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Israel Government Studying Legality of Trusteeship Council’s Order

December 22, 1949
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The Israel Government is now studying the legality of the resolution adopted last night by the U.N. Trusteeship Council requesting that Israel “revoke” the transfer of its government offices from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abstain from any action liable to hinder implementation of the decision taken by the General Assembly to place Jerusalem under international trusteeship.

A statement to this effect was made here today by a spokesman of the Israel delegation. “Israel,” he said, “is studying whether the Trusteeship Council, whose authority is derived only from trust agreements with governments, has the right to interfere in a sovereign area not yet placed under a trust agreement.”

Meanwhile, the Trusteeship Council today began a month’s vacation hopelessly divided on the Jerusalem issue. The fact that only five of the 12 members of the Council voted last night for the resolution asking Israel to remove its government offices from Jerusalem was considered here today as indicative of the growing skepticism among the United Nations delegates regarding implementation of the decision to internationalize Jerusalem.

Some of the members of the Trusteeship Council who abstained from voting last night were today reported to have withheld their votes in the belief that the Trusteeship Council was not empowered to issue its directive to Israel. Others were of the opinion that regardless of the Council’s decision, the Israel Government would continue to move its offices to Jerusalem.

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