Dr. Bunche Submits Final Report to U.N. Security Council; Seeks Termination of Duties

U.N. acting mediator on Palestine Dr. Ralph J. Bunche today submitted his final report to the Security Council and asked that he be relieved of his post since his mission has been completed, with all Arab countries having signed armistice agreements with Israel.

Dr. Bunche recommended that all remaining functions of his office be transferred to the U.N. Conciliation Commission on Palestine which is now holding talks at Lausanne with representatives of Israel and the Arab governments with a view toward achieving a permanent Arab-Israeli peace.

The Security Council was urged by Dr. Bunche to cancel the truce order adopted by it on July 15, 1948, This would automatically lift the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Israel and the Arab countries. A warning against the lifting of the arms embargo was voiced here yesterday by Israel’s representative, Aubrey Eban, who emphasized that this may result in an armaments race between Israel and the Arab countries.

In recommending that the Security Council annul its truce order, Dr. Bunche stated that the armistice agreements between Israel and the Arab governments “render unnecessary the prolongation of the truce.” He asked the Council to retain only two provisions of the truce–the unconditional cease-fire and abstention from further military action.

Referring to the Arab-Israeli armistice agreements, Dr. Bunche said in his report that they incorporate what amounts to a non-aggression pact between the parties. He emphasized that “any breach of their terms would involve a most serious act of bad faith.” On the whole, he pointed out, the armed forces of both sides remain intact and unimpaired by the earlier fighting. he blamed the Arabs for the delay in reaching the armistice agreements, and implied Israel’s responsibility for the death of Count Folke Bernadotte.