Well informed circles at the United Nations today expressed the belief that a solution of the Jerusalem question would not be found at the current session of the U.N. General Assembly. These circles pointed to the Israel and Transjordan rejections of the Conciliation Commission’s plan to internationalize the city as one of the chief reasons for this belief.
The Israel position in relation to the city was stated by Israel Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, in his first speech to this session of the U.N. Mr. Sharett told the Special Political Committee, which began consideration of the issue last week, that Israel rejects the Conciliation Commission’s plan to internationalize the entire city, although the Jewish state favors internationalization of the old City in which most of the Holy Places are located.
At the same time, the Foreign Minister offered to conclude an agreement with the United Nations whereby the Jewish state would guarantee the safety of the Holy Places in the new city and would also guarantee free access to the shrines to all persons. He submitted a resolution which would authorize U.N. Secretary-General Trygve Lie to sign an agreement with Israel on the supervision and protection of Holy Places in Jerusalem. Instead of a U.N. commission to represent the U.N. in the city the resolution proposes that Mr. Lie be permitted to send a representative, provided his nominee is acceptable to Israel.
“In particular,” the proposed agreement said, “it is understood that nothing shall authorize the United Nations or the Secretary General or his representative to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the State of Israel, or shall require the Government of Israel to submit any such matters to settlement under the Charter of the United Nations or under this agreement.” The proposed agreement provided that any dispute over the interpretation of the agreement including the question whether a certain place was a Holy Place, should be settled by three arbitrators, one chosen by Israel, one by Mr. Lie, and the third by these two, or, in case of disagreement, by the president of the International Court of Justice.
TRANSJORDAN REJECTS INTERNATIONALIZATION; FAVORS STATUS QUO
In the first official statement over made by a Transjordan spokesman before the United Nations, Fouzi Pasha el Mulki, King Abdullah’s Minister of Defense, told the Special Political Committee yesterday that the Arab Legion would not be withdrawn from the city and that Transjordan favors continuance of the present situation whereby it controls the Old City and some of the outlying sections of the Jerusalem area, and the Israelis hold Jewish Jerusalem.
In a private memorandum circulated among several United Nations delegations, the Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday appealed for a return to the idea of establishing an international enclave in Jerusalem. Under his proposal, the large Jewish residential areas to the north and west of the old Walled City of Jerusalem would be included as a part of the territory of Israel.
The rest of the Jerusalem area would be assigned to the proposed international enclave and remain under international authority, with Jews and Arabs dwelling together with equal rights. The memorandum was submitted privately to several delegations, including the United States, Britain, Lebanon and Australia.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
