The United Nations Security Council adopted unanimously last night a resolution calling on Israel to abandon plans to stage its annual military parade in Jerusalem on May 2 and Israel immediately declared the resolution was “unacceptable” and that the celebration in “united Jerusalem” would take place as scheduled.
In announcing the vote, Soviet Ambassador Jacob Malik, this month’s president of the Security Council, said the Council would meet again on May 1 to consider “the status of Jerusalem.” The resolution asked Secretary General U Thant to report to the Council on the implementation of the resolution. The Council was convened in urgent session at the request of Jordan.
Thirteen of the 15 Council members urged Israel, in the lengthy debate preceding the vote, to abandon the Jerusalem parade site. The only countries which did not express opposition were the United States and Brazil. Malik warned that Israel might face UN sanctions if it went through with the parade plans.
Thant had informed the Council, prior to the start of debate, that he considered the scheduled parade an action which would hurt current efforts toward peace in the area. In his note, the Secretary General reported he had sent a letter to the Israel Government on April 20, in which he said that the parade plans “in the relevant part” of Jerusalem related “specifically” to General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the status of Jerusalem and to the Israeli-Jordanian armistice agreement. He indicated the Israel Government did not reply to his letter.
The resolution, proposed by India, Pakistan and Senegal, initially included a reference to a 1961 Security Council resolution criticizing such parades as a violation of the Israel-Jordan armistice pact. The reference was deleted before the vote was taken.
Yosef Tekoah, Israel’s permanent representative, in rejecting the resolution, said that it concerned a matter which, under the cease-fire agreement, came within the purview of “Israel’s internal jurisdiction.” He also warned that the resolution might prejudice efforts now being pursued in the area toward a peaceful settlement, a reference to the mission of UN special emissary Gunnar Jarring.
Declaring that the armistice agreement had been dead since the June war, the Israeli envoy told the Council that relations between Israel and the Arab states “are now founded on and regulated by the cease-fire established by the Security Council and consecrated in a series of Security Council resolutions.” He asserted that Jordan was not really objecting to the parade but to the presence of Israel and that Jordan was using the “armistice ghost” as “a screen for further warfare” while Israel continued to abide by the cease-fire agreement and Jordan sought to undermine peace through guerrilla activity.
Calling Jerusalem “the crown of the Jewish people,” Mr. Tekoah said that “The Jewish people have waited for this 2,000 years. People everywhere will rejoice together with us in this great hour of Biblical, prophetic consummation.” He added that “behind the paraders in Jerusalem will march 20 centuries of foreign conquest, exile, oppression, discrimination and genocide, then revival and repulsion of aggression. The 20th anniversary of Israel’s re-birth will be celebrated by the Israeli people and people of goodwill everywhere. Nothing can or should mar it.” He declared also that the Council should concern itself with seeking to create conditions for a lasting peace in the Middle East and that “Israelis are being attacked and suffering casualties” while the Council was “deliberating on how Israel should celebrate its national holiday.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
