After weeks of negotiations between Israel and Secretary-General U Thant, the latter today accepted Israel’s proposal to allow Lt. Gen. Odd Bull, chief of staff of the U.N. presence in the area, to move back to Government House, the enclave in the former Jerusalem no-man’s land which had served since 1948 as the headquarters of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Under the pact, Israel is allowing the U.N. to lease, under a nominal rental, seven and a quarter acres of the total Government House area.
An agreement to that effect was signed here today by Mr. Thant and Israel’s permanent representative to the U.N., Ambassador Gideon Rafael. In an exchange of letters between the two. Mr. Thant referred to Gen. Bull as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Israel holds that UNTSO exists no longer, since the 1949 armistice agreements between Israel on the one hand and Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, on the other, on which UNTSO was based, became defunct as a result of the June war. In the Israeli’s letter, Gen, Bull was termed only as the U.N. representative for supervision of the present cease-fire lines between Israel and the Arab states.
Government House was occupied by Jordanian troops on the first day of the outbreak of fighting between Jordan and Israel last June. Israeli forces recaptured the U.N. enclave later the same day. evacuated the U.N. personnel for their own safety, and gave them shelter in the secure areas in the New City of Jerusalem. Since Israel’s complete victory over Jordan, Mr. Thant has been demanding that Gen. Bull and his entire staff be allowed to go back to Government House.
Israel agreed that it would allow Gen. Bull to reoccupy Government House itself and about one third of its surrounding area under a nominal rental, and would also give Gen. Bull’s staff access to the U.N.’s radio transmitter. That transmitter is in part of the area which will not be turned over by Israel.
In announcing the agreement today, Mr. Thant stated: “This action is taken by the Secretary-General as a practical step only, and is without regard to or effect upon the interest and position of the United Nations concerning its premises at Government House.” Mr. Thant ordered Gen. Bull today to move back with his entire staff into Government House immediately.
In a previous report to the Security Council, on the same subject, Mr. Thant insisted that the United Nations “is entitled to the return of the premises of Government House exactly as they were constituted on July 5, 1967, and it has the right to exclusive and undisturbed occupancy and possession of the full Government House compound.”
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