SURPRISE MOVE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 136, 20 March 1948, Page 5

SURPRISE MOVE

EFFORT TO SHELVE PARTITION Action by United States (N.Z.P. A.—Copyright). (Ree. 11.30) NEW YORK, Mar. 19. The United States, in a surprise move, to-day asked the United Nations to shelve the plan to partition Palestine and call an immediate session of the General Assembly to establish temporary trusteeship for the Holy Land. M. Gromyko (Soviet) immediately assailed the proposal as a contradiction of the Assembly’s 1947 decision. He said the Soviet could neither give direct nor indirect assent to the plan. He would ask Moscow for instructions, and until he received them, he could not discuss the substance of the proposal.

The American plan was laid before a meeting of the Rig Five by Mr Warren Austin (United States) after the Security Council met in the morning. The meeting heard a report from him that the United States, Russia, China and France considered that the council should act immediately to restore peace in Palestine. France and China indicated that they would agree to the latest American proposal. Britain, who has not participated in the Big Power deliberations, had no comment to offer.

During the Big Five meeting, the Secretary-General, Mr Trygve Lye, reminded delegates that the trrusteeship for Palestine was proposed to the Palestine Commission by Australia, but was eventually rejected because the Commission thought that both sides would oppose it, and enforcement would require more of a' military force than partition. Mr Lie said he was obliged to ask whether, if the United States’ proposal was put into' effect, the Big Powers were -prepared to see it through. Mr Austin replied that the United States was ready to back up any United Nations decision.

Other delegates did not reply. Mr Austin said the Rig Four found that partition could not be carried out peacefully because of the Jewish Agency’s and the Arab Higher Committee’s opposing views.

Fighting Must Stop

Mr Austin contended that it was clear that the Security Council was not prepared to proceed with efforts to carry out partition under existing conditions of chaos, and heavy fighting would follow the termination of the British mandate on May 15. “The United Nations cannot permit such a result. Loss of life in the Holy Land must be ended immediately. The maintenance of international peace is at stake.” Mr Austin said the United States agreed fully with other Great Powers that the Security Council must use all available means to restore peace in Palestine. , “Additionally, my Government believes that temporary trusteeship for Palestine should be established to maintain peace and afford Arabs and Jews a further opportunity to reach agreement regarding Palestine’s future Government. Such United Nations trusteeship would, of course, be without prejudice to the character, of the eventual political settlement which we hope can be achieved without long delay. In our opinion the Security Council. should recommend the establishment of such trusteeship to the General Assembly and Britain. This would require a special Assembly session, which the Council might call under the United Nations’ Charter’s terms. Pending the special session we believe the Security Council should instruct the Palestine Commission to suspend its efforts to implement partition.” Mr Austin pointed out: “Under the Charter, the Security Council has both inescapable responsibility as well as full authority to take steps necessary to bring about the cease-fire in Palestine and a halt to incursions being made to that country. The Council should use all its powers to stop the fighting.”

Threat to United Nations

Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, chairman of the American section of the Jewish Agency, told the Council that the General Assembly’s partition plan remained valid for the Jewish people. Palestine Jews would do everything possible for national survival if the United Nations could not carry out partition. Dr. Silver said: “We are at an utter loss to understand the reason for this amazing reversal, which will bring confusion, is likely to lead to increased violence, and will incalculably hurt the prestige of the United Nations, for whose effectiveness President Truman pleaded again as recently as Wednesday.”