UN Palestine Commission – Police Force for Jerusalem – Letter from United Kingdom

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19 April 1948

UNITED NATIONS PALESTINE COMMISSION

Communication Received froze United Kingdom

Delegation Concerning Special Emergency

Police Force for Jerusalem

The following communication, concerning the recruitment of British personnel for a special emergency police force for Jerusalem, has been received from Mr. Fletcher-Cooke of the United Kingdom Delegation.

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UNITED KINGDOM DELEGATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Empire State Building

New York 1, N. Y.

My dear Bunche,

May I refer you to my confidential letter of the 12th April about the Commission’s proposal to send an official to Palestine to proceed with the preliminary organisation and recruitment of British personnel for a Special Emergency Security Force for Jerusalem to be formed on a volunteer bases.

2. I have now received the following information from Jerusalem:-

(1) The number of volunteers from the Palestine Police Force for the Special Emergency Security Force for Jerusalem is only fifty.

(2) These consist mainly of young and inexperienced Police Constables with a few junior Non-Commissioned Officers.

(3) There are no officers and no inspectors among them.

(4) Moreover, some of those who have volunteered have local connections which would make than unsuitable for employment in an international force.

3. The Government of Palestine points out that this disappointing result is due entirely to the delay in calling for volunteers from the Palestine Police Force, most of whom have naturally had to make other plane.

4. It will be appreciated that the Commission’s statement in February that they were prepared to offer employment to British Police was not a formal request for volunteers but merely a statement of policy. It is understood that members of the advance party have confirmed in another connection that the Commission’s statement regarding the employment of officers of the Government of Palestine was a statement of policy only and not a definite offer.

Yours sincerely,

(signed) J. FLETCHER-COOKE

(J. Fletcher-Cooke)

Dr. Ralph J. Bunche,

Principal Secretary to the United Nations

Commission on Palestine,

United Nations,

Lake Success