UN Palestine Commission – Food supplies for Palestine – Letter from United Kingdom

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30 April 1948

UNITED NATIONS PALESTINE COMMISSION

Communication Received from the United Kingdom

Delegation Concerning Food Supplies for Palestine

The following communication, regarding food supplies for Palestine, 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 letter of the 23rd April and previous correspondence regarding Food Supplies for Palestine.

2. I have received by telegram from Jerusalem the text of a letter which was sent to Steel Brothers, Brothers, on 26th April, relating to supplies ordered by the Government of Palestine before the termination of the Mandate. The text of this letter is as follows: –

“I am to authorise you to receive and realise all such Government stocks which may include stocks afloat, stocks in course of unloading, stocks in the Customs shed, stocks in transit by you, or stocks in your possession. Such stocks should be taken over by your Company on termination of the Mandate and should be distributed against cash at cost price and expenses (without subsidy) proportionally to Arab and Jewish wholesalers on the basis of pest allocations. You are also authorised to charge a commission of l% actual C.I.F. values. This commission should be added to the selling price of the goods and be deducted from the proceeds which should be remitted by your Company to the Crown Agents for the Colonies who will accept these proceeds on deposit in the interests of a successor authority for disposal in connection with the assets of this Government. It is agreed that your remuneration will be derived solely from the one per cent commission already referred to and that you will have no further claim for that or any other remuneration or any expenses against this Government or the Crown Agents.”

I should be grateful if you would bring this to the notice of the Commission.

Yours sincerely,

J. Fletcher-Cooke (signed)

Dr. Ralph J. Bunch,

Principal Secretary to the United Nations

Commission on Palestine,

United Nations

Lake Success.