ON Files: Lot 60 D 6411
Memorandum by the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Press Relations (McDermott) of the Press and Radio News Conference of the Secretary of State on April 26, 1950
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Annexation of Arab Palestine by Jordan
Asked if he had any comment to make on the annexation of Arab Palestine by Jordan, the Secretary said that the elections, which were held on the 24th, were on the basis of the incorporation of Arab Palestine into the Hashemite Kingdom. He continued that those elections had taken place and that this action of the Parliament was to ratify that decision. Mr. Acheson remarked that our American attitude was that normally we had no objection whatever to the union of people who were mutually desirous of this new relationship.
He continued that in this case it had a bearing on the efforts we had made through the United Nations to solve the Palestine matter. [Page 875] He said that we were studying it from that point of view, adding that he thought that was all he could say about it at the present time.
(Following the press conference, the correspondents were informed that it was on April 11 when the Jordanian Parliamentary elections were held in which the voters from Arab Palestine participated. They were told that the date referred to by the Secretary, April 24th, was the date of the ratification by the Jordanian Parliament of the union rather than the date of the elections.)2
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- Lot 60 D 641 is a collection of memoranda of the Press Conferences of the Secretary of State (1935–1955), Department of State Radio (Wireless) Bulletins (1935–1946), News Digests (1945–1952), and other unclassified press materials for the years 1906–1954, as maintained by the Office of News, Bureau of Public Affairs.↩
- The Department of State, on April 26, informed Amman that it did “not contemplate making further public statements” on the union of Jordan and Arab Palestine. It also instructed Minister Drew to send a note to the Jordanian Government stating that the United States Government had instructed him to acknowledge receipt of the decree on union (telegram 52, 684.85/4–2650).↩