S/PV.349 Security Council

1 propose the following schedule of work: the discussion of the question of the Free Territory of Trieste to be c::ontinued at the meeting seheduled for Monday, 16 August, at 11 a.m., the further discussion of the Palestine question ta take place at a meeting called for this afternoon at 3 0'clock. As there are no objections, we shall adopt this programme. THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINTH MEETING .Held at Lake Success, New·York, on Friday, 13 August 1948, at 3 p.m. President: Mr. J. MALIK. (Union of Soviet . Socialist Republics) . Present: The representatives of the following countries: Argentina,·Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Syria, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States of America.

1 call 1;1pon Mr. Sobolev, Assistant Secretary- General, to give us briefiy some information on the documents which have recently been teeeived by the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. Mi. SOBOLEV -.(Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Security Council Afi'airs): Since the last meeting of the Security Council on the Palestine questipn [343rd meeting], a number of documents have been received which are relevarit to the issue appearing on the' agenda of today's meeting of thé Security Council. 1. shouId like to draw the Council's attention to some of the more' important documents which have a direct relevance to the matter under discus:i!ion. 1.should like' to draw your attention to documents whichhave been received from the. Mediator concerning- Arab refugees and ·displaced persons. These are documents which were sent to·the Security Counc"îl in response to the The Provisional Government of Israel presented a number of documents concerning the same questions which' were put to it. They are reproduced "as documents 8/946, 8/965, ând 8/949. We also have a new letter from the representative of the United Kingdom to the Presi.. dent of the 8ecurity Council concerning the assistance to be given to the Arab refugees. This new letter is reproduced in document 8/962. 1. should like ta draw the Council's attention to several communications concerning the general situation in Palestine and the observance of the truce. Among them are two communications concerning the latest events in Palestine. One of them deals With the demolition of the Latrun pumping station. It is a: cablegram from the United Nations Mediator addressed to thé 8ecretary-General concerning this matter and is reproduced in document 8/963. There is also a cablegram from the Foreign Minister of the Provisional Government·of Israel to the same effect, which is rêproduced" as document 8/966, and which has been distributed today. There are two cablegrams from the Mediator concerning the general situation in Palestine and the observance of the truce which are reproduced as documents S/955 and 8/961. 1 think this covers the communications to the 8ecurity Council on thé matters under discussion. Mr. EBAN (Israel): Attention has been drawn to document 8/966 in which the Foreign. Minister of the Provisional Government of Israel recounts the events that.led up to the demolition, by explosion, of the pumping station at Latrun. On a trivial note, may 1 offer· a correction of the text. In the eighth line, thereis a reference to an attempt to force one million Jews of Jerusalem to capitulate. Unfortunately, the figure is only 100,000., With reference to the contents of.this cable; 1 believe that it would not require a long argument to, convince.' the Security Counéil that the persistent andforcible denial of Jerusalem's water 'supply .is a grave violation .of the truce. The 8ecurity Council has, indeed, already pr.o- "1 have informed the Prime Minister of Transjordan that this situation'is in clear violation of the terms of the truce ..." [S/869] jordanie séance, Mter a brief discussion at the 331st meeting, the President of the Security Council ruled that the Mediator's interpretation be upheld. He said: "1 consider L.~at the adoption of today's resolutioll. [S/875] means the Mediater must also take measures regarding the supply of water to the inhabitants of the City of Jerusalem." sures le On 13 July, [333rd meeting], the Mediator Teported to the SecurityCouncil as follows: l'approvisionnement "Unfortunately, the water supply question for Jerusalem had not been fully solved . . . owing ta thedelay ... of certain Arab Governments in arrang=.illg for the water supply for Jerusalem." Tlle Council then will note that this· truc;e violation had already been in progress for four weeks before it was considered by the Security Oouncil, and that it has now contmued for another four weeks in defiance of the express ruling given by the Mediator and upheld by the Security Council. In the fighting which ensued when the Arab States refused to prolong the truce after 9 July Ras-el'Ein was captured by the armed forces of Israel, which also established their control over the entire SYSte.l11 of pumping stations with the exception of Latrun itself. When this ·locality, however, was also about to snccumb the truce imposed by the Security Cauncil may he deemed to have prevented it from being joined up with the rest of the pumping system. The responsibility of the Cquncil, therefore, to ensure a solution of this problem was visibly increased. sion ,longer tème Since ·the truce was renewed, the Provisional' Government of Israel has constantly made representations on this matter to the Mediator's staff, reinforced this time by the Truce Commission which addr~ssed the Security Council on 2 Augtist painting. out the conditions that might result from the Arab persistence in refusing to allow water and food supplies to reach Jemsalem. The Truce Commission said: . l'eau c<That clause was never observed during the first truce, and has not been observed up to the fifteenth day oi the second. As the Arab Legion holds only a single pumping station and a small section of the pipe-line in the Latrun sector, there is reason to fear that in utter despair, and under pressure from the civil population of Jerusalem, :whick has been strictly ::ationed in water since 10 May, the Jews may launch an attack on that sector." [S/938J Then the Commission went on to requestthat was on 2 August-that the Security Council should, in its own words "... taken an urgent decisiorr on the matter'". ' A few days ago these protracted negotiations reached a new, and what appeared tc·be a more promising, stage. Since the denial of Jerusalem's .water supply had been certified as a violation oi the truce, the ProvisionaI Government of Israel was,cntitled to daim the unconditional reopenmg of that water supply in the name of the truce.. However, for the purpose of conciliation and in close accord with the Mediator, the Goveroment of Israel decided to contribute to the generalpacification of that area by a simultaneousagreement to allow the inhabitants of the villages of Ajanjul and Buweiriya to pass through .Israel lines and return to their villages . from'.Vhich they had fled during the fiercefighting about Latrun before the second truce came intoeffect. There .was, of course, no assumption or admissio~ that the Arab duty tareopen the water supply was conditional in any way upon this local resettlement project. That duty was an' absolute duty, essential for the maintenance of the •. truce.