Secretary of State George C. Marshall, in a message to the Provisional Government of Israel released here today, said he welcomes the new state into “the community of nations” and expressed the hope that Israel “will cooperate with the United Nations” in peace endeavors for the Middle East, The letter, which was addressed to Eliahu Epstein, Israeli Minister in Washington, reads:
“It is the hope of the United States Government that the efforts of the United Nations to bring about conditions of peace in Palestine will be successful and that Israel will cooperate with the United Nations in these endeavors.
“I extend to Israel the felicitations of the United States Government and express the hope that Israel will be able to look forward to long years of tranquility, prosperity and honor as one of the community of nations.”
The 41 American Jews seized by Lebanese authorities when their ship, the U.S.-owned Marine Carp, docked at Beirut last week, are “willing” to return to the United States directly under conditions imposed by the Lebanese Government, State Department press officer Michael J. McDermott said today. The State Department is aiding in arrangements for their return, he told a press conference.
McDermott also reported that the United States Government still has had no replies from the Egyptian or Syrian Governments in answer to an American protest against the maritime blockade which the two governments imposed off the coast of Palestine.
The United States based its embargo on shipment of arms to the Middle East on a resolution passed by the U.N. General Assembly on May 15, 1947, calling on all nations “to refrain from the threat of use of force or any other action which might create an atmosphere prejudicial to an early settlement of the question of Palestine,” Presidential secretary Charles G. Ross said today.
Rosa made the statement in response to questions for clarification of President Truman’s statement yesterday that the United Nations had requested the arms embargo. What the President “particularly had reference to,” Ross stated, was a resolution of the Security Council issued on April 17, 1948, based on Chapter six of the United Nations Charter. Article three of that resolution called upon all member nations to refrain from sending arms and war materials to the Middle East, Ross pointed. “The United States abided by that U.N. request,” he said.
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