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UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY Resolution 181 (II)
UN Resolutions and Palestine
Peace Proposals
The General Assembly,
Having met in special session at the request of the
mandatory Power to constitute and instruct a special committee
to prepare for the consideration of the question of the future
government of Palestine at the second regular session;
Having constituted a Special Committee and instructed it to
investigate all questions and issues relevant to the problem of
Palestine, and to prepare proposals for the solution of the
problem, and
Having received and examined the report of the Special
Committee (document A/364) 1/ including a number of unanimous
recommendations and a plan of partition with economic union
approved by the majority of the Special Committee,
Considers that the present situation in Palestine is one
which is likely to impair the general welfare and friendly
relations among nations;
Takes note of the declaration by the mandatory Power that
it plans to complete its evacuation of Palestine by 1 August
1948;
Recommends to the United Kingdom, as the mandatory Power
for Palestine, and to all other Members of the United Nations
the adoption and implementation, with regard to the future
government of Palestine, of the Plan of Partition with Economic
Union set out below;
Requests that
(a) The Security Council take the necessary measures as
provided for in the plan for its implementation;
(b) The Security Council consider, if circumstances during
the transitional period require such consideration, whether the
situation in Palestine constitutes a threat to the peace. If it
decides that such a threat exists, and in order to maintain
international peace and security, the Security Council should
supplement the authorization of the General Assembly by taking
measures, under Articles 39 and 41 of the Charter, to empower
the United Nations Commission, as provided in this resolution,
to exercise in Palestine the functions which are assigned to it
by this resolution;
(c) The Security Council determine as a threat to the
peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, in accordance
with Article 39 of the Charter, any attempt to alter by force
the settlement envisaged by this resolution;
(d) The Trusteeship Council be informed of the
responsibilities envisaged for it in this plan;
Calls upon the inhabitants of Palestine to take such steps
as may be necessary on their part to put this plan into effect;
Appeals to all Governments and all peoples to refrain from
taking action which might hamper or delay the carrying out of
these recommendations, and
Authorizes the Secretary-General to reimburse travel and
subsistence expenses of the members of the Commission referred
to in Part I, Section B, paragraph 1 below, on such basis and in
such form as he may determine most appropriate in the
circumstances, and to provide the Commission with the necessary
staff to assist in carrying out the functions assigned to the
Commission by the General Assembly.
B 2/
The General Assembly
Authorizes the Secretary-General to draw from the Working
Capital Fund a sum not to exceed $2,000,000 for the purposes set
forth in the last paragraph of the resolution on the future
government of Palestine.
Hundred and twenty-eighth plenary meeting
29 November 1947
[At its hundred and twenty-eighth plenary meeting on 29
November 1947 the General Assembly, in accordance with the terms
of the above resolution [181 A], elected the following members
of the United Nations Commission on Palestine: Bolivia,
Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Panama and Philippines.]
PLAN OF PARTITION WITH ECONOMIC UNION
PART I
Future constitution and government of Palestine
A. TERMINATION OF MANDATE, PARTITION AND
INDEPENDENCE
1. The Mandate for Palestine shall terminate as soon as
possible but in any case not later than 1 August 1948.
2. The armed forces of the mandatory Power shall be
progressively withdrawn from Palestine, the withdrawal to be
completed as soon as possible but in any case not later than 1
August 1948.
The mandatory Power shall advise the Commission, as far in
advance as possible, of its intention to terminate the Mandate
and to evacuate each area.
The mandatory Power shall use its best endeavours to ensure
than an area situated in the territory of the Jewish State,
including a seaport and hinterland adequate to provide
facilities for a substantial immigration, shall be evacuated at
the earliest possible date and in any event not later than 1
February 1948.
3. Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special
International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in
part III of this plan, shall come into existence in Palestine
two months after the evacuation of the armed forces of the
mandatory Power has been completed but in any case not later
than 1 October 1948. The boundaries of the Arab State, the
Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem shall be as described in
parts II and III below.
