131. Telegram From the Mission at the United Nations to the Department of State1
900. For Acting Secretary from Dulles. Subject: Gaza Situation. The following tripartite agreement was reached this morning on the subject of the Gaza situation with particular emphasis on suggested action by the Security Council in the event of an overt aggression.
Begin verbatim text.
The three Permanent Delegates to the United Nations met at 3:15 p.m. on June 16 to consider the following two questions referred to them by the three Foreign Ministers.
- (1)
-
Whether the President of the Security Council should issue some immediate warning that the Security Council may meet in San Francisco.
It was agreed to recommend that Mr.Lodge, as President of the Security Council in June, should take steps to see that his letter of June 16 (S/3406) was kept before the public, and to indicate that the [Page 254] United Nations Secretariat had been warned of the possibility of a meeting in San Francisco in case of an emergency.
- (2)
-
In the event of one of the parties committing an overt aggression, what action would we wish the Security Council to take?
[It was noted that there was a prior question which was outside the jurisdiction of the Permanent Representatives and which was still under discussion between governments viz: whether a tripartite warning should be made to the Israeli and Egyptian Governments re-affirming the intention of the three powers to act upon the Tripartite Declaration.]2
It was agreed that, in the event of an overt aggression by one of the parties, involving an invasion across the Gaza Strip, the Security Council should be called at once and should be moved to take the following action under the terms of Chapter Roman seven of the Charter:
- (a)
- Call for an urgent report from General Burns;
- (b)
- Call for a cease-fire;
- (c)
- Indicate which party was the aggressor;
- (d)
- Call upon the aggressing state to withdraw its troops;
- (e)
- Call upon allmember governments to refrain from all aid to the aggressor.
[A broad formula of this kind would be advisable as we would not wish the Council to call, in terms, on the three powers to take measures to restore the situation. The formula suggested would, however, permit us to apply economic sanctions without stopping all trade with the country concerned.]
It was further recommended that consideration should be given to whether we should warn the parties concerned in advance of the action contemplated in the Security Council in the event of aggression.
End verbatim text.
It is suggested Department pass to appropriate Missions, also Mr.Lodge if available.3
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 674.84A/6–1755. Secret. Received at 4:56 p.m.↩
- All brackets are in the source text.↩
- Repeated priority on June 18 to Cairo, London, Tel Aviv, Paris, Jerusalem, and to San Francisco for Ambassador Lodge. (Department of State, Central Files, 674.84A/ 6–1755)↩