867N.01/3–2748
Proposed Letter From President Truman to British Prime Minister Attlee1
My Dear Mr. Prime Minister: I am taking advantage of the departure of Ambassador Douglas for London to send you this personal [Page 772] letter expressing my deep concern over the trend of events in Palestine.
I am fully aware of the deep-seated popular feeling in the United Kingdom that the time has come for your Government to terminate its Mandate for Palestine and to withdraw the forces which thus far have maintained the integrity of the Mandate. I would not be candid if I did not tell you frankly that the rapidity of British withdrawal in the face of the uncertain future for Palestine very much complicates the task which lies before the United Nations if by May 15 of this year it is to establish some form of rule in Palestine which will maintain the peace, not only internally, but also with regard to the security of the Middle East.
You may have read the statement which I made on March 25 on the position of the United States Government with respect to the Palestine situation. In this statement, I stressed our belief based on recent consultations among the permanent members of the Security Council and with the Jews and the Arabs of Palestine that the plan for partition of Palestine recommended by the United Nations General Assembly on November 29, 1947 cannot be carried out at this time by peaceful means. I also emphasized that we cannot undertake to impose this solution on the people of Palestine by the use of force, since the Charter of the United Nations does not empower the Security Council or the General Assembly to enforce such political recommendations.
My statement concluded with the proposal that an immediate truce be observed by the two dissident communities in Palestine—the Arabs and Jews. At the same time, we proposed that the United Nations establish a temporary trusteeship for Palestine to provide a government to keep the peace.
It would seem to me that your Government would have a special interest in the arrangement of an immediate truce in Palestine since it is still the Mandatory Power. We are, therefore, counting upon the full support and cooperation of your Government in urging the Jews and Arabs of Palestine to agree to a cease-fire order by the Security Council and to a truce which shall be without prejudice to the eventual solution of the Palestine problem.
It is clear that without the full support of your Government it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to work out the terms of a trusteeship and to set up in Palestine in the near future a temporary trusteeship regime which could maintain law and order following the termination of the Mandate. Such a trusteeship, as I stated [Page 773] on March 25, would not prejudice the character of the final political settlement.
There is a possibility that if the United Nations Trusteeship Council should accept responsibility to become the administering authority for Palestine and should appoint a governor with wide powers to maintain the integrity of that country, security forces might be required at the request of the Trusteeship Council or the governor to maintain international peace and security with respect to Palestine. The Government of the United States is prepared to join with the Governments of the remaining Allied and Associated Powers of World War I—in other words, the United Kingdom and France—to provide contingents to the Trusteeship Council and the Governor of Palestine, if such should be required under emergency conditions, for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security under the terms of the trusteeship agreement.
The Department of State has given considerable study to the details of a temporary trusteeship agreement which would incorporate some of the thoughts which I have expressed in this letter. I have no doubt, on the other hand, that your Government has been able to study this matter in greater detail in view of its long administrative experience in Palestine. It is, therefore, my hope that officials of the British Government will be prepared to cooperate with corresponding officials of the United States Government in the preparation of a draft trusteeship agreement. Such a draft agreement could subsequently be considered more formally by our two governments and perhaps by other interested governments prior to presentation to the United Nations. It is my understanding that measures for an interchange of views are under way. You may be assured that we are anxious to cooperate with you in this matter and we stand ready to supply such information as we may be in a position to contribute.
We feel that prompt action is imperative in view of the early date on which your Government plans to terminate the mandate for Palestine. In order to proceed under the trusteeship provisions of the Charter, it would appear necessary for the United Kingdom as Mandatory Power to present a draft Trusteeship Agreement to the United Nations at the earliest possible moment. Such action should be welcomed by the United Nations and should strengthen its handling of the Palestine question. We are convinced that peace in Palestine and a successful political settlement for Palestine will not be attained unless we approach this increasingly difficult question in a cooperative manner.
Sincerely yours,
- Drafted March 27 by Messrs. McClintock and Wilkins and transmitted to Mr. Lovett by Mr. Henderson with his memorandum of March 29; marginal notation, by Mr. Lovett: “Not approved”.↩