked the Mediator, on 13 July [334th meeting], whether the return of Arab refugees to Palestine, or to their homes in Palestine, should be made subject to any conditions. The Mediator's answer was: "In my opinion, there should not he any conditions whatsoever for the Arab refugees to return to their homes, if they wish to do so" [335th meeting]. - That answer was not given on 13 July, the date on which 1 had put the question, but on 14 July [335th meeting]. It was a pondered answer. . We know, of course, that this truce is indefinite. 1 am wondering whether it is meant then that those displaced persons should be dispersed and prohibited from returning to their homes . indefinitely, as indefinitely as the truce might last? My understanding is that the Mediator's reply expressed the sense of this Council. 1 did not hear any objection to it when it was made. Therefore, 1 still maintain-and 1 hope 1 am right in so doing-that this continues to be the sense of the Council, that is to say, that the return of the Arabs who have been driven away from their homes in Palestine should not, to use the Mediator's expression, be made subject to "... any conditions whatsoever ..." ln another variation on the same theme, 1 heard the representative of France say, if 1 understood him correctly, that we must link this question with others pertaining to the settlement of Palestine. Again, 1 would submit that this means that we are subjecting the return of Arab refugees to conditions. This would be an innovation for which 1 should like ta know the reason. Sorne other speakcr-l think it was the r,epresentative of the Ukrainian SSR-spoke in the sense that the question might be tied ta the whole matter of refugees and displaced persans aIl over the world, and to sorne other matters. 1 think that would mean again that we are subjecting the return of those refugees to conditions which sa far have not ex3sted. 1 shall not speak in detail now of the importance of this question, of its urgency or of the tragedies surrounding it. 1 shall not speak in any detail concerning the conditions of those Arabs, who, it is estimated, number between 350,000 and 500,000, haH a million, out of such a small population. The lowest estimate lS 350,000. These refugees had to leave their homes; they were driven away by force of anns. They were not merely inconvenienced; they were put in the impossibility of remaining in their homes. They did not have even a harvest left. That harvest was taken away. AlI who tried ta reap the harvest were forbidden from sa doing by force of arms and were shot at, many being killed. 1 shan say no more on this point, and pass on ta another which is unfortun"ltely unpleasandy similar to that of the expulsion LE the Arabs from their homes in Palestine. This point, 1 regret to say, concerns the driviIIg away of the representative of the Arabs of Palestine from the table of the Security Council. 1 do not a\. aIl consider that this is a question of non~members of the Security Council to the Council table, the President stated, "1 invite the represcntatives of .../l and then he said, "and also the representatives of the Arab Highel Committee./l Wc have already reached the stage at which the rcprescntative of the lawful people of Palestine is referred to as, "also the representative of the Arab Highcr Committee". 1 submit also, and most respectfully, that the President's ruling that this is in accordance with the practice that has already been established should not be maintained. 1 do not consider the word "established" to be a proper one, and 1 refer to our meeting here on 7 July [330tlt meeting], in which it was quite clear that the majority of the representatives on this Council were not content with the ruling on that question given by the President then in office. 1 consider the question to be still open. 1 consider that it is not a question of procedure, and 1 would welcome the opportunity of discussing it again. 1 am very glad that our sympathetic colleague from the Ukrainian SSR is still here and that 1 am not speaking on this point in his ahsence.

1 think my summing-up has covered all questions. We should also bear in mind the remarks made by the representative of France to the effect that we aIl realize the great importance of the questions raised at today's meeting by the representatives of the United Kingdom, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the State of Israel; but that those questions must not be allowed to obscure the Mediator's basic task, the question of the truce, which is the fundamental problem, and includes both the ques'cion of maiPtaining the truce and that of the solving of the ma,tters in dispute raised here today. As regards the Egyptian representative's remarks alleging that the representative of the Arab Higher Committee is in sorne way being kept away fmm the Security Council, all those present here today know that this does not correspond to the facts. The representative of the Arab Higher Committee himself left the Security Council table. At every meeting of the Council he is invited to resume his seat, but he does not come. What are we to do if he does not want to come? To sum up today's discussion, 1 think that the proposaIs submitted do not meet with any objections. They are that requrests for information should be sent to the Mediator and the Governments concerned regarding aIl four of the matters raised today: the displaced persons of Jewish nationality in Europe, the Arab refugees,