501.BB Palestine/3–2248
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of United Nations Affairs (Rusk) to the Secretary of State
In dealing with questions on Palestine, the following points are fundamental:
1. The United Nations itself reached a complete impasse on Palestine.
a. The Security Council
On March 5, 1948, the Security Council refused to pass an American resolution which would have accepted the General Assembly resolution as a basis for Security Council action. Our resolution got only 5 of the necessary 7 votes. During Big Five consultations over the past two weeks, no agreement was reached on a basis for further Security Council action on Palestine. In addition, informal consultations among the non-permanent members of the Security Council indicated very clearly that partition could never get 7 votes in the Security Council.
b. The Trusteeship Council
On March 16, 1948, there were only 4 affirmative votes for the Draft Statute for the City of Jerusalem, an essential part of the partition plan. There were 5 votes in opposition. The only way in which partition was saved this defeat was by postponing action in the Trusteeship Council until April.
c. The Palestine Commission
The Palestine Commission will not be able to proceed to Palestine without armed forces to support it, will not be able to establish an [Page 751] Arab Government in the proposed Arab state, will not be able to establish an economic union, and will not be able to place in operation the international territory of the City of Jerusalem. Thus it is clear that the only part of the plan which the Palestine Commission might possibly carry out would be the announcement of a provisional council of government for the Jewish state itself.
2. Unless emergency action is taken, large-scale fighting will break out in Palestine on May 16.
The United Kingdom seems determined to terminate the mandate on May 15. There is no prospect that the partition scheme can now be made effective by that date. Any effort to establish a Jewish state by self-help on the part of the Jews would inevitably result in large-scale fighting between the Jews and the Arabs. The Arabs will insist that the termination of the mandate leaves Palestine as a single independent country, of course under Arab control.
3. The United States proposal for a temporary trusteeship is emergency action directed solely to the maintenance of peace pending a political settlement.
In discussing the nature of the proposed trusteeship, it is important to emphasize that it is a means for obtaining a truce. The military truce must be accompanied by a political truce, but the political truce requires governmental machinery to take over when the British leave. The proposal is without prejudice to the eventual political settlement. It is a conservatory effort.
4. In the trusteeship field, the United Nations is empowered to act as a government and is not making recommendations. There is therefore no Charter problem about enforcing law and order in Palestine in connection with trusteeship.