•But it was thought that a. concerted' settlement of these two separate issues would produce a better atmosphere on both sides. . The Mediator's staff accordingly tookover the.control of the Latrun station a few' daysago 'and the Mediator gave public assurance that the , pipeline would be working within 48 hours~.It , was whilethe pumping stationwas under the jurisdiction of the United Nations observersthat it .was blown up.yesterday morning and destroyed. TheArab Legion, wmch .is the responsible military authorityforthat loqtlity,was either directly responsible for the incident or eIse is cIearlynot in effective control or able to emorce' the fulfihrtént. of' its own international' com· ~ciJ.ts. What emerges quite clearly frolp. tlIis'.uniuspiring storyof. the .past nw.e. weeks .is that neither. control of theLatrun .pumping station bythe ArahLegïon nor itsprotection.by'United' Nations personnel appearsable tofulfil an essential condition of the truce,uan:J,ely, the These general considerations of international ethies merge with the forma! fact that we are faced. with a.violation of the truce agreement Md defiance of the Mediator, the Truce Commission and the Security Couneil. l am accordingly instructed to make the following declaration on behalf of the Provisional Government of Israel. This event has demom;trated· either the Arao Legion's bad faith or it. inability to prevent a major violation of the truce. The Mediator's mission, despite sustained effort, has been unable to secure the resumption of the water·supply either by negotiation or by direct action, or even to protect the plant from· destruction. The Provisional Government of Israel therefore suggests that Israeli personnel be authorized to occupY the pumping station for the purpose of repairing the damage, and also thit assistance be given by the United Nations to obtain the necessary machinery in the shortest possible·time. If the resumption of the water supply is not thl'S assured, the Provisional Government of Israll will surely be able to Tegard itSelf as free to take whatever action it may deem appropriate with a view to· ensuring the full-scale water supply of Jerusalem which is an ~sentia! condition of any truce. . Mr. EL-KH:OURI (Syria): Remarks have been made about a·violation of the truce in connexion with the water supply for Jerusalem. As tovicilations of the· truce, the following statement appears at the bottom of page 3 of document 8./961, ,a cablegram from the Mediator dated 12 August ~948: ' "My Ob::'l_ ,'ers have given me sufficient proof that the Jewish positions by Ajanjul and on the ridges northw~t of this village commanding the road from Beit Sira over BeitNuba towards Latrun were occupied by Jewish forces after the beginnïpg of the truce"-I stress that those places were occupiedafter.the beginning of the truc~"andthat these positions have since then .been. fortified. As a result of the occupation the Arab inhabitantsof the villages.of Ajanjul and Buweiriya have fled and are now stationed in Beit Nuba." It would .appear, then, th~t the· Jews have violated the tmce ftom the· very beginning and continue to do so. . I.might notethat my Government approached thf.. Secretary-Generaland the Security Council on various occasions, pointing. out specifie cases "It results from impartial reports that the Jews have, generally speaking though not on all occasions, been the more aggressive party since the renewal of the truce." 1 am not relying upon reports or accusations made by one of the parties. The United Nations has a Mediator in Palestine, and it certainly has to pay careful attention to what he says. What he says is that, on the basis of impartial reports and after study and verification of the situation, the Jews ha~e been the more aggressive pany since the renewal of the· truce. As to the matter of the water supply for Jerusalem, that situation existed before the truce; it does not result from a new action undertaken in regard to the water supply. The continuation of a situation which existed before cannot be considered to be a violation of the truce. There is another point which has to be considered: the Security Council resolution of 15 July [S/902] ordered that the City of Jerusalem be demilitarized and that such demilitarization be the first objective of the Mediator in order to give effect to that passage of the resolution. So far as 1 know, and on the basis of the reports from the Mediator which have been read here, the Arabs immediately accepted the demilitarization of Jerusalem but the Jews did not. If Jerusalem is to continue to be a centre of fighting, no conditions for providing water or for giving facilities for convoys or for rendering other supplementary assistance to the Jews are to be allC"wed. Whèn the City is demilitarized and the Je;ws agree that it is to be an open city, with no arh"!.ed forces in it,· the Arabs will be ready to provive aU facilities for bringing about normal conditions in Jerusalem. However, as long as the Jews claim that Jerusalem should be a part of their territory, that they have to control it and appoirit a Govemors thatthey are going to arm it and make it a dangerous place not only for the Arabs but aIso for .the Holy Places, the Arabs cannot yield tothe desire of the Jews that the above-mentioned facilities be accorded. Let the Jews agreethat Jerusak~__ shall become a demilitarized city, with no armed forces of either the Arabs or the Jews and with no fighting of any sort, then the matter will be solved very easily. The Mew::a.tor makes the following statement in bis cablegramof 12A,ugust: mesure la Jéru::lalem. avec ne que de que Up to this point, however, we have received no information from the Mediator to the cffect that the Jews have accepted the proposal for the demilitarization of Jerusalem. That question is connected with the question of the water supply and it should not be considered separately. Let ,';he Jews accept the resolution of the Security CouDcil and the proposal of the Mediator and the matter will be settled thereby. There is another question that is tied up with th,;: matter of the water supply. There are a certain number of people in Jerusalem who wish to have the question of the water supply put before the Security Council and who wish to force the Arabs to give way as regards t..ltat question. They do not care for the half million Arabs who have been expelled from their homes and whose homes are now appropriateà or occupied by Jewish immigrants and Jewish forces. Would it be humanitarian to think only of a certain number of Jews living in Jerusalem? If Jerusalem's water supply is eut off, it is not only the Jews, but also the Arabs, who will suffer. The water that enters Jerusalem cames ta both sides. 1 think that Jerusalem is inhabited by Arabs and Jews in approximate1y equal numbers. This is one matter in which the Arabs cannat profit. But if the Jews were to have free communication with and entry into Jerusalem, they would fortify it as they fortify any place which they occupy and they would make it a centre of fighting. That would not be consistent with the resolutions of the Security Council or with the intentions of its members. It is knoVln that at present the most important question ta be considered by the Security Council is the question of the refugees, and the Mediator is working on that problem. The Jews are adamant in this respect; they yield ta no request. They do not allow the owners of property to return ta their homes. It is believed that an enormous number of people, more than hal! a million, are now without homes. Most of them are penniless; they were not allowed to take anything with them, not even their c1othes, when they left their homes. It is stated in one of the reports of the Jewish authorities that the flight of the Arabs was subsequent to the Arab States' atJack on Palestine. That is not true. The Aràb Statesàid not makeany attack on Palestine, or any entry into Palestine, until aftel' 15 May when the Mandate was terminated. We know very weIl that, during the month of .April and early in May, Arab towns falJ.i.ng within the area of Jewish occupation werc molested. The cities of Tiberias, Safad, Acre, Haifa and JafIa were aIl emptied of their Ara.b populations, amOlmting to more than ~100,000, before 