Efforts by both Liberal and Labor members of Parliament were made in the House of Commons today to obtain British Government reaffirmation of the 1950 Tripartite Declaration, guaranteeing the Israeli-Arab borders.
Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd pointed out that on February 17, he told Commons that the Tripartite Declaration, made in 1950 by Britain, France and the United States was still in effect. Bringing up this issue, said Mr. Lloyd in answer to demands that he re-state his position on the 1950 Declaration, will not benefit stability in the Middle East area. “I have stated our position,” he asserted, “and I would ask you to leave it where it is.”
Mr. Lloyd insisted that the settlement of current Israeli-Arab tensions, which he saw as easing in the last few days, is up to the United Nations. He took the same position regarding freedom of shipping through the Suez Canal. Asked whether he would order Britain’s UN delegation to ask for a UN Security Council meeting to deal with the Middle East situation, he said “a meeting of the Security Council on these issues now would not advance the cause of stability.”
One Labor member, Arthur Henderson, proposed to Mr. Lloyd that he seek United Nations approval for a plan to put UN observers on Israeli ships attempting Suez Canal transit. Mr. Henderson also proposed placing an expanded United Nations Emergency Force along all Israeli-Arab borders. The Foreign Secretary replied that he would “certainly consider carefully” any suggestion of that kind if put forward in writing.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
