The Palestine Problem— Surprises Predicted In UNO Debate

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 October 1948, Page 6

The Palestine Problem— Surprises Predicted In UNO Debate

LONDON, October 15. “Observers in Paris have noted signs that there will be surprising developments in the coming battle over the Palestine issue in the United Nations Political Committee, which will meet today to grapple with the problem,” says Reuter’s Paris correspondent. “The committee will have before it Count Bernadotte’s last report. There are indications that instead of attacking the report outright and fighting on each of its points separately, the Israeli representatives will launch what may be termed a flanking movement., s

“The Israeli representative (Mr Aubrey Eban) gave evidence of this in his speech to the Security Council yesterday, in which he made the following points: (1) the Palestine truce is not durable, and must be replaced as soon as possible by a permanent peace; (2) the United Nations should persuade the Jews and Arabs to sit down to a peace conference; (3) attempts should not be made to ‘improvise territorial adjustments.’ '“Several smaller countries which have no axe to grind have been impressed by the argument that no truce can be maintained so long as the United Nations cannot make its authority felt in Palestine. It is also argued that the continued presence of United Nations observers and officials is a source of friction among some parts of the population. “Many of the countries represented on the committee would gladly vote for any project which would in effect

take the whole troublesome question out of their hands, and leave it to the natural economic and political forces which govern the relations of all States. “The Arab position is obscure in the absence of representatives of the new governing authority recently set up at Gaza, which all the Arab States so far have not recognised, the burden of the Arab defence will fall on the five Arab States represented in the United Nations. They remain determined to fight the partition plan to the last ditch.”