U.N. Trusteeship Council to Vote Today on Transfer of Israel Offices to Jerusalem

The U.N. Trusteeship Council will reconvene here tomorrow and is expected to vote on a series of resolutions concerning the transfer of Israel Government offices from Tel. Aviv to Jerusalem. The Council will also vote on a proposal to invite Israel to appear before it to explain its action. A French proposal calling for the Jewish state to be invited to participate in the Trusteeship Council deliberations as a non-voting member will also be voted upon.

Roger Garreau, president of the Council, voiced the general feeling of futility of the Council delegates when he acknowledged publicly for the first time during the week-end that the Council will be obliged to refer the entire Jerusalem issue to a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in the event it finds it cannot implement the draft statute for an internationalized Jerusalem.

An earlier French resolution seeking to censure Israel for her action in moving the offices of the Israel Government from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was greatly modified until, in its final form, the resolution merely asks the Trusteeship Council to “consider” that the Israel transfer of government offices to the Holy City is “likely to render more difficult the implementation of the Statute of Jerusalem with which the Council was entrusted by the General Assembly resolution of Dec. 9, 1949.”

An Israel spokesman, meanwhile, issued a statement asserting that the move of government departments to Jerusalem could not affect the problem of implementing the General Assembly resolution for internationalization of Jerusalem because the resolution was inherently unimplementable since “it clashes with the aspirations and rights of the city’s people who are unanimously resolved to retain their independence.” The spokesman added that Israel would continue to advocate a constructive solution based on guaranteeing the religious interests of the international community while enlisting active cooperation of the peoples directly concerned. This, he said, would be “in full harmony with the Charter and with the spirit of conciliation and agreement which the U.N. should promote.”