15 May. To say now that the a\ttack of the Arab States upon Palestine.gave rise to this 1 do not see that it would be at aIl reasonable ta lay down any conditions on which the Arabs , will be aIlowed to return ta their homes. They should return without any conditions. The property concerned is the property of the Arabll. Are they ta be forced out andis their property ta be appropriated by the assailants without any cause? That would certainly be absurdo 1 do not believe that the question of the Arab refugees can be connected in any way with the question of the Jewish rdugees or the displaced persans in Europe. One matter has nothing to .do with the other. The displaced persons in Europe are not refugees leaving Palestine; they have not been expelled from Palestine or from any Arab State. They were expelled or they withdrew,from their homes in Europe. They are foreigners in Palestine; theyare not Palestinian citizens. We should repatriate the Palestinian citizens and put them back in their homes before wc think, of introducing into Palestine new groups of, foreïgners who have no <;onnexion with Palestine, who have no business there, and who do not possess any property or position in that country. The displaced Jews in Europe are not the concern of, the Security Council and should not be discussed together with the Arab refugees. One group has nothing to do with the other. The General Assembly established the International Refugee Organization which has been' working hard and which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars for those displaced persans who are not aIl Jews; so~e of them are Jews, and others are of other nationalities. In a paper which is now before me, this expression is used: ."Displaced persons of Jewish nationality in Europe" [Sj965].J do notunderstand hew people aIlow themselves ta use the description "Jewish nationality". What is this so...called Jewish nationality? Wheredoes it exist? the word "Jewish" refers to a religion. ls there a Jewish nationality? Dowe speak of a Christian nationality or li' Moslem nationàlity or a Buddhist nationaIity? Every Jew, in Europe or any other place,.has his own nationality. 1 do .not believe that there is any Jew now in the world who is without nationality, who is state1ess. AlI of them have their nationality and have their certificates of nationality, showing that· they belong to one 'of-the vari.ous, States of the world. 1 do not know of any Jewish nationality 'now existing anywhere; what we have to deal with is displaced persanS. . 1 should like to caU the attention of the Security Council to a passage' in the constitution of the International' Refugee Organization, "The Organization should endeavour to carry out its functions in such a way as ta avoid disturbing friendly relations between nations. ln the pursuit of this objective, the Organization should cxercise special care in cases in which the re-establishment or resettlement of refugees or displaced persons might be contemplated, either in countries contiguous to their respective countries of origin or in non-se1f-governing countries. The Organization should give due weight, among other factors, to any evidence of genuine apprehension and concern felt in regard to such plans, in the former case, by the conntry of origin of the persons involved, or, in the latter c~se, by the indigenous population of the nonself-governing country in question." That is, displaced persons should not be resettled in non-self-governi.pg countries against the wishes of the indigenous populations of those countrie:>. The Arabs form a great majority of the indigenous population of Palestine. They consider that Jewish immigrants who enter the country are, being admitted to Palestine, and not to the so-called Jewish State, because the Arabs do not recognize that there is yet a Jewish State in Palestine which has been established in accordance wiili international law. As long as the majority of the population objects ta the cominb of these Jews to Palestine and as it would disturb Jriendly relations between nations, their coming Th\ forbidden by the resolution of the General Assembly. To have this matter of the displaced persans in Europe connected with immigration into Palestine at the request of one of the members of the Security Council is certainly not an impartial suggestion and would complicate the situation and make' the discussion of the Arab refugee problem very difficult. The urgency of the Arab refugee question necessitates immediate resolutions and arrangements. .arabes. If the members of the Council will look at the description of the way in whièh these Arabs were expelled from L1.eir homes, whièh is contained on pages 2 and 3 of document 8/957, the lett~r from the Arab Higher Committee, they will read of actions which are· far from showing any human consideration or sense of justice, logic or morality. Yet, we are avoiding the discussion of this subject now and arespeaking 'of those Jews who are retained in Cyprus, and th08e who are displaced persons in Europe. The latter are receiving enormous.help .from the United States and from the refugee organizations and are living there very happily, w;hile the Arabs who have been newlyexpelled from their' hor.nes are entitled to the full justice of 1 believe that these points should be consid. ered and that the demilitarization of Jerusalem should be effected very soon, in arder ta avoid difficulties for the whole city. At the same time, the truce should be faithfully observed in Palestine so as ta allow the Mediator ta find approaches towards a peaceful adjustmcnt of the future status of Palestine. Wc should not allow the Jewish position ta materialize in the end through action of the Security Council, by ordering the Arabs ta accept the truce silently and quietly and leaving the Jews ta continue and finish their programme as they wish under the supervision of the Security Council and the United NaticIDs. Mr. EBAN (Israel): The speech ta which we have just listened had many interesting passages but 1 daim that few of them are relevant ta the specific matter which 1 attempted ta raise, namely, whether ~r not the Security Council is interested in the resumption of the Jerusalem water supply. The question of demilitarizing Jerusalem is an important question, but, 1 daim, has no connexion with this particular episode. As a matter of fact, the resolution of 15 JuIy [8/902] does not order the demilitarization of Jerusalem. There is no obligation, on any party, ta agree to the demilitarization of Jerusalem. It appears in the trUCf' resolution as an objective on behalf of which the Mediator is called upon tocontinue bis efforts for agreement. But the fulfi1ment· of that directive is not a prior condition for the observance of the·truce itself. What 1 am trying to prove is that whether or not JerusalelI' is demilitarized, whether or not a scheme is devised for its provisional or 'permanent status" the denial of its water supply is unconditionally and, under all circumstances and at any time, a violation of the truce. Whether or not a solution of the Arab refugee problem is found; the resumption of the water supply of Jerusalem is a dictate of the Security Council. 1 cannot follow the argument of the representative of Syrïa to the effect that the situation of Arab refugees makes the question of Jerusalem's water supply irre1evant, or ju&-t.ifies the destruction of the pumping Sf.ltion at Latrun. The fact is-and this is the oilly essential factthat the Secmity Council, the Mediator and the Truce Commi'lsion have repeateclly ruIed that the denial of Je.rusalem's water supply is· a violation of the truce. We therefore cannot imagine how the Council couId have allowed this violation to proceed week by week, month by month, until it culminated yesterday in the most defiant violation.

