Evening star., 1948-03-25
Urges U. N. to Call
Jewish and Arab
Leaders at Once
BY Joseph A. Fox

lSo1aC1iG IL ullAhll Co0dy So1ICo
for an immediate truce between
warning Jews and Arabs to avert
open warfare in the Holy Land
when the British pull out May Is.
He told a news conference he has
instructed Warren. Austin, United
States representative to- the United
Nations, to press in the Security
Council for a meeting "at once OF
representatives of the Arabs and
Jews.
Large-scale fighting in Palestine
would infect the entire Middle East
and could lead to consequences in
volving the peace OF the United
States and the world. he warned.
The President emphasized that
the United States had reversed its
original stand supporting the parti-
ton plan purely as an emergency
measure because partition could not
be enforced without American
troops. He said that through our
United Nations trusteeship proposal
"a peaceful settlement yet is pos
sible.'
Not Partition Substitute.
Mr. Truman said the U. N.
was proposed. not as
substitute for partition of Palestine
into Arab and Jewish states, but to
fill the vacuum created by the term
ination of the British mandate.
He said he still favors partition OF
Palestine ultimately, but peace must
first be assured.
The President said the United
States could not have undertaken
to support the partition "by the use
of American troops both on Charter
grounds and as matter of national
policy" but parried questions as
to whether the United States would
lend armed force in support of
trusteeship.
He stressed that this Government
would back the United Nations by
every means necessary if the trus-
tee plan is adopted, but said he did
not believe that the use OF troops
would be necessary.
In answer to question, he said
that he thought the only alternative
to a trusteeship is the slaughter OF
a lot of people.
First Word From White House.
The Presidents statement was the
first word that has come from the
White House on the Palestine sit
uation since this country backed
away from the partition plan, and
in reading 1t to the news confer
ence, the President declared that lit
is vital that the American people
have clear understanding of the
position of the United States in the
United Nations regarding Palestine. :"
He continued:
This country vigorously supported
the plan for partition for economic
union recommended by the United
Nations Special Committee on Pales-
tine and by the General Assembly.
We have explored every possibility
consistent with the basic principles
of the Charter for giving effect to
that solution. Unfortunately, it has
become clear that the partition can
not be carried out at this time by
peaceful means. We could not under
take to impose this solution on the
people of Palestine by the use of
American troops, both on Charter
grounds and as a matter of national
policy.
Would Infect Entire Middle East.
"The United Kingdom has an
nounced its firm intention to aban-
don it's mandate in Palestine on
May IS. Unless emergency action is
taken, there will be no public author
ity in Palestine on that date Vio-
lence and bloodshed will descend on
the Holy Land. Large-scale fighting
among the people of that country
will be the inevitable result. Such
fighting would infect the entire Mid
die East and could lead to conse-
quences of the gravest sort involving
the peace of this nation and of the
world.
These dangers are imminent. Re-
sponsible governments in the United
Nations cannot face these prospects
without acting promptly to prevent
it. The United States has proposed
to the Security Council temporary
United Nations trusteeship for Pal
estine to provide government to
keep the peace. Such trusteeship
was proposed only after, we had ex-
hausted every effort to find a way
to carry out partition by peaceful
means. Trusteeship is not proposed
as substitute for the partition plan
but as an effort to fill the vacuum
soon to be created by the termina-
ton of the mandate on May Is.
The trusteeship does not prejudice
the character of the final political
settlement 1t would establish the
CSee PALESTINE, Page A-4J