The fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly opened here today with the question of the fate of Jerusalem looming high on the agenda. However, it is not known here when debate on the Jerusalem issue will begin.
Observers here believe that discussion of the U.N. Conciliation Commission plan for an international regime for Jerusalem will not start for a few weeks. Meanwhile, Israel’s chief delegate to the United Nations, Aubrey S. Eban, today issued a statement setting forth the policies of the Israel Government with respect to various problems concerning the Jewish state at the present Assembly session. Mr. Eban’s statement follows:
“The delegation of Israel enters the new session of the General Assembly with many arduous tasks before it. It will make it clear that Israel can never be separated from Jerusalem, nor will Jerusalem ever cease to be a part of Israel. The religious interests of the United Nations in Jerusalem, which we fully respect, neither justify nor require the slightest intrusion into the city’s secular and political life.
“The delegation will pursue its efforts to emphasize the paramount duty of the Arab states to help resettle the refugees who were uprooted and dispersed by the action of those very states. There are already signs of some progress towards international recognition of Arab responsibility. Yet Israel must be vigilant less efforts are renewed to impose the chief weight of this problem upon itself.
“In the solution of general international problems Israel will follow the principles which lie at the foundation of its foreign policy–the search for common ground between conflicting powers; the advance of subject peoples towards independence; and the defense of fundamental human rights.”
The Israel delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett when he arrives from Israel. It is now headed by Aubrey Eban. Other members of the delegation are: Arthur Lourie, Israel consul in New York; Dr. Jacob Robinson and Dr. Abraham Katznelson. Alternates, who will participate fully in the work of the delegation, include: Moshe Toff, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Division; Abraham Harman, Israel consul general to Canada; Gideon Raphael; Dr. Moshe Vitkon and Isaiah Kenen. If Ambassador Eliahu Klath’s duties in Washington permit, he will assist the delegation.
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