4. The period between the adoption by the General Assembly
of its recommendation on the question of Palestine and the
establishment of the independence of the Arab and Jewish States
shall be a transitional period.
B. STEPS PREPARATORY TO INDEPENDENCE
1. A Commission shall be set up consisting of one
representative of each of five Member States. The Members
represented on the Commission shall be elected by the General
Assembly on as broad a basis, geographically and otherwise, as
possible.
2. The administration of Palestine shall, as the mandatory
Power withdraws its armed forces, be progressively turned over
to the Commission; which shall act in conformity with the
recommendations of the General Assembly, under the guidance of
the Security Council. The mandatory Power shall to the fullest
possible extent co-ordinate its plans for withdrawal with the
plans of the Commission to take over and administer areas which
have been evacuated.
In the discharge of this administrative responsibility the
Commission shall have authority to issue necessary regulations
and take other measures as required.
The mandatory Power shall not take any action to prevent,
obstruct or delay the implementation by the Commission of the
measures recommended by the General Assembly.
3. On its arrival in Palestine the Commission shall proceed
to carry out measures for the establishment of the frontiers of
the Arab and Jewish States and the City of Jerusalem in
accordance with the general lines of the recommendations of the
General Assembly on the partition of Palestine. Nevertheless,
the boundaries as described in part II of this plan are to be
modified in such a way that village areas as a rule will not be
divided by state boundaries unless pressing reasons make that
necessary.
4. The Commission, after consultation with the democratic
parties and other public organizations of The Arab and Jewish
States, shall select and establish in each State as rapidly as
possible a Provisional Council of Government. The activities of
both the Arab and Jewish Provisional Councils of Government
shall be carried out under the general direction of the
Commission.
If by 1 April 1948 a Provisional Council of Government
cannot be selected for either of the States, or, if selected,
cannot carry out its functions, the Commission shall communicate
that fact to the Security Council for such action with respect
to that State as the Security Council may deem proper, and to
the Secretary-General for communication to the Members of the
United Nations.
5. Subject to the provisions of these recommendations,
during the transitional period the Provisional Councils of
Government, acting under the Commission, shall have full
authority in the areas under their control, including authority
over matters of immigration and land regulation.
6. The Provisional Council of Government of each State
acting under the Commission, shall progressively receive from
the Commission full responsibility for the administration of
that State in the period between the termination of the Mandate
and the establishment of the State's independence.
7. The Commission shall instruct the Provisional Councils
of Government of both the Arab and Jewish States, after their
formation, to proceed to the establishment of administrative
organs of government, central and local.
8. The Provisional Council of Government of each State
shall, within the shortest time possible, recruit an armed
militia from the residents of that State, sufficient in number
to maintain internal order and to prevent frontier clashes.
This armed militia in each State shall, for operational
purposes, be under the command of Jewish or Arab officers
resident in that State, but general political and military
control, including the choice of the militia's High Command,
shall be exercised by the Commission.
9. The Provisional Council of Government of each State
shall, not later than two months after the withdrawal of the
armed forces of the mandatory Power, hold elections to the
Constituent Assembly which shall be conducted on democratic
lines.
The election regulations in each State shall be drawn up by
the Provisional Council of Government and approved by the
Commission. Qualified voters for each State for this election
shall be persons over eighteen years of age who are: (a)
Palestinian citizens residing in that State and (b) Arabs and
Jews residing in the State, although not Palestinian citizens,
who, before voting, have signed a notice of intention to become
citizens of such State.
Arabs and Jews residing in the City of Jerusalem who have
signed a notice of intention to become citizens, the Arabs of
the Arab State and the Jews of the Jewish State, shall be
entitled to vote in the Arab and Jewish States respectively.
Women may vote and be elected to the Constituent
Assemblies.
During the transitional period no Jew shall be permitted to
establish residence in the area of the proposed Arab State, and
no Arab shall be permitted to establish residence in the area of
the proposed Jewish State, except by special leave of the
Commission.
