Israel-Transjordan General Cease-Fire Agreement – Cablegram from UN Acting Mediator

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CABLEGRAM DATED 11 MARCH 1949 FROM THE ACTING MEDIATOR

TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL TRANSMITTING THE TEXT OF A GENERAL

CEASE-FIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND TRANSJORDAN

FOR PRESIDENT SECURITY COUNCIL:

I have the honour to inform the Security Council that on the morning of 11 March at Rhodes the Delegations representing the Governments of Israel and Transjordan in the current Armistice negotiations signed a General Cease-Fire Agreement applying to all sectors in which forces under the Israeli and Transjordan Command are opposed.  The text of this Agreement is as follows:

ISRAELI TRANSJORDAN GENERAL CEASE-FIRE AGREEMENT

We, the undersigned on behalf of our respective Governments do hereby agree that:

1. A General Cease-Fire between the armed forces of the two parties shall be effective as of the date of the signing of this Agreement.

2. The General Cease-Fire shall be complete and enduring and shall apply to all elements of the Military or para military farces forces under the command of the parties signatory – land, sea and air – wherever located and shall extend to all sectors in which the armed forces of the two parties are found in proximity to each other beginning in the North at Kh Deir Azab (MR 1510 1574).

3. No element of the ground or air forces of either party shall advance beyond or pass over the lines or positions now held by the foremost elements of its ground forces and no element of air or naval forces of either party shall enter into or pass over the waters adjacent to the coastline now held by the other party for any purposes whatsoever.

4. Complete supervision of the Truce by the United Nations observers shall be allowed and facilitated.

5. Movements of civilians shall not occur from one side to the other excerpt by mutual agreement of the parties.

This General Cease-Fire Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights, claims, interests and positions of either party signatory hereto as regards specific  matters which may relate to the Armistice negotiations now in progress or to the ultimate peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues between the parties.

Done and signed in quadruplicate at Rhodes, Island of Rhodes, Greece, on the eleventh day of March, nineteen forty-nine, in the presence of the United Nations Acting Mediator on Palestine.

In urging the parties to undertake voluntary cease-fire at this time, I expressed the hope that its scrupulous observance by both sides would serve to dissipate the tension which has recently developed in the Southern Negev.

The negotiations on the Armistice Agreement continue.

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