The fact that no one wishes to speak on this question shows that the Securîty Couneil is not ready ta discuss the questions raised by the United Kingdom representative at the previous meeting of the Security Council or the qUŒtiOns which arase in connexion with a series of documents received by the Security Council, and on which the representative of the Secretariat has given us sorne information today. The explanà:tion, it would seem, is that t:lle . Security Council does not possess as yet suffident information on the general problems raised in the Council by the United Kingdom representative-I am referring to the two fundamenta! problems of Arab :refugees and Jewish displaccd persons. No replies to the questions put by the Secretariat have been received yet from the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Arab States, nor has the Security Council received the p:romised information from the Mediator. . Thus it would seem that the Security Council should discuss these two fundamental'questions at one of its later meetings. The third problem is not so wide in scope- 1 am referring ta the problem of Jewish refugees in Cyprus which was raised at the previous meeting of the Security Gouncil and which has been raised again before the Security Council by the representative of the State of Israel inhis written documents [8/965J 81946] and oral statement [343rd meeting]. There have been no .::uggestions regarding this question and it would seem . that it too will be discussed· at later meetings. The most acute and urgent questionto arise at today's meeting is the question of the water supply of the City of Jerusalem. The life and existence of many -thousands of people in that large city is linked with this problem. According to information received by the Security Cauncil, . one of. the water pumping stations supplying Jerusalem has been blown up and the resulting situation is apparently very serious. . Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom): When the President asked previously whether any other member of the Council wished to ,speak, 1 thought he was referring particularly to this question of the water supply for Jerusalem which has been dealt with so far this afternoon and 1 had nothing partic~lar to sayon that at the moment, because 1 had no information beyond what is now before the Security Council. From the message of the Mediator [8/963], it appeared that a further investigation would be made and it seems cIear that the Counci1 will have to await the result of that investigation. In the meanwhile, as far as 1 am concerned, 1 entirely agree with what the President has proposed. But if, as 1 understand from what the President said just now, the other questions relating to Palestine which have been raised from time to time before the Council are under discussion, or can be under discussion, 1 should like to make a statement in regard to the Jewish detainees in Cyprus. This point has been raised on variousoccasions in the course of the discussion of this question and my Government has been the object of criticism on account of the policy which it has pursued. 1 should like to preface my reply on thispoint with a few remarks on the historical background of this particular aspect of the Palestine problem. The members of the Council may remember hearing the United Nations Mediator, .when he was here not long ago, inferring, from the fact that he was attacked almost equally by both part'ies, that he had probably on the whole,' been very impartial [333rd meeting]. That is the feeling that my Government :has had for years, ever since it became connected with the Palestine problem. The members of the Council have heard the Arabs, on the one hand, maintaining that no Jew should be admittedinto· Palestine and, on the other·hand, have heard indignant protests from the Jewish representativeagainstour presuming to interfere in any way with the free immigration into Palestine ofany Jews who may wish to go there. While my Government still had responsibility for the administration of Pal~ estine, it sought to steel' a middle course by fixing an annual quota of immigrants. Like most attempts atimpartial compromise, this, of course,enragedboth sides.. It was claimed by both sides that this was illegal·- for. opposite reasons, of course~ But that .did not shake the conviction of my Government that it wz,s not Then came the termination of the Mandate, the truce and the appointment of the Mediator. A·controversy has arisen over the interpretation of the provision of the resolution of 29 May [S/801] in regard to men of military age and in particular as to how it applies to these men in Cyprus. The Jewish T,epresentative, on one oc~ casion [311th meeting], 1 remember, observed that that resolution specifically provided for the èntry of men of military age, to which 1 would add-as he, on that occasion, did not-that it also specifically providel;1 for such men to be subjected to a special regime. The wording of that resolution is worthy of note. It says "should men of military age be introduced" they must not be mobilized or submitted to military.training. This is harcUy specifica1ly allowing the im: migration of, men of military age. ln this, connexion, 1 might draw the attention of the members of the Council to a document which has come before us today, document S/964, being a cablegrarn, dated yesterday, from the United Nations Mediator, in which he says, among other things: "... my point of view as Mediator-... is that admission to Palestine of Jewish refugees detained on Cyprus must be governed by general rules in force concerning the observation of the truce particularly'regarding non-admission of fightingpersonne1 and conditions for the admission of men of military age." What arrangements have been proposed for assuring that such men of military age, should they be introduced, would in fact be subjected to the prescribed restraints? We have not, so far asI know, had even a sketch of any plan that might assure us that this condition would be complied with. Now what is the present position? There are, if my figures are right, between seven and eight thousand men of military age-in' addition to a relatively sma1l number of.women and children .-in Cyprus, on the very doorstep of Palestine. These men are in Oyprus because theysought to circumvent a regulation which we made,. and had a perfect right to make, in spite of abuse from both sides, while we were responsible for The plain intention of the resolution of 29 May was that neither side should, during the truce, be given any military advantage, and the Mediator sa interpretcd this intention. 1 would quote the penultimate sentence of paragraph 10 of his report of 12 July, document S/888, in which he says: "The entry into the Jewish area of large numbers of men of military age under the immunity from war risk provided by. the truce, would, in my view, create a situation in which the truce would work to the military advantage of one side." Should we, by allowing the immediatc entry into Palestine of these thousands of Jews of military age, have been balancing the scales between the two sides? How could we possibly have taken such a course? 1 should like to hear from any member. of the Council how we could possibly have justified it. The representative of the Jewish Agency, in· the letter which he addressed to the President of the Security Council on 4 August and which has been circulated as document S/946, makes· much play with bis interpretaiion of the Mediator's statement to the Council that the detention of these people in Cyprus·is "an act of the United Kingdom authorities . . .~ and of them alone" [333rd meetingJ. But my Government has never disputed that. What it does say is t'lat the detention is not forbidden by the truee 4nd is, in its opinion, in accordance with the Mediator's wishes as expressed in the passage of bis report which ~ have just quoted. An argument which may appeal to sorne people in looking at this matter is one of a humanitarian kind. It is to the effect that it is al! very weIl, during the exceptional conditions of a short truce, to prevent people from travelling to the land of their choice, but now that the truce has, as we hope; been exfended for an indefinite period, it is contrary to natural justice to hold these people back any longer. The Jewish representative, if 1 read bis letter aright, suggests tbis argtunent in the third nÙIhbered paragraph of his letterto which l have referred, when he puts forward the view of bis authorities that the truce is no longer governed by .the eIaborateinterpretative .arrangements agteed by the Mediator with both parties and My Government does not accept the view that these arrangements are in any way obsolete. Indeed it considers that they areexpressly maintained by the fifth paragraph of the Council's cease.,.fire resolution of 15 July [8/902], which uCalls upon aIl Governments and authorities concerned to continue to co-operate with th~ Mediator with a view to the maintenance of peace in Palestine in conformity with the resolution adopted by the Security Council on 29 May 1948." It was, of course, on the basis of this latter reSolutioll that the Mediator worked out the agreed arrangements ,to which 1 have just referred. 