10. The Constituent Assembly of each State shall draft a
democratic constitution for its State and choose a provisional
government to succeed the Provisional Council of Government
appointed by the Commission. The constitutions of the States
shall embody chapters 1 and 2 of the Declaration provided for in
section C below and include inter alia provisions for:
(a) Establishing in each State a legislative body elected
by universal suffrage and by secret ballot on the basis of
proportional representation, and an executive body responsible
to the legislature;
(b) Settling all international disputes in which the State
may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that
international peace and security, and justice, are not
endangered;
(c) Accepting the obligation of the State to refrain in its
international relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity of political independence of any
State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of
the United Nations;
(d) Guaranteeing to all persons equal and
non-discriminatory rights in civil, political, economic and
religious matters and the enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, language,
speech and publication, education, assembly and association;
(e) Preserving freedom of transit and visit for all
residents and citizens of the other State in Palestine and the
City of Jerusalem, subject to considerations of national
security, provided that each State shall control residence
within its borders.
11. The Commission shall appoint a preparatory economic
commission of three members to make whatever arrangements are
possible for economic co-operation, with a view to establishing,
as soon as practicable, the Economic Union and the Joint
Economic Board, as provided in section D below.
12. During the period between the adoption of the
recommendations on the question of Palestine by the General
Assembly and the termination of the Mandate, the mandatory Power
in Palestine shall maintain full responsibility for
administration in areas from which it has not withdrawn its
armed forces. The Commission shall assist the mandatory Power in
the carrying out of these functions. Similarly the mandatory
Power shall co-operate with the Commission in the execution of
its functions.
13. With a view to ensuring that there shall be continuity
in the functioning of administrative services and that, on the
withdrawal of the armed forces of the mandatory Power, the whole
administration shall be in the charge of the Provisional
Councils and the Joint Economic Board, respectively, acting
under the Commission, there shall be a progressive transfer,
from the mandatory Power to the Commission, of responsibility
for all the functions of government, including that of
maintaining law and order in the areas from which the forces of
the mandatory Power have been withdrawn.
14. The Commission shall be guided in its activities by the
recommendations of the General Assembly and by such instructions
as the Security Council may consider necessary to issue.
The measures taken by the Commission, within the
recommendations of the General Assembly, shall become
immediately effective unless the Commission has previously
received contrary instructions from the Security Council.
The Commission shall render periodic monthly progress
reports, or more frequently if desirable, to the Security
Council.
15. The Commission shall make its final report to the next
regular session of the General Assembly and to the Security
Council simultaneously.
C. DECLARATION
A declaration shall be made to the United Nations by the
provisional government of each proposed State before
independence. It shall contain inter alia the following clauses:
General Provision
The stipulations contained in the declaration are
recognized as fundamental laws of the State and no law,
regulation or official action shall conflict or interfere with
these stipulations, nor shall any law, regulation or official
action prevail over them.
Chapter 1
Holy Places, religious buildings and sites
1. Existing rights in respect of Holy Places and religious
buildings or sites shall not be denied or impaired.
2. In so far as Holy Places are concerned, the liberty of
access, visit and transit shall be guaranteed, in conformity
with existing rights, to all residents and citizens of the other
State and of the City of Jerusalem, as well as to aliens,
without distinction as to nationality, subject to requirements
of national security, public order and decorum.
Similarly, freedom of worship shall be guaranteed in
conformity with existing rights, subject to the maintenance of
public order and decorum.
3. Holy Places and religious buildings or sites shall be
preserved. No act shall be permitted which may in any way impair
their sacred character. If at any time it appears to the
Government that any particular Holy Place, religious building or
site is in need of urgent repair, the Government may call upon
the community or communities concerned to carry out such repair.
The Government may carry it out itself at the expense of the
community or communities concerned if no action is taken within
a reasonable time.
