U.N. Conciliation Body Seeking to Prevent Palestine Issue from Coming Before Assembly

The U.N. Palestine Conciliation Commission is consulting with Trygve Lie, U.N. Secretary-General, to see if it is possible to keep Palestine off the agenda at the next meeting of the General Assembly.

In the Commission’s view, it was reported today, this would greatly facilitate progress at Lausanne and provide the U.N. delegates at the Assembly with an unexpected and welcome relief. A plea along the same lines was made today as the last of the Israeli and Arab delegations dispersed to seek new instructions from their governments on the future of the peace talks here. The Commission members appealed particularly to Israel and Egypt not to take the issue to the General Assembly.

A Commission spokesman felt that conciliation efforts at Lausanne could not be advanced if staged against the background of a verbal match between the Arabs of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria, and the Israelis, at Lake Success.

If Mr. Lie agrees to leave Palestine off the agenda, the Commission expects to make only a formal report to the General Assembly and to seek an extension of its powers and period of work. This course offers the best hope of obtaining a satisfactory outcome to the peace negotiations, in the Commission’s view.

If the General Assembly should insist on receiving a report, however, the Commission proposes to outline in September the precise stages which it has reached and to submit certain recommendations of its own.

At the moment, the Commission has sought to persuade all parties concerned that it is advisable to leave the General Assembly out of the Lausanne talks, until something definite has been achieved. It is assumed here that the General Assembly will probably meet again in the spring of 1950–after its session in September is concluded–and it is felt that might be a suitable moment for winding up the Palestine issue with a final settlement.