1 am the more surprised that the Jewish authorities should cast any doubt on.the continued validity of these arrangements, since the Jewish representative, in paragraph 4 of his letter of 4 August, expressly relies on an interpretation of the Mediator, and another such interpretation is invoked in the second paragraph of Ml'. Shertok's letter of 3D July to the Mediator, reproduced in document S/949. But in any case, it seems to my Government that what 1 called a moment ago the humanitarian aspect of this matt~r requires to be very carefully looked at in the light of.present conditions. At the last meeting of the Council on the subject of refugees [343rd meeting], warnings were expressed against the Council's allowing itself to be rushed into a hasty decisiot;L without full consideration of the facts and without supporting documents-those documents of which the representative 'of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic is so insistently. fond whe:q some- ~lIle other than hirnself is presenting a case. It s~ems to me that those warnings are very pertinent to the present debate. There is, moreover, a further reason why my Government believes that this is not the moment to take an isolated decision about the menin Cyprus: 1 refer to·the rulingwhich the Presidellt gàve at our 3t3rd meeting on 2 August on this subject, to the effect that the question of Jewish detainees in Cyprus is orny one aspect of a single basic probleni which, to quote thè Presidellt's words, "comprises both displaced persons of Jewish nationality and refugees of Arab nation- àlity". May 1· for a moment recà1l that in comparison withthe numberof men withwhomwe are now dealing-that is to say, the Jewish detainees in CyPrus-thereare more than twenty ti.mes as many Arab refugees who have been driven from their homes· in •Jewishcontrolled areas of Palestine andwhom the Jews are not alloWing to return there. Most.of these are living in conditioils. infinitely worse than those in the . Cyprus .camps. Thereis, of course, a security aspect to this problem,. but SQ, as' 1.have endeavoured to point out, is there 'One in the case of the CyprusJews. And itis intérestingto note that the Mediator Ïn his latest proposaIs to the Jewish authorities for the settlementof the Arab refugeeprobleni,to be found in do.cument S/948of 5 August, has suggested "that among thQse who mllY wish toreturn, differentiation maybe. made·between men ofmilitary age and ll1l others in recognition of security coriSideraln conclusion, 1 would say that my Government will naturaUy keep this matter under constant review in the light ofcircumstances. 1 am sorry that It hasbeen made necessary for me to detain the Security CQuncil a litile longer while 1 a.nswer a typicaUy, irresponsible comment by the representative of the Ukrainian SSRin the debate on this subject on 2 August [3431id meeting]. Ml'. Manuilsky, whose sources of information are wide if not always exact, said that, "There are whole gr~:mps of displaced persons living in the most wretched plight on the island of Cyprus". In this connexion, 1 would beg to read a statement about conditions in the camps wlùch has been communicated to me by the Governor of Cyprus. It readsas follows: "The camps are situated in two pleasant and healthy localities on the coast· and visits betwcen individual camps in each locality are facilitated. Internal management and economy of the camps is left entirely to the detaillees themse1ves with no interference by the authorities except in regard to security. Mter recent transfers some 13,000 to 14,000 detainees';-I am not sure how this figure is to be squared with the total of 11,000 given by the Jewish representative--"are occupying accommodation sufficient for more than double this number according to the standard laid down for British troops, and, except for restrictions on their. movernents, they have aU amenities for normal family life. The food provided is much beyond general mid-European standards, being 2,260 and 2,130 calories for adult males and females respective1y, with special extra food for children,' infants and pregnant mothers. This is supplemented by food provided by the welfare operations of the American Joint Distribution Committee which is permitted to purchase freely subject to the conservation of limited local resources. Medical in;. spection roams, smaU hospitaIs at the camps and the Central Military Hospital at Nîcosia are fully equipped to deal with medical and dental cases." Perhaps the most complete refutation of the suggestion that these people are living' "in the most wretched plight" is provided by. the following 'remarkabJe health statistics-and 1 resume here quotations from the Governor's report: Mahmoud Bey FAWZI· (Egypt): Due.especially to the lateness of the hour, 1 shaIl be as brief as pos:ible. Three questions have been touched upon, if not discussed, this afternoon: the water supply for Jerusalem, the ~ews detained in Cyprus, and· the Arab displaced persans. Tothese three questions, as 1 requested before, 1 should have desired to add a fourth: the matter of the continued absence from our debatesof the representative of the great majority of the people of Palestine. This absence commenced as a result of a ruling by last month'o President [330th meeting], a· ruling which, 1 submit, was illegal, illogical and undemocratic. This· absence continues through the maintenance of that. ruling by this month's President of the Security .Council. 1 submit that it is not· a. mere matter of the representativc()f the great majority of the people of Palestine,the Arabs of Palestine, simply refusing 01' declining an· invitation to attend these meetings. Hp. has bLen made not to wish any longer to take part in our deliberatiollf here--and that, 1 repeat-because of a ruling bylast month's. President which is illegal, jl10gical a ··l undelllocratic, Let.me now tUlJl to t'he question of the water supply for·Jerusalem. 1 have looked thoroughly tbrough the documents at our disposaI; 1 have searched my memory as far backas 1 could and 1 have not succeeded in findir.g·one single decision LO. the effect that .aIl parts of· Jerusalem should beunconditiQnally and unrestrictedly supplied with water. 1 mightlD.ention thatwhat the Jewishpeopleof Jerusalém are sufferlng from, if they are suffering from it at aIl,. ~. per- 1 cau well understand that the Secur.i.ty Council is today not quite in a position ta discuss this matter thoroughly and ta take any measures concerning it. It seems that we do not have sufficient information aboùt the details of the situation there in connexion with the water supply for Jerusalem. On the other hand, 1 remember that the President said a while ago that ~t might be correct ta seud instructions to the Mediator ta take the necessary measures to supply Jerusalem with water. 1 wish ta submit that such a measure or any other measure taken by the Security Council, must, logically and in justice, avoid giving any advantage to one of the two parties. The Mediator has laid that down even in connexion with the watersupply for Jerusalem. We cannat separate the question of the water supply from' the question of the demilitarization of Jerusalem. Incidentally, 1 might say that, while 1 find no decision in connexion with the water supply for Jerusalem, 1 do find several decisions in connexion with the demilitarization of Jerusalem. The latest is ta be found in the seventh paragraph of the decision taken on 15 July [8/902], which speaks of that demilitarization and of assuring the protection of the Holy Places. It is clear language that is used in that decThion. In view of it, we cannat deny that there are orders in connexion with the demilitarization of Jerusalem and the safeguarding of the Holy Places. At the same time, we cannat deny that there is a definite link between the continued militarization of Jerusalem· and the matter of ,the water supply. 1 therefore submit that we should not contemplate doing anything at all in connexion with one of these two matters and not with the other. Water supply and demilitarization, these two must go together; they -e indivisible. As for· the Jewish people detained in Cyprus, 1 do not see the need of saying inuch after the luC'id exposition given ta us a short while ago by the representative of the United Kingdom. l submit that the entry into Jerusalem of persons of military age is definitely against the' .letter and· the spirit of the truce arrangements. 1 do not wish ta deal with the question ofe:r.act wording; the representative of the United Kingdom hasdone sa, if 1 remember correctly. The ~:lÇpression "should persons of military age he mtroduced •.." does not mean that their introduction is allowed. 1 do, however, wish ta speak about the ·letter and the spirit .of the truce ar- With regard to the Arab displaced persans, the represent~tive of Syria has said enough about it and 1 am taking into consideration the fact that the Council is not considering this matter in detail right now. Therefore, 1 shall·not speak at length on this point. 1 want, in the meanwhile, pending the next occasion upon which we shalI discuss this matter, to calI the Council's attention to a document which the Secretariat circulated sorne time ago at the request of both the representatives of France and Egypt. This is document AjC.l/W.7, of 7 May 1948 with regard to refugees and displaced persons. 1 call the Council's attention to this document. which 1 regret to say shows, not what the United Nations and the Member States of the United Nations have done for the refugees and displaced persons but, rather, what they have not done for those people. That is why we have asked the Arabs of Palestine to bear the whole of the burden. However, it is rather an eariy r.lOment for going into any details or having any discussion about it now. What we are faced with now is not merely a matter of the water supply for Jerusalem; it is not merely a matter of the people detained in Cyprus. It is much more. It means that, truce or no truce, the Zionists want, by alI means, to acquire more and more ground, ta gain more and more advantages and to have more bridgeheads from which to pounce on something further. 1 have here, rather fresh from the Press, an extractfrom a speech recently given by the head of the so-called Provisional Government of Israel, which appears in the 16 August issue of Time magazine. Ml'. Ben Gurion, among other things, said: "Won't Israel grow? "There are 11 million Jews in the world. 1 don't say that all of them· will come here, but 1 expect several million, and with natura! increase, 1 cao quite imagine a Jewish State of .10 million. "Can that manybe accominodated within the United Nations partition boundaries of Israel?