4. No taxation shall be levied in respect of any Holy
Place, religious building or site which was exempt from taxation
on the date of the creation of the State.
No change in the incidence of such taxation shall be made
which would either discriminate between the owners or occupiers
of Holy Places, religious buildings or sites, or would place
such owners or occupiers in a position less favourable in
relation to the general incidence of taxation than existed at
the time of the adoption of the Assembly's recommendations.
5. The Governor of the City of Jerusalem shall have the
right to determine whether the provisions of the Constitution of
the State in relation to Holy Places, religious buildings and
sites within the borders of the State and the religious rights
appertaining thereto, are being properly applied and respected,
and to make decisions on the basis of existing rights in cases
of disputes which may arise between the different religious
communities or the rites of a religious community with respect
to such places, buildings and sites. He shall receive full
co-operation and such privileges and immunities as are necessary
for the exercise of his functions in the State.
Chapter 2
Religious and Minority Rights
1. Freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms
of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and
morals, shall be ensured to all.
2. No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the
inhabitants on the ground of race, religion, language or sex.
3. All persons within the jurisdiction of the State shall
be entitled to equal protection of the laws.
4. The family law and personal status of the various
minorities and their religious interests, including endowments,
shall be respected.
5. Except as may be required for the maintenance of public
order and good government, no measure shall be taken to obstruct
or interfere with the enterprise of religious or charitable
bodies of all faiths or to discriminate against any
representative or member of these bodies on the ground of his
religion or nationality.
6. The State shall ensure adequate primary and secondary
education for the Arab and Jewish minority, respectively, in its
own language and its cultural traditions.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for
the education of its own members in its own language, while
conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature
as the State may impose, shall not be denied or impaired.
Foreign educational establishments shall continue their activity
on the basis of their existing rights.
7. No restriction shall be imposed on the free use by any
citizen of the State of any language in private intercourse, in
commerce, in religion, in the Press or in publications of any
kind, or at public meetings.
8. No expropriation of land owned by an Arab in the Jewish
State (by a Jew in the Arab State) shall be allowed except for
public purposes. In all cases of expropriation full compensation
as fixed by the Supreme Court shall be paid previous to
dispossession.
Chapter 3
Citizenship, international conventions and financial
obligations
1. Citizenship. Palestinian citizens residing in Palestine outside
the City of Jerusalem, as well as Arabs and Jews who, not
holding Palestinian citizenship, reside in Palestine outside the
City of Jerusalem shall, upon the recognition of independence,
become citizens of the State in which they are resident and
enjoy full civil and political rights. Persons over the age of
eighteen years may opt, within one year from the date of
recognition of independence of the State in which they reside,
for citizenship of the other State, providing that no Arab
residing in the area of the proposed Arab State shall have the
right to opt for citizenship in the proposed Jewish State and no
Jew residing in the proposed Jewish State shall have the right
to opt for citizenship in the proposed Arab State. The exercise
of this right of option will be taken to include the wives and
children under eighteen years of age of persons so opting.
Arabs residing in the area of the proposed Jewish State and
Jews residing in the area of the proposed Arab State who have
signed a notice of intention to opt for citizenship of the other
State shall be eligible to vote in the elections to the
Constituent Assembly of that State, but not in the elections to
the Constituent Assembly of the State in which they reside.
2. International conventions.
(a) The State shall be bound by all the international
agreements and conventions, both general and special, to which
Palestine has become a party. Subject to any right of
denunciation provided for therein, such agreements and
conventions shall be respected by the State throughout the
period for which they were concluded.
(b) Any dispute about the applicability and continued
validity of international conventions or treaties signed or
adhered to by the mandatory Power on behalf of Palestine shall
be referred to the International Court of Justice in accordance
with the provisions of the Statute of the Court.
3. Financial obligations.
(a) The State shall respect and fulfil all financial
obligations of whatever nature assumed on behalf of Palestine by
the mandatory Power during the exercise of the Mandate and
recognized by the State. This provision includes the right of
public servants to pensions, compensation or gratuities.
