501.BB Palestine/5–948: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consulate General at Jerusalem
us urgent
377. Please deliver texts of Third Provisional Draft Articles of Truce1 to your French and Belgian colleagues. French and Belgian Governments are expected to instruct them separately along following lines. Three governments represented on SC Truce Commission will [Page 945] present Truce Articles informally to JA and AHC and Arab League in Palestine. If any basis of agreement on truce can be found in such articles or in revised texts as may be worked out in Palestine, SC Truce Commission should then present them formally to parties and report such action to the Security Council.
Crucial articles are 5 and 11. Latest text Article 5 was intended to give somewhat greater recognition to existing Jewish regime by reference to “Temporary Truce Regime” without going as far as “provisional government”. Shertok apparently thought “Temporary Truce Regime” weakened the Article, hence those words could be dropped.
Article 11 merely states that Truce Commission would deal with question of immigration during period of truce. Actually, we have in mind that SC Truce Commission would be concerned with existing quota of 1500 monthly, but all parties would be aware that British are determined to empty their Cyprus camps into Palestine during truce. Article 11 would thus permit Arabs to take status quo in theory but acquiesce in fact to substantial Jewish immigration during truce. Jews on other hand would get 4,000–6,000 per month into Palestine during truce, a figure on which they could never hope to get Arab agreement.
Present estimate Dept is that Arabs might now accept truce along lines Third Provisional Draft but that Jewish Agency’s attitude has stiffened considerably in past few days. Shertok plainly reflected in talks with Dept yesterday that JA is prepared to gamble on “now or never” basis and possibility of arrangement with Abdullah partitioning Palestine between Jews and Abdullah. US has had no part in such deals and will not be able to assist Jews if they gamble on any such arrangement and lose. We shall continue to follow truce policy so long as there is fighting and will seek truce on any reasonable basis which will in fact stop the fighting in Palestine.
Most unlikely that informal truce efforts in New York can now produce any result; main weight of truce negotiations now shifts to SC Truce Commission. Commission should use broad discretion in trying to find basis for cease fire as situation develops.