Harold Evans, U.N. municipal commissioner for Jerusalem, today announced that he has decided not to assume the duties assigned to him by the special session of the U.N. General Assembly and that he is returning to the United States.
The reasons he gave for giving up the job were that the truce is now in effect and that “the fundamental purposes of peace and reconciliation can be best achieved during the period by giving the mediator a free hand.” He added the “the problem of Jerusalem in a part of the general Palestine settlement.”
Evans is expected to arrive in New York next Sunday by air. A U.N. spokesman emphasized that Evans has not resigned, indicating that if the situation should change and municipal commissioner have a specific task to perform, he would be available.
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