Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V, Part 2

501.BB Palestine/10–648: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the United States Delegation, at Paris

secret

Washington, October 6, 1948—6 p. m.

Gadel 134. Dept has given careful consideration recommendation Para. 4(g) Bernadotte conclusions for placing Jerusalem under effective UN control. This study has necessarily involved consideration problem policing Jerusalem area.

Colonel Begley¹ Sept 15 at Rhodes and subsequently Paris strongly expressed opinion that minimum force for international police Jerusalem area under UN control would be six thousand men. Begley suggested that these men form bulk SYG’s UN guard² and be at once sent Jerusalem.

Independent estimates made by Dept in consultation UN Naval Observers returned this week from Jerusalem and Haifa indicate minimum number international police force for Jerusalem may be fixed at four thousand. We believe this force should be separate from proposed UN guard because difference in function.

Although administratively it would be more simple for govts members Palestine Truce Commission to assign troops to this special Jerusalem police service we feel on balance that nature of duties and responsibilities UN administration in Jerusalem suggest that Jerusalem international police force should be clearly UN responsibility and that force should be recruited by SYG. However, this govt would have strong objections to establishment of UN international police force for Jerusalem if there were any material representation in that force of Soviet or satellite nationals.

Our preliminary rough estimate cost to UN of international police force totaling four thousand men is that first year outlay would be twenty million dols. It is our hope that this initial expenditure could be materially reduced in subsequent years through (a) increasing employment Arab and Jewish policemen and (b) fact that initial expenses for outfitting will not recur subsequent years.

We are fully aware difficulty recruiting effective, disciplined, international police force and placing such a force promptly in No-Man’s Land of Jerusalem. Recruitment should in fact be in progress now. However we are unwilling to separate elements of Bernadotte Plan and accordingly at this juncture request you sound out other delegations and SYG their thinking this respect. For your info any commitments this govt to defray expenses international police for Jerusalem will have to be carefully checked with Congressional leaders and accordingly our views at this time are purely tentative.

We are studying general problem financing UN Govt Jerusalem. Believe eventual cost should be borne by local revenues far as possible but recognize this not practical immediate future. For interim period choices are:

1. Contributions by members UN on regular budget scale.

2. Contributions by members UN on special scale with Big Five bearing major share.

3. Contributions only by Big Five.

4. Loan to working capital fund of entire amount by fifteen largest contributors to UN budget with repayment scheduled over twenty-year period by all members on regular contribution basis and by govt of Jerusalem to extent possible.

Foregoing alternatives may be used as basis for discussion with other dels but without any commitment. For your info only we now inclined favor No. 2 on basis principle universal participation, with US prepared bear up to 55 percent of total and with only token contributions from smaller countries.³

Lovett

1. Frank Begley, Chief Security Officer of the United Nations Secretariat.
2. For documentation on the attitude of the United States towards the proposal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the establishment of a United Nations Security Guard, see vol. i, Part 1, pp. 29 ff.
3. This telegram represented “the Department’s preliminary thinking on the problem of how to supply the United Nations administration of Jerusalem with an effective international police force” (memorandum of October 4 by Mr. McClintock to Mr. Lovett, 501.BB Palestine/10–448). Mr. McClintock noted that he did think “we can deal with any estimates which do not squarely face the need for having an adequate body of police in Jerusalem: something far more disciplined and tough than a mere token guard. Such a force, of course, means money.

   “From a congressional point of view it would seem helpful if the Department’s preliminary ideas with regard to the Jerusalem international police were checked early with leaders in both the House and the Senate.”