1 still have two speakers on my lîst. My inten" tian is ta aUow them ta speak in the hope that their statements will be short and that that will be the end of our meeting today. Mr. EL"KHOURI (Syria): The President has suggested that he would like ta send a reply ta the Mediator cùncerning the water supply of Jerusalem. The President said that if there were ' no objection he would consider having this done. 1 abject ta that procedure for several reasons, one of which is the fact that we have not seen the exact wordirg of the cablegram which the President intends ta send; the second reason is the fact that the President said that the cablegram was ta be a reply to the Mediator. 1 did not understand that the Mediator has asked the President or the Secu:rity Council togive an opinion or a reply on this matter. In bis document [8/951], the Mediator has simply referred to the question of the water supply for Jerusalem by way· of information. He stated that he was discussing the matter and hoped to find 1 sorne way out. He has not asked for our opinion and he has not asked us to furnish him with any instructions on this subject. Another reason 1 object is the faet that the President has picked out on1y the questio'" of the water supply, which is referred to accidentally, and has left out the other subjects which are mÇlre urgent and which have been stressed by the Mediator, especiaUy the matter of the Arab refugees and the question of the demilitarization of Jerusalem. AIl bis documents deal with these two points. ~he President has not suggested that he intends to give the Mediator any indications with regard to these other points. \0, '1 should the President isolate one point, which is in the interest of the Jews and leave out the other points which have to do with the protection of the rights of the Arabs? 1 believe that the Security Couilcil ought to show more equity and fàirness in dealing with the problem and that it should give the same weight, advantages and attention to bath sides on aU the questions which are before us. 1 do not believe it would be equitable to isolate one problem and leave out the others. - The President has said that no proposal has been submitted by any member of the Couneil, but, at the same time, heis making a proposai. . If he insists on submitting it in that form, 1 hope he will make it general and include aIl the problems, and call up6n the Mediator to take care of the repatriation of the.refugees, the .demilitarization of the City of Jerusalem, the supply of water, .the lines of communication, and so forth. We should include all the problems and Dot take up one of them thereby indicating that The Prowsional Government of Israel brought the question of refugees on Cyprus 1)efore the Security Council [S/864J, after a long and vain effort to solve it in direct negotiations with the Government of the United Kingdom~ When the truce resolution [S/801J was adopted on 29 May, the United Kingdom Government immediately imposed a total ban on the immigration ta Israel of these men, women and children. Mter several weeks of arduous negotiation, the ban on the immigration of women and children and men above military age was relaxed. There remain in confinement on the island of Cyprus 7,500 men between the ages of 18 and 45 and 3,500 women and children of their familles. The figures given by the Government of Cyprus were accurate until a few days aga. These dependants are under no compulsion ta remain, but their voluntary decision ta do so will surely command the respect of aU who understand how the bonds of family life are reinforced by common suffering and loss. In recent weeks the Government of Israel, which had granted permission to aU·these peopie ta enter its territory, has exerted its utmost effort to secure their release. The Mediator was approached for all authoritative statement of the . manner in which these detentions affect the truce resolution. The representative of the Provisional Government of Israel in London negotiated at length and in detail with United Kingdom representatives. An has been in vain. This imprisonment continues, and the latest official ward by the Unit~d Kingdom Government is contained in the statement of the United Kingdom representative this afternoon to the. effect that thesedetentionsare in accordance with the Mediator's wishes. . The resolùtion adopted by the Security Council on 29 May and embodied in the resolution of 15 July [8/902], which now governs the truce, contains two references which affect permission to enter the countries of the Near East. There is a complete and cat~gorical ban on' the' moveIrient of fighting personnel. This ban is not under question and does not govern our present discussion, for the Mediator has established a definition of fighting persŒnel which has been accepted by the Provisional Government of Israel. That defiriition [S/ 829] affects orny men who are armed or who are identified as belonging to specific military formations. It does not include what we normally understand as civilian immigrants who enter a country·to settle there, to make their homes or to follow a normal civilian pursuit. In no conversations and published utterances, has the United Kingdom Government assertedthat these 7,500 refugees are aIl fighting personnel within the terms of the Meœator's definition. It asserts that they are men of military age and that this fact alone justifies or requires their. detention. What, then, does this resolution say about men of military.age? It says not one single word about their exclusion, stillless abqut any duty or right to hold them in forceflù detention. It speaks of them orny in connexion with .their entry. Indeed, it makes the most specific provision with respect to their conduct and activities after they have entered. Whereasthe entry of fighting personnel is entirely forbjJden, the entry of men of military age is most specifically provided for: .. cc••• should men of military'age be introduced into countrie!\ or territories under their control", these Goven:iments are "to undertake·not to mobilize or submit themto military training ...". [S/801] . How can that be interpreted as a warrant of exclusion? How can you provide forguarantt~es against mdbilizing or training men who are' not there, who may not even enter? If you say that, should men of military age be introduced; they shallco~e under certain arrangements, of course the implication is that they do enter. The Arabs, then, could increase their armed establishments indefinite1y simply by legislation or recruitment. Even under the terms of the truce. the Arab armies could be raised to a total of f~ur million tomorrow morning. There is nothing in the truce to prevent it. Therefore, if the ·immigration of men of military age wcre forbidden, the Jewish numerical disadvantage would be still further increased. These, tlien, were some of the ideas wmch commended themselves to the Security Council. It was clear that a draft embodying a total ban on the entry of men of mllitary age not destined tobecome fighting personnel in military units would destroy·the equilibrium of the resolution. Accordingly, at the 310th meeting of the SecuritY Council, the representative of France addréssed hllnself with serious care to the task of i'ltroducing equilibrium into the resolution. He did so in an amendment wmch restored freedom of immigration for men ofmllitary age, while yet providing that such immigration would not result in an increase of the armed forces. The amendment was supported by the United States, accepted·l;Jy the United Kingdom, and adopted by the Security Council. .. ln explaining the intentiàn of the amendment, the representative of Fr lce was, as always, explicit and. precise. He said that the. purpose of tlùS amendrnent was "•.. to forbid·the immigration of fighting personnel butnot of men of military age ••.". 1 repeat: he said that the purpose ..of the amendment was not to prevent the éntry of men of militaryage. He went on as follows: ."