U.N. Jerusalem Resolution is Merely Discussion Basis, Trusteeship Council Head Says

An appeal to all parties–Israel, Jordan and the religious world–to accept the U.N. General Assembly resolution on the internationalization of Jerusalem merely as a basis for discussion of the future of that city and nothing more was made today by Roger Garreau, president of the U.N. Trusteeship Council, in a formal statement issued here.

Mr. Barreau stressed particularly that the Assembly resolution had been drawn up in such a way as to allow the Trusteeship Council, which is now meeting here, a great deal of freedom in interpreting its terms. The resolution, he said, could be interpreted either in restricted or in liberal terms. A close reading of the resolution will leave room for a very wide range for interpretation.

The president of the Trusteeship Council stated that he is preparing a working paper on the Jerusalem question as requested. This paper will be presented to the Trusteeship Council on Monday, he said. In this working paper, he aims to apply loyally the terms of the Assembly resolution in the widest and most liberal sense possible so that Israel and Jordan could agree to participate in the work of the Trusteeship Council, Mr. Garreau emphasized.

Expressing the belief that the very wide powers of the Trusteeship Council will make it possible to find a solution which would be acceptable to Israel as well as to Jordan, Mr. Garreau said that while there were different views with regard to Jerusalem, he was of the opinion that the city should not be entirely in the hands of one power. At the same time, he recalled the sufferings of the Jewish population in Jerusalem during the siege and said that the desire of the Jews in the city not to be cut off again from Israel is understandable. He concluded by declaring he would seek a reasonable adjustment of the different interpretations that can be given to the Assembly internationalization resolution.