U.N. Plan for Interim Regime in Palestine Dies After Rejection by Jews and Arabs

The plan for establishing a U.N. Central Commission for Palestine as a temporary interim regime, after the termination of the British Mandate Friday night, died today after both the Jewish Agency and the Arab higher Committee rejected it.

Faced with a deadline of only 48 hours, the U.N. Political Committee will resume its meeting tomorrow morning to seek last-minute agreement on a successor regime to the British administration. It is expected that the United States may submit a new plan either late this evening or tomorrow morning to the political subcommittee.

Major Aubrey Eban of the Jewish Agency told the sub-committee that the Jews would accept a U.N. commission provided its functions are confined to mediation and liaison only. In rejecting a wider scope of functions for the projected U.N. body, Major Eban urged the United Nations to face up to the fact that the Jewish state is in existence and is gathering strength. The Jews, he said, could not accept even a temporary infringement of their national sovereignty, nor any deviation from the U. N. partition decision.

Jamal el Hussaini rejected the plan on the basis that it was still another back door attempt to impose partition. Sir Alexander Cadogan, British delegate, suggested that the U.N. should take “a charitable view” of the word “regime” and that the commission should not attempt to handle affairs which would arouse the antagonism of either the Arabs or the Jews.

The Jewish Agency today gave its qualified support to a joint French-American plan for a U.N. regime in Jerusalem, backed by a strong police force. Dr. Mordecai Kliash told the Assembly’s Jerusalem sub-committee that the Agency regards this draft as “the most fitting of any solution thus far presented.” He objected, however, to buttressing the improvised U.N. arrangement with references to the trusteeship provisions of the Charter.