501.BB Palestine/9–2248: Telegram
The Chargé in Lebanon (Kuniholm) to the Acting Secretary of State
479. Re Depcirtel September 19, 4 p. m. Since President and Prime Minister are absent from Beirut I transmitted message to Foreign Minister, who said he would relay it to President.
Frangié paid tribute to Bernadotte as impartial and honest mediator, who tried to perform an impossible and hopeless task.
He repeated what he has stated on frequent occasions, that Arabs would never recognize state of Israel. Jews, he said, would be boycotted by Arab states; any state which engaged in trade with Israel, furthermore, would also be boycotted by Arab states. When I observed that such a boycott could be as dangerous to Arabs as to Jews, and almost impossible to enforce, he replied that ways would be found to make it effective.
Frangié assured me that Lebanese Army would never attack Jews unless attacked first.