501.BB Palestine/6–2848: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Acting United States Representative at the United Nations (Jessup)
us urgent
436. With reference to Lie’s note of June 251 requesting that the Belgian, French and US Govts supply contingents in equal numbers to make up the 1,000 man UN guard for Jerusalem to be at the disposal of the UN Mediator, please make the following reply to SYG Lie:
As members of the SC Truce Commission we agree to the formula [Page 1156] he has suggested, that members of the Jerusalem guard be recruited from nationals of the govts which compose the Truce Commission; i.e., Belgium, France and the US.
However, we are not in a position to second American forces for UN guard duty, nor are we able to recruit American citizens for such duty.
Please inform SYG Lie that we believe the most efficacious manner of handling this question would be for himself, as Secretary General, to employ 333 American citizens for UN guard duty in Jerusalem, and that he send representatives to France and Belgium to gather similar contingents in those countries. We prefer and think it wise that this be a UN effort under the responsibility and powers of the SYG. As indicated Deptel 419, June 23, we believe that Jerusalem guard should be entirely distinct from Lie’s projected UN guard.
Repeated to Paris as 2344, Brussels as 990, London as 2435, Jerusalem 665.
- Incorporated in telegram 817 from New York of the same date, not printed.↩