A resolution proposing that the U.N. Trusteeship Council refer the Jerusalem issue back to the General Assembly, together with the new Israel plan to place the Holy Places under a U.N. protectorate rather than to place the entire Jerusalem area under international trusteeship, was recommended today by a number of delegations at the Council session here at which the Jerusalem problem came up for discussion.
The Council decided to postpone decision on this resolution until Wednesday, at the same time instructing the Secretariat to prepare a report by tomorrow afternoon on the deliberations conducted by the Council with regard to the Jerusalem question. The proposal to refer the entire issue to the General Assembly was supported by the United States, Britain, France, Belgium and other countries. It would have been voted upon tonight if not for a request by the Philippine delegate to delay the vote in order to give him the opportunity to consult with his government.
The U.S. told the Trusteeship Council that it was “impracticable at this time to proceed with the implementation of the statute for Jerusalem” and, in conjunction with Britain and New Zealand, proposed that the question be referred back to the Assembly for further consideration.
Referring to the Israel proposal for a U.N. protectorate for the Holy Places, the three nations maintained that the Council was not the place to consider the merits of this proposal but suggested that it be included in the Council reports to the Assembly. U.S. delegate Francis B. Sayre declared that “it is still our hope that the two governments most directly concerned will be able to agree on arrangements for Jerusalem which would be satisfactory to them and to the interests of the world community in that city.”
Aubrey S. Eban, Israel delegate to the U.N. and Ambassador to the U.S., told the Council that the Jewish state had no objections to deferment of consideration of its proposal until the Assembly meets. In fact, he said, the new Israel plan had been drawn up “to illuminate in advance certain lines along which the General Assembly might proceed” on the question of Jerusalem.
Israel is content, he added, to have its proposal discussed by the Assembly and asked only that the Council submit the proposal in full in its report to the Assembly. He took sharp issue with the delegate of Iraq, Awni Khalidi, who in a speech to the Council reiterated the Arabs’ firm stand for complete internationalization of the Holy City. In his address he bitterly assailed former Council president Roger Garreau, of France, as well as the Israel proposal.
In reply, M. Garreau repeated that in his last week’s report to the Council he had not changed his own support for internationalization but had only given an objective account of Israel’s cooperation and good faith in dealing with him and the Council and the “absurdity” of Jordan’s failure to cooperate.
Farlier, Israel, in the first opportunity offered it so far to express a view on the Chinese representation issue in the United Nations, joined eight other nations to vote in favor of inviting Communist China to send a representative to the U.N. Technical Assistance Conference, which opened today.
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