Evening star., 1948-04-16
Assembly Opens
With Plea for
Holy Land Truce
Immediate Ceose-Fire
Demanded by BroziI
In Special Session
BY the Associated Press

NEW YORK, April 16.-The
second special Palestine session
of the United Nations Assembly
was opened today with a re-
newed appeal for Jewish-Arab
truce in the Holy Land.
An immediate cease-fire was de-
manded by Joao Carlos Muniz of
Brazil, who presided over the ST.
nation Assembly in the absence Of
its Brazilian retiring president, Or.
Oswaldo Aranha.
In somber speech recognizing
a possibility of U. NJ failure to
solve the Palestine problem, Mr..
Muniz said;
only the total suspension Of
hoStilities can create the favorable
atmosphere which will enable the
Assembly to find a solution capable
of conciliating the existing antag-
onism through a broad formula Of
cooperation"
Truce Chances Fading.
The session opened in what Mr..
Muniz called "a disheartening at
mosphere" caused in part by the
fading chances for a Jewish-Arab
acceptance of the truce formula now
awaiting action in the Security
Council.
AS the Assembly opened the flags
of the 81 nations were flying out
side at half-staff in mourning for
President Manuel A. Roxas Of the
Philippines who died yesterday.
The Assembly elected DR.. jose
Arce of Argentina to serve as per-
manent president during the ex-
traordinary session. which is expect
ed to last anywhere from two to
eight weeks.
The vote was: Arce, 81; T. r.
Tsiang of China. 18, and Sir Carl
Berendsen of New Zealand, z.
Liberia and Brazil received one vote
each as nations. Twenty-seven
votes were needed for election. -Four
countries did not vote.
DR.. Arce is Argentina's regular
delegate to the Security Council.
He Immediately took the chair.
Council Meets Tonight.
The Security Council continued
its labors on the truce problem as
Assembly delegations met at Flush
ing Meadow Park
The Council meets at 9 o'clock
tonight at Lake Success to act on an
America sponsored cease-fire pro-
gram which also called for . politi-
cal standstill in Palestine.
Some delegates still believe the
Council will adopt the truce plan.
but the steadfast refusal of both
Jews and Arabs to yield on vital
issues raised serious doubts the
Councils order would halt the fight
! icg in Palestine.
The special Assembly was called
to reconsider the partition plan
adopted at the regular Assembly
session last November &c. No alter
nate plan has yet been submitted for
consideration, but the United States
has announced it will press for
temporary u N. trusteeship.
The only formal document before
the delegate as the session opened
was a special report OF the five-
member U. N. Palestine partition
commission. This called on the As
sembly to consider a number Of
urgent measures, including sending
troops to the Holy Land to restore
order.
Gromyko Asks Delay.
1t had been expected the truce
question would be disposed Of
yesterday by the Security Council,
but Soviet Delegate Andrei A.
Gromyko proposed a 24-hour post
ponement to allow time to study
series of amendments suggested by
the Jewish agency.
American Chief Delegate Warren
r. Austin said all the Jewish pro-
posals already had been considered
in the Councils informal meetings
this week, but said he was willing to
study them further.
Moshe Shertok, head Of the Jewish
Agency's political department, told
the Council the Jews could not agree
to a halt in Jewish immigration to
Palestine. He also declared that
withdrawal of Arab bands from
other countries must be an essential
condition to any truce.
On the other hand, Faris el
Khoury of Syria and Mahmoud
FawA Bey of Egypt, speaking for
the Arabs, refused to agree to either
of these conditions. They expressed
willingness to accept the truce plan,
with reservations.