Evening star., 1948-12-04
Palestine Plan
Voted in
j. n. Committee
Approval by Assembly
For Amended British
Proposal Uncertain
BY the Assoeiuted Press

PARIS, Dec. 4.-The much
amended British proposal for
conciliation of the Palestine
problem was approved narrowly
today in the United Nations Po-
litical Committee The margin
was far too narrow to assure its
adoption by the General As
sembly.
The 58-nation Political Commit
tee approved the British resolu-
tion as a whole by a vote of Is
to 81, with nine abstentions and
three members marked absent.
A two-thirds majority of those
present and voting is necessary for
approval in the General Assembly.
Thus if the non-voters remain the
same, a switch Of the six Soviet
bloc votes in the Assembly would
give the American-supported Brit
ish resolution two-thirds majority
of 81 to Is.
, Obviously, this places Russia in
strong bargaining position. Rus
sia and her five satellites voted
against the resolution in committee
apparently because they opposed
the way in which a three-nation
conciliation commission for Pales-
tine would be chosen.
Big Five to Select Committee.
The committee decided to place
selection of the commission in the
hands Of the big-five powers-the
United States, Russia, Britain.
France and China. Russia wants
the commission named by the Sc
curity Council, where the big-power
veto prevails.
The British resolution would set
up this three-nation commission to
adjust outstanding differences be-
tween Jews and Arabs in the Holy
Land.
The committee knocked from the
British proposal earlier a section
binding the commission to use the
1947 partition plan and the Berna-
dotte report as references in fixing
of boundaries of Israel and Arab
Palestine.
The committee also voted down
recommendation of Count Folke
Bernadotte, the slain mediator, that
Arab Palestine might be Joined to
neighboring Trans Jordan.
Vote on British Resolution.
Voting for the British resolution
were: Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, China, Colombia Denmark,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador.
France, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua. Norway, Pam
anna. Paraguay, Peru, Union of
South Africa, Britain, United States
and Sweden.
Opposing were: Afghanistan,
Burma, White Russia, Czechoslo-
vakia, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Ethio-
pia, India, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon,
Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia,
Syria. Turkey, Soviet Ukraine. So
Wet Union, Yemen and Yugoslavia.
Abstaining were: Bolivia, Chile,
Ell Salvador, Guatemala, Liberia,
Mexico, Philippines, Siam and Ven-
eZuela.
Marked as absent were: Argen-
tina, Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Assembly to Act Next Week.
The resolution is expected to come
up for General Assembly balloting
next week. probably Tuesday.
Some delegates attributed the
closeness of the Political Committee
vote to last-minute Canadian
amendment which provided for a
subcommittee of the Big Five powers
to select the conciliation commission.
The Big Five committee would work
under the Assembly rules without
veto, and could name the three
conciliation commission nations by
a simple majority vote.
Russia opposed this method. de-
claring the Cancellation commission
members should be named by the
11-nation Security Council Russia
has used the big power veto % times
in the Council.