Item 84 of the provisional agenda*
UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES
Revenues derived from Palestine refugees' properties
Report of the Secretary-General
1. The present report is submitted in pursuance of General Assembly resolution 50/28 F of 6 December 1995, entitled "Revenues derived from Palestine refugees' properties, the operative paragraphs of which read as follows:
"1. Requests the Secretary-General to take all appropriate steps, in consultation with the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine, for the protection of Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel and to establish a fund for the receipt of income derived therefrom, on behalf of the rightful owners;
"2. Calls once more upon Israel to render all facilities and assistance to the Secretary-General in the implementation of the present resolution;
"3. Calls upon the Governments of all the other Member States concerned to provide the Secretary-General with any pertinent information in their possession concerning Arab property, assets and property rights in Israel which would assist the Secretary-General in the implementation of the present resolution;
"4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution."
2. On 4 April 1996, the Secretary-General transmitted to the Government of Israel the text of General Assembly resolutions 50/28 A to G of 6 December 1995, with the request that it inform him by 1 June 1996 of any steps it had taken or envisaged taking in implementation of the relevant provisions of the resolutions.
3. On 10 April 1996, the Secretary-General sent a note verbale to all other Member States, drawing their attention to the relevant provision of resolutions 50/28 A to G, including paragraph 3 of resolution 50/28 F, and requesting information by 1 June 1996 concerning any action taken or envisaged in relation to their implementation.
4. A reply dated 3 May 1996 was received from Israel, covering various aspects of resolutions 50/28 A to G. The text reads as follows:
"Israel's position on these resolutions has been set forth in successive annual replies submitted to the Secretary-General in recent years, the latest of which being Israel's note verbale dated 8 June 1995. While it is true that the number of resolutions regarding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been reduced in the past years from 10 to 7, the content of these resolutions remains occupied with political issues irrelevant to the work for which UNRWA is responsible, and thus remains detached from the new reality. Accordingly, Israel abstained on resolutions 50/28 D, and voted against resolutions 50/28 A, C, E, F and G.
"It should be noted that the signature of the Declaration of Principles and the Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area has engendered further significant progress in the framework of the peace process. This includes the signature, by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 28 September 1995 in Washington, D.C., the redeployment of Israel Defence Forces from Palestinian population centres, the elections to the Palestinian Council and the continuing negotiations on further implementation of the Declaration of Principles.
"Israel believes that UNRWA can play an important role in promoting the social and economic advancement foreseen in the agreements between Israel and the PLO, and accordingly looks forward to continuing the cooperation and good working relationship with UNRWA.
"In the light of the above, Israel considers it essential that the General Assembly consolidate the resolutions regarding UNRWA into one resolution directly related to the agency's humanitarian tasks. This would also be compatible with the necessity to rationalize the work of the General Assembly."
5. No replies have been received from other Member States with regard to paragraph 3 of resolution 50/28 F.
