Discussion of Chairman’s Working Paper/plan of work – UNCCP Cttee on Jerusalem’s 4th mtg – Summary record

COMMITTEE ON JERUSALEM

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE THIRD MEETING

Held in Jerusalem on 4 March at 2.30 p.m.

I. Discussion of Working Paper prepared by the Chairman (Com.Jer7/W.1)

The Committee concluded its discussion of Part I of the Chairman’s Working Paper. In connection with the finances of an internationalised Jerusalem, the Committee agreed that the work of the League of Nations in re-establishing the finances of the Free City of Danzig should be studied. It was recognized that the question of revenue and expenditure of the international area of Jerusalem required expert study.

II. Plan of Work of the .Committee

The Committee discussed in general terms its objective and plan of work, and reached agreement on the following points:

(a) It was useless to work in a vacuum and produce a paper scheme for rigid internationalisation which would disregard existing political realities.

(b) The Committee had to contemplate the possibility that it might be forced to report to the General Assembly that the aspirations of the two parties did not permit of internationalisation, within the meaning of the General Assembly’s resolution.

(c) The Committee’s terms of reference were, however, sufficiently wide to enable it to hope that the principle of internationalisation might be adopted in such t way as to prove acceptable to the two parties.

(d) Once the Committee had agreed on a wide outline scheme (such as that contained in Part I of the Chairman’s Working Paper), it should endeavour to assist the two parties to reach agreement within the framework of that scheme.

(e) It was necessary at all costs to prevent the premature acceptance at Rhodes or elsewhere of a rigid partition line for Jerusalem, from which the two parties could not subsequently retreat.

(f) In order to avoid this, the Committee should invite the two parties at the earliest opportunity to a round table conference on the question of the administrative division of the city. Since the delegation to the Rhodes talks and to the Committee’s talks would both be following the same directives, it would be possible to keep the Rhodes negotiations in line with the Committee’s negotiations.

(g) The Committee should invite the two parties forthwith to discuss practical steps to be taken towards a resumption of common services for Jerusalem.

(h) The Committee should bear in mind that the welfare and interests of .the population of Jerusalem, Arab and Jewish, were its paramount concern, but that nevertheless the Committee would be regarded as successful by the General Assembly only if it could report a settlement acceptable to the Governments of Israel and Trans Jordan.

(i) The Committee should commence talks with local and municipal representatives as soon as possible. These talks should be primarily concerned with technical and municipal matters.