... to take· precautions to eDSure that, during·the truce period, such men are.not.mobilized . ~ .". [31Othmeeting] . Yet, what is now happening in Cyprus is that the United Kingdom Government is applying its own original draft whiéh was rejected by the Security Council, compietely ignoring or repudiating the whole discussion and amendment which are embodied in the resolution of 29 May. It is that resolution alone which governs the truce and if the United Kingdom representative wishes to base these detentions on the authority of the Security Council, he must point to a passage in the resolution which instructs him to lock these people up and keep them out of Israel. 1 am weIl aware, of course, that there is a formula defining the objects of the truce in terms of giving neither side a military advantage.· 1 shall ,not quarrel with that definition. Let us assume that in that definition the Syrian representative gave a successful philosophical description of the object::; of the truce. But we must still be clear about the status of that ruling. It can only be a description of the resolution of 29 May; it cannot change its effect. Once the Security CouDcil has passed the resolution, its President cannot alter its terms; he cannat ino crease its liberties ortighten its restrictions. If the resolution forbids something, then the President and the Mediator cannot sanction it. If the resolution allows something, as this. resolution does allow the immigration of men of military age, 'the President's formula or the Mediator's di.scretion cannot forbid it. It is true, of course, as the,representative of the United Kingdom has said, that during the first truce which terminated on9 July an agreement operated according to which the Mediator could use hisdiscretion if the number of immigrants of military age appeared' to him to assume u:t?-duly large proportions. But tbis agree- Ihent is of no help to theUni.ted Kingdom representative, since it merely described the Mediator's right of discretion, and the Mediator has Ml'. Rees-Williams said on 26 JuIy, on behalf of the United Kingdom Government, that the Mediator has pointed out in bis report of 12 JuIy [S/888] to the Security Oouncilthat the entry into the Jewish area of large numbers of men of inilitary age would create a military advantage to one side. But the Security Oouncil, in its wisdom, appointed· a Mediator toexercise discretion when this point of changing military advantage was reached. It was never reached. The Mediator told the Securiti Oouncil on 13 July how tbis 4iscretion might have operated. He· said: . "Im.migration, as far as 1 was concerned, would be free for people above military age and for aIl women, but in· the case of men of mili.,. tary age 1 shouId have the right, if an enormous number of men of military age came to Palestine, . . . tosay 'Stop, you are not aIlowed to bring in more men becatlse that will he a military advantage to your party'." [333rd meeting] But nothing of all this tookplace. The Mediator did notsay "Stop". The United Kingdom action,Iar fromresponding ta the Mediàtor's exercise· ofdiscretion,' simply ensured that he should have no OPPOrtllnity of exercising that 4iscretion at aIl. The United Kingdom Government is th~refore in this matter assumingto it.. self a discretionaryfuiiction which belongs ta the Mediatoralone.Exeréisingthat funêtion, it decides that a largen1lIllber of men ofmilitary age is anyn.14'\1J.ber abovë .zero and invokes the . Mediator)sreI~ctance to .see an ."enormous "n1lIllber'~of suèlipeople .enter Palestine as au.. thority.tù allow in nOlle at all. .. ;o~... "My interpretation was that the resolution [of 29 May] did not prohibit immigration nor did it appear to placeany complete and positive ban on the inclusion of men of military age in such immigration" [SI888]. Whereupon the United Kingdom does place "a complete and positive ban on the inclusion" of such men, and cheerfully announces that it is . carrying out the Mediator's opinion. This act has no basis in the Coup.cil's resolution. It is entirely unaffected by any authorized interpretation of that resolution. It is in conflict with the Mediator's ruling against "complete and positive bans". At the 333rd meeting of the Security Council, Count Bernadotte confirmed that the following was what he called an "absolutely correct" interpretation of his view: ". . . the wholesale detention of these men in Cyprus has never been recommended 01' requested by the Mediator as essential for the observance of the truce." That, then, is the Mediator's confirmation of bis own opinion. But the United Kingdom representative refuses to accept it. Count Bernadotte is apparent!y not an aut1.lority on the Mediator's opinion, any more than the author of the relevant paragraph of this resolution is'an authority on what its intention is. l'auteur We él:1'e faced, in our view, ,notonly with the departure from the Council's resolutibn and a tendency to usurp the Mediator's discretion and to represent hisviews, in an inaccurate light, but also with a denial of fundamental humari rights. AIl pf these meIJ. are victims of prolonged persecution. They ·àre all being held against their will, ,arrested withouftrialand without specifie prospect of releaseaJld separated. from their families in a bleak and useless ,frittering away of portions of their lives. They are held under no law. There exists no off'ence on any statute book which they areeven alleged tohave committed. Despite frequent -challenge, no one has been able to suggest the legal warrant for their detention. suivant: s'écarte tendance inexact, des hommes persécution contre ment,et d'être voyant tranches détention. quelconque conunise. effoicé, dique justifiant Indeed, there are statements on record by :M:r.Bevin to the, effect that after,the'end of the Mandate. and .thewithdrawal of British forces, the legalbasis of these people's presence on Cyprris is tlouptful. When the United Nati()ns Palestine, Comm~5ioll was funètioning under the M. tion niques, gens Commission ~.~_._---_ -- It matters very litt1e whether the conditions in which they live are or are not those of an idyllic seacoast vacation as portrayed by the Governor of Cyprus. The question is not the conditions in which they live but whether they should be deprived of their liberty or kept from their destination. In conclusion" 1 would suggest that the solution is simple. The solution is that immigration from Cyprus, as from anywhere eIse, be re1eased from these 'complete and unilateral· bans and that the immigrants from Cyprus be free to move, subject to exacdy the same processes of control and' supervision as have been agreed upon and are now successfully operating between the Mediator and the Government of Israel in respect of immigrants from other places. This would seem to be in accord with the latest message of the Mediator, reproduced in document 8/964. His opinion, frequendy stated, is thatthe Cyprus immigrants have the same position, the sâlne status, the same opportunities and the same restrictions asanyone e1se. The same should happen to people wishing ta emigrate from Cyprus as those who wish ta emigrate from anywhere eIse. If that means anything, it surely means that tp.ey should be fiee ta come, as long as they submit to those processes of control or supervision or discretion which are applied not by the United Kingdom but'by the Mediator in the application of·the truce. We must confess that the answers of the United Kingdom representative leave us with great anxiety about the future of this problem. We should like to know whether there is an intention tq hold these people for .a period of indefinite .duration, whether the Mediator· is regarded as an authority on his own opinion and whether the United Kingdom representative doesnot regard the interpretationgiven by the representative..of France ta his own amendment as being an accurate interpretation. Itseems .ta us that if, as we claim, these contentions are not basedupon a true interpretatioil of thê 8ecurity Council's resolution, the 8ecurity Council should disassociate itseH from the responsibility for them. The PRE~IDENT (translated from Russian): 1 call, upon the representative, of Argentina to speak ana pointoforder.- bienc.la c'est-à-dire Mr. PARODI (France) (translated !rom French): ln view of the latenessof the hour, and in consideration of the request just made by the representative of Argentina, 1 suggest that the Council should again adopt the procedure followed at one of our recent meetLigs, that is, that the translation of the statement made by the representative of Israel should be inserted in the verbatim record.

