UN General Assembly
1956

66. There is another element of crisis in the situation in the Middle East to which my delegation would like to draw the Assembly’s attention. I refer to the precarious position of those places in Palestine which Christendom regards as holy and which also to those of the Jewish and Moslem faiths have a sacred character. Owing to the failure to give effect to the General Assembly resolution of 9 December 1949 [303 (IV)] by reason of the conflicting territorial and political claims of the States in that area, the situation now is precarious and unstable, and for that reason liable to deteriorate into conflict. 67. However well-founded those claims may appear to be, none of them can be allowed to take precedence over the respect demanded by the religious interests of the faiths which have their holy places in that country. These interests are of such outstanding spiritual significance and are so deeply rooted in history that they cannot be subordinated to aspirations of any other kind.