U.N. Assembly Starts Debate on Palestine Conciliation Commission

The debate on the Palestine issue opened at the United Nations General Assembly session here today when the United States, Britain, France and Turkey jointly submitted a resolution to the Assembly’s special political committee calling for continuation of the U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine and urging the Arab states and Israel to attempt to settle their differences. The report of the U.N. Relief and Work Agency for the Palestine Arab refugees is also before the special committee.

The first reaction of the Israel delegation to the proposal was that the four-power resolution was not entirely satisfactory. A delegation source said that the Israelis feel that the Commission is no longer of any value and pointed to the fact that the U.N. body itself asked for its own dissolution. A meeting here of representatives of the Arab League states last night decided to reject the four-power proposal, which was circulated privately among the Arab delegations during the week-end.

In the form of an eight-point memorandum, the four-power resolution suggested continuation of the Conciliation Commission, but with its headquarters in New York and a representative remaining in Jerusalem. Expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Commission, the resolution asked that “the governments concerned seek agreement with a view to a settlement in the spirit of justice and realism and on a basis of mutual concessions. and for this purpose to make use of United Nations facilities.”

Pressing for adoption of the resolution, American delegate Philip C. Jessup said that his country wanted to see Israeli-Arab relations established on a sound and friendly basis. Insisting that his government considers that the U.N. must continue its conciliation efforts. Ambassador Jessup said that the U.N. could point the way to a final settlement. Representatives of Turkey, France and China today spoke in favor of the resolution, while the Lebanese delegate announced that his delegation would submit proposals of its own, although he declined to comment on the nature of these proposals.

(Abba Eban, Chief Israeli delegate to the U.N., leaving Tel Aviv for Paris this morning to take over direction of the delegation, told newsmen that Israel did not intend to make any proposal on the Palestine question at the Assembly session.)