Editorial Note
Acting Mediator Bunche welcomed the Israeli and Egyptian armistice negotiators in his opening statement at Rhodes on January 13. He noted that “by the terms of the proposal agreed upon, negotiations are to be confined, subject always to the will of the 2 parties, to the means of implementing the SC resolutions of 4 and 16 November 1948. We are not holding a peace conference here. We are not expecting to settle the complicated political issues which bedevil this problem and to which the Conciliation Commission will soon direct its attention.”
Mr. Bunche recognzed that “there is a great and hopeful significance in your very presence here and your willingness to sit down together and attempt to find a basis of agreement for armistice in the conflict between the armed forces of the governments which you represent.
“Nor am I unware that this meeting marks the first time in this unfortunate conflict that representatives of the two sides have shown the statesmanship which enables them to sit down together in a common [Page 656] effort to look beyond a tenuous truce and to negotiate the armistice called for by the SC.”
Near the conclusion of his statement, Mr. Bunche appealed “most urgently that every precaution be taken by all governments to avoid any incidents or acts which might jeopardize the constructive progress of your delegations toward armistice accord. I have in mind not only governments directly involved in these negotiations or in the Palestine conflict, but those whose interests impel them to keep close surveillance on developments in the area.” (telegram 41, January 14, 3:30 p. m., from New York, 501 BB Palestine/1–1449)
The United Nations released the text of Mr. Bundle’s statement on January 14 as press release PAL/413.