If there is no objection to t~e French representa:- tive's proposal, we shall adopt this procedure. 1 wish to make sorne remarks in reply to the representatives of Egypt and Syria. The Egyptian representative is well aware thatthe representative of the Arab Higher Committee is invited to take part in the Council's deliberations each time the question of Palestine is under discussion. This matter was raised at our last meeting; the Egyptian representative has raised it again at this meeting. It is for the representative of the Arab Higher Committee ta accept or not ta accept this invitation. An invitation is issued to him and he has the right ta take his place and'to participate in the discussion of the question.. The Egyptian representative has intimated that the Security Council. has no information from the Arab Higher Committee. at its disposal. This, however, does not correspond ta the facts. We have information from the Arab Higher Committee and it has been circulated to the members of the Security Council. A second point was raised by the Syrian representative, namely, whéther or ~ot atelegram should be sent to the Mediator. The Mediator has informed the Security Council of the situation created in Palestine by the explosion oi one of the main' water pumping stations. This has caused suffering not only among the Jewish population, the alleviation of whose situation the Syrian representative' opposes, but also among all the inhabitants of the city, both Jewish and Arab. It has been proposed that 8, ;:elegram should be sent ta the Mediator requesting him ta take all possible steps to'relieve the situation. 1 consider that such'a telegram will be a useful reply to the information which we have received from theMedi~üi.~l', . . 1 wish teask the President why he is isc..l~ting the matter of the water supply. Why does he not mention the other subjects, such a., the refugees. We ought to include in the·telegram, as 1 requested,· all the points, in arder ta settle aIl the matters in dispute in Palestine in a peaceful way, and in order to find a solution for all the problems" We ought not ta indicate that the Security Council is interested. i'l this problem orny and is not interested in theother problems. These are the things which the President did not mention. The P~~SIDENT (translated trom Russian): When I. oposed the sending of a telegram, 1 explainedclearly, and the Syrian representative heard me say, thatthere are two main and important problems before the Security Council: the question of Arab refugees and that of displaced persons. Beth these matters require r..uther consideration,··as relevant information has not been received from the United States and United Kingdom Governments or from the Arab States. Furthermore, no proposais have been made regarding these matters. These are questions, then, wmch require fùrtner consideration at one of the next. meetings of the Security Council. It seems that proposais on these issues will then be made. The question of· the water supply, on the other hand, is a special problem. raised in the Mediator's telegram, and. l, therefore, considered it possible to send him an answer on that particular point. It is for. the Security Council to accept pr reject ~ proposal.. Mabm:0ud BeyFAwzI (Egypt): Ialso wish ta submit asmall correction. 1 was not referring t.e whether the Coundlreceivedor didnot re.;légèrerectification. ceive writteninformation, by mw or otherwise, from the representative of thegreatmajority of ~ the people oîPalestine. 1 was speaking of bis participatinginthese debates. 1 stated what l thaught ôf thenilirig tnat was made by last m()nth~sPresidentoJthe Seeurityr:0~cil, and /. fait which Was nl,:dntained by. the pr~entPresid\Ô:.1t. t. par 1.was and Irotrsiill quite. ready·.to~lain wh}'. ! 1 said that. However, 1 shall not do itnow 0c·. Lprêt cause of the late' hour., l",antto beglvenanàm'exprimerainsi, \)DP0rtunity .of doing it at tlleearliest possible •fois, o~casion. Thisisamost serÏ(}us matteraJ1d itis ... drai mostunb~omingfoi"· the~ecurityCouncil tOI.l'occasiondèsquepossible, be disqUSSÙlg.theqpe.stionof Palestil1e,tiaym,ter .tigntrèsinlportante, day; -Withoitt thep'reseIlce,oftherepresentàtiy~; 'nllssible Jt is not mere1y a matter, 1 repeat, of that Jr::sentative simply declining and ungraciously rtfusing an invitation from the Security Counci1. He has been put in a position in which he could not any longer take part, in these debates. The representative of the great majority of the people of Palestine is absent and will continue to be absent, while, on the other side of the table, we see here, taking more than a full share in our debates, the non~Palestinian Zionist reprcsenta- ûve of a mostly non-Palestinian people or aggIomeration of peoples. This is most unbecoming for the Security Council; it is most unbecoming for the United Nations and 1 think it should not continue. 1 should be given the fust possible opportunity to debate this matter and to show why that ruling is illegal, illogical and tmdemocratic, The ,PRESIDENT (translated from Russian): 1 ca11 upon the Assistant Sccretary-General to read the te::t of the telegram. Mr. SJBOLEV (Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Security Council Affairs) ~ The text of tD.~ cable from the President of the Security Council to Count Bernadotte as United Nations Mediator reads as follows: "1 have the honour to inform you that Security Council, having taken note, at.the 349th meeting held on 13 August of the Mediator's te1egram of, 12 August concerning destruction of water-pumping station at Latrun, asked me, as preliminary measure, to request Mediator to make al! efforts and steps to ensure water supply to population of Jerusalem" [S/970]. Mr. EL-KHOURI (Syria): 1 think there is a mistake in the 'telegram. In it, the President says "the Security Council asked me"; the President should have said "1 asked the SecUlity CQuncil". Mr. TSIANG (China): Before we send any telegram to the Mediator, let us be clear as to what the Mediator himself is doing without our making anysuggestions on the subject. In the cablegram which ïs before us in dJ~umen( S/961, we find a clear statement,on page 3, of what the Mediator has been doing. It readsas follows: . "In ,the question of the supply of water for Jerusaiem, l' havedecided that repâ~" work should start immediatelyin the presence· of, United Nations observers at the pumping station of Latrun; whichisnow Ïn United Nations hands. Such,'repair is' expected to take two days .•." The PRES~ENT (translated /rom Russian): The representaüve of China read the wrong tclegram. He is referring to a previous' telegram. We have a Iater on~, drafted roter tt~e explosion. Ml'. JESSUP (United States of America): 1 think it is reasonable for the Security Counci1 to send a telegram on this point, because, among the many issues we are discussing, this apper:rs to be a question upon which both sides have reached agreement. At their high official leve1s, both the Arabs and the Provisional Government of Israel had reached an agreement with regard to the. water supply. This explosion, according to the Mediator's message ta the Council, seems to have been due to Arab irregulars. Wc assume that both parties have agreed to resume the water supply and that they are desirous of having it done. Therefore, it seems to me that it is appropriate .for the Council to send the message which t~e President has suggested.

The. question' of Palestine will appear. on the ageq.da ofthe Security Council meeting scheduled for l1extWednesday.. The-scq:>nd item on thçagenda Willbe the application fromCeylon for membership of the United Nations. The. Security·· Council will meet on Wednesclay, 18 August, a;t 11 a.m.