Discussion of upcoming agenda items: reunion of families & mixed Arab-Israeli working groups that will be set up to estimate damage to Arab property – UNCCP’s General Cttee 24th mtg (Lausanne) – Summary record

UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE

GENERAL COMMITTEE

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING

held in Lausanne on Tuesday

26 July 1949, at 10:15 a.m.

The twenty-fourth meeting of the General Committee was devoted to a discussion of the items to be dealt with in the forthcoming two meetings with the Israeli and Arab delegations respectively.

An agenda had already been circulated for the meeting with the Israeli delegation, including two items: (1) reunion of families, and (2) the question of mixed Arab-Israeli working groups to estimate damage to Arab property in Israel. It was decided that the Committee would meet the Arab delegations the following day, and that the agenda would include the same two items plus a third, the question of the blocked Arab accounts.

The Committee agreed to adopt the position suggested by Mr. Rockwell with regard to the reunion of families; i.e., to urge the Arab delegations to accept the programme offered by the Israeli Government, while making any reservations desired, in order to enable actual repatriation to begin. At the same time the Committee agreed to endeavour, as it had been instructed by the Commission, to bring about an extension of the Israeli definition of family members eligible for repatriation.

In the latter connection, the Committee agreed to place before the Israeli delegation for its consideration the following definition submitted by Mr. Yenisey:

“Any refugee who was, before the date of the opening of hostilities, financially dependent upon the head of his family, shall have the right to rejoin his family in Palestine, with the exception of all persons who have borne arms against Israel.”

Mr. Yenisey pointed out that he had discussed the proposed definition with a member of the Egyptian delegation, who had considered it acceptable to his own and probably to the other Arab delegations.