Office of the Historian

127. Memorandum of a Conversation, New York, June 16, 1955, 2:30 p.m.1

PMCG (NY) MC– 2
June 16, 1955, 2:30 p.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • The Secretary
  • Ambassador Lodge
  • Mr. Merchant
  • M. Pinay
  • Ambassador De Murville
  • Ambassador Hoppenot
  • M. Crouy-Chanel
  • Mr. Macmillan
  • Sir Harold Caccia
  • Sir Pierson Dixon
  • Sir Roger Makins
  • Mr. Ramsbotham

A brief meeting was held after luncheon on June 16 to discuss the Gaza strip situation and its relation to the Security Council. Ambassador Lodge described the present situation as tense. He referred to the Burns report after the January incident2 and the letter which he had circulated to the Security Council members a week or so ago.3

The Secretary stated that there were intelligence indications that the Israeli were massing. The Security Council might be able to take some action which would deter hostilities, or, failing that, it then might make recommendations based on a report from General Burns which would call on member governments to impose economic sanctions. The United States would then be prepared to suspend governmental aid to Israel which it would not consider itself in a position to do except in response to some call from the Security Council.

There was some discussion as to a public announcement that the Security Council was prepared to meet in San Francisco next week if the situation deteriorated.

Mr.Macmillan said that on Tuesday he had called in separately the Egyptian and Israeli Ambassadors in London. He had earnestly [Page 248] asked them to meet in full the four points of General Burns’ recommendation, but he had not yet had a reply from either. He said that he had solemnly reaffirmed the Tripartite Declaration in the House of Commons yesterday.4 He recognized the desirability, in the event of a major outbreak, of securing some form of Security Council action which would in effect support tripartite action.

The Secretary again pointed out that we have a constitutional problem in connection with action under the Tripartite Declaration and said the essential thing was that any action under that Declaration be specifically linked with action by the United Nations.

After some further discussion, it was agreed that the Security Council should be prepared to meet immediately in the event of the situation worsening and that it would be in a position to meet if necessary in San Francisco.

The three Permanent Representatives to the United Nations were then requested to withdraw and to consider (1) what further publicity, if any, should be given to the possible meeting of the Security Council in San Francisco and (2) what types of sanctions might be employed against the aggressor in the event of an outbreak of hostilities in the Gaza strip.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–NE/6–1755. Secret. Prepared on June 18. No other drafting information is given on the source text. The time was taken from Secretary Dulles’ Appointment Book. (Princeton University Library, Dulles Papers) Another memorandum of this conversation, drafted by Barco, is in Department of State,UNP Files: Lot 58 D 224, Palestine.↩
  2. Presumably reference is to the Gaza incident of February 28.↩
  3. Reference is to Ambassador Lodge’s letter of June 7. For text, see U.N. doc.S/3406.↩
  4. For text of Macmillan’s remarks, seeParliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 5th Series, vol. 542, cols. 596–600.↩