Attempt to Delay Discussion on Palestine Issue Defeated at U.N. Political Committee

Appeals by the states of the Middle East including Israel, not to delay beyond the already-agreed point discussion of the Palestine issue were upheld by the United Nations Political Committee in a vote that placed the new agenda item of Chinese allegations against the Soviet Union well down on the Committee’s agenda.

The vote represented a defeat for the United States, as well as for China, both of whose representatives pressed the “urgency” of China’s case and argued for bringing it up directly after the Italian colonies questions, which the Committee began to discuss later in the day. The vote was also seen as a victory–its first at this Assembly gathering–for the Soviet Union, which fought bitterly against priority consideration for the Chinese item.

Although not forced to, in the interest of the Palestine issue, Aubrey S. Eban, Israel delegate to the U.N., voted with the Soviet bloc. Besides the Chinese resolution, which would have put the new item in third place on the agenda ahead of Palestine, there were two resolutions, one from Iceland putting it in sixth place, and one from El Salvador, for fifth position, which would place it after consideration of the Palestine issue. Mr. Eban voted for the Soviet-supported Iceland resolution and abstained on El Salvador’s, which became the winning proposal. He voted against the U.S.-backed Chinese resolution.