(b) These obligations shall be fulfilled through
participation in the Joint economic Board in respect of those
obligations applicable to Palestine as a whole, and individually
in respect of those applicable to, and fairly apportionable
between, the States.
(c) A Court of Claims, affiliated with the Joint Economic
Board, and composed of one member appointed by the United
Nations, one representative of the United Kingdom and one
representative of the State concerned, should be established.
Any dispute between the United Kingdom and the State respecting
claims not recognized by the latter should be referred to that
Court.
(d) Commercial concessions granted in respect of any part
of Palestine prior to the adoption of the resolution by the
General Assembly shall continue to be valid according to their
terms, unless modified by agreement between the
concession-holder and the State.
Chapter 4
Miscellaneous provisions
1. The provisions of chapters 1 and 2 of the declaration
shall be under the guarantee of the United Nations, and no
modifications shall be made in them without the assent of the
General Assembly of the United nations. Any Member of the United
Nations shall have the right to bring to the attention of the
General Assembly any infraction or danger of infraction of any
of these stipulations, and the General Assembly may thereupon
make such recommendations as it may deem proper in the
circumstances.
2. Any dispute relating to the application or the
interpretation of this declaration shall be referred, at the
request of either party, to the International Court of Justice,
unless the parties agree to another mode of settlement.
D. ECONOMIC UNION AND TRANSIT
1. The Provisional Council of Government of each State
shall enter into an undertaking with respect to economic union
and transit. This undertaking shall be drafted by the commission
provided for in section B, paragraph 1, utilizing to the
greatest possible extent the advice and co-operation of
representative organizations and bodies from each of the
proposed States. It shall contain provisions to establish the
Economic Union of Palestine and provide for other matters of
common interest. If by 1 April 1948 the Provisional Councils of
Government have not entered into the undertaking, the
undertaking shall be put into force by the Commission.
The Economic Union of Palestine
2. The objectives of the Economic Union of Palestine shall
be:
(a) A customs union;
(b) A joint currency system providing for a single foreign
exchange rate;
(c) Operation in the common interest on a
non-discriminatory basis of railways; inter-State highways;
postal, telephone and telegraphic services, and port and
airports involved in international trade and commerce;
(d) Joint economic development, especially in respect of
irrigation, land reclamation and soil conservation;
(e) Access for both States and for the City of Jerusalem on
a non-discriminatory basis to water and power facilities.
3. There shall be established a Joint Economic Board, which
shall consist of three representatives of each of the two States
and three foreign members appointed by the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations. The foreign members shall be
appointed in the first instance for a term of three years; they
shall serve as individuals and not as representatives of States.
4. The functions of the Joint Economic Board shall be to
implement either directly or by delegation the measures
necessary to realize the objectives of the Economic Union. It
shall have all powers of organization and administration
necessary to fulfil its functions.
5. The States shall bind themselves to put into effect the
decisions of the Joint Economic Board. The Board's decisions
shall be taken by a majority vote.
6. In the event of failure of a State to take the necessary
action the Board may, by a vote of six members, decide to
withhold an appropriate portion of that part of the customs
revenue to which the State in question is entitled under the
Economic Union. Should the State persist in its failure to
co-operate, the Board may decide by a simple majority vote upon
such further sanctions, including disposition of funds which it
has withheld, as it may deem appropriate.
7. In relation to economic development, the functions of
the Board shall be the planning, investigation and encouragement
of joint development projects, but it shall not undertake such
projects except with the assent of both States and the City of
Jerusalem, in the event that Jerusalem is directly involved in
the development project.
8. In regard to the joint currency system the currencies
circulating in the two States and the City of Jerusalem shall be
issued under the authority of the Joint Economic Board, which
shall be the sole issuing authority and which shall determine
the reserves to be held against such currencies.
9. So far as is consistent with paragraph 2 (b) above, each
State may operate its own central bank, control its own fiscal
and credit policy, its foreign exchange receipts and
expenditures, the grant of import licenses, and may conduct
international financial operations on its own faith and credit.
During the first two years after the termination of the Mandate,
the Joint Economic Board shall have the authority to take such
measures as may be necessary to ensure that--to the extent that
the total foreign exchange revenues of the two States from the
export of goods and services permit, and provided that each
State takes appropriate measures to conserve its own foreign
exchange resources--each State shall have available, in any
twelve months' period, foreign exchange sufficient to assure the
supply of quantities of imported goods and services for
consumption in its territory equivalent to the quantities of
such goods and services consumed in that territory in the twelve
months' period ending 31 December 1947.
10. All economic authority not specifically vested in the
Joint Economic Board is reserved to each State.
11. There shall be a common customs tariff with complete
freedom of trade between the States, and between the States and
the City of Jerusalem.
12. The tariff schedules shall be drawn up by a Tariff
Commission, consisting of representatives of each of the States
in equal numbers, and shall be submitted to the Joint Economic
Board for approval by a majority vote. In case of disagreement
in the Tariff Commission, the Joint Economic Board shall
arbitrate the points of difference. In the event that the Tariff
Commission fails to draw up any schedule by a date to be fixed,
the Joint Economic Board shall determine the tariff schedule.
13. The following items shall be a first charge on the
customs and other common revenue of the Joint Economic Board:
(a) The expenses of the customs service and of the
operation of the joint services;
(b) The administrative expenses of the Joint Economic Board;
(c) The financial obligations of the Administration of
Palestine consisting of:
(i) The service of the outstanding public debt;
(ii) The cost of superannuation benefits, now being paid or
falling due in the future, in accordance with the rules and to
the extent established by paragraph 3 of chapter 3 above.
14. After these obligations have been met in full, the
surplus revenue from the customs and other common services shall
be divided in the following manner: not less than 5 per cent and
not more than 10 per cent to the City of Jerusalem; the residue
shall be allocated to each State by the Joint Economic Board
equitably, with the objective of maintaining a sufficient and
suitable level of government and social services in each State,
except that the share of either State shall not exceed the
amount of that State's contribution to the revenues of the
Economic Union by more than approximately four million pounds in
any year. The amount granted may be adjusted by the Board
according to the price level in relation to the prices
prevailing at the time of the establishment of the Union. After
five years, the principles of the distribution of the joint
revenues may be revised by the Joint Economic Board on a basis
of equity.
15. All international conventions and treaties affecting
customs tariff rates, and those communications services under
the jurisdiction of the Joint Economic Board, shall be entered
into by both States. In these matters, the two States shall be
bound to act in accordance with the majority vote of the Joint
Economic Board.
16. The Joint Economic Board shall endeavour to secure for
Palestine's export fair and equal access to world markets.
17. All enterprises operated by the Joint Economic Board
shall pay fair wages on a uniform basis.
Freedom of transit and visit
18. The undertaking shall contain provisions preserving
freedom of transit and visit for all residents or citizens of
both States and of the City of Jerusalem, subject to security
considerations; provided that each state and the City shall
control residence within its borders.
Termination, modification and interpretation of the
undertaking
19. The undertaking and any treaty issuing therefrom shall
remain in force for a period of ten years. It shall continue in
force until notice of termination, to take effect two years
thereafter, is given by either of the parties.
20. During the initial ten-year period, the undertaking and
any treaty issuing therefrom may not be modified except by
consent of both parties and with the approval of the General
Assembly.
21. Any dispute relating to the application or the
interpretation of the undertaking and any treaty issuing
therefrom shall be referred, at the request of either party, to
the international Court of Justice, unless the parties agree to
another mode of settlement.
E. ASSETS
1. The movable assets of the Administration of Palestine
shall be allocated to the Arab and Jewish States and the City of
Jerusalem on an equitable basis. Allocations should be