Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Arab-Israeli Dispute; United Arab Republic; North Africa, Volume XIII

152. Memorandum From the Secretary of State to the President¹

Washington, June 10, 1960.

SUBJECT

• Palestine Refugee Problem

Mindful of the sharp criticisms recently heard in Congress over the lack of progress in the Palestine refugee situation, we hope shortly to initiate a new approach to this problem. The first step would be the sending of a single emissary to consult secretly with Near Eastern leaders with a view to paving the way for subsequent stages. Because of Turkish membership (with us and the French) on the Palestine Conciliation Commission and Turkey’s unique capability for dealing with knotty Near Eastern problems, we hope to persuade the Turks to provide a qualified emissary.

The key element in the proposed approach is acceptance by all parties of a program offering the options of repatriation, resettlement or compensation to the refugees. The assumption is that only a small portion of the refugees will elect to live permanently in Israel. In Tel Aviv the emissary would emphasize that repatriation would be phased over a period of years and no mass influx of refugees posing a security threat to Israel need be feared. In the Arab capitals he would stress that the principle of repatriation is being upheld. In all capitals he would warn that the PCC would be compelled to report uncooperativeness to the United Nations General Assembly.

The possibility exists that through PCC channels or otherwise news of this new approach could leak. Israel’s friends in this country might misconstrue the effort and as a result domestic political pressures might be generated against the approach. In an election year this could be a serious problem. Our failure to do anything about the refugees could make us almost equally vulnerable to domestic political criticism.

The new approach would: a) be in accord with last December’s UNGA resolution which urged renewed PCC efforts; b) provide an effective answer to Congressional restiveness over the refugee problem; c) afford Israel an opportunity to gain favorable world opinion; and d) offer the best prospects for realistic progress on this longstanding problem.

If you approve, we will move forward promptly along the lines suggested above.

Christian A. Herter²

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 884.411/6–1060. Secret. Drafted by Meyer and cleared with Wilcox. The source text bears the typewritten notation: “Approved by the President 6/10/60 (Initialed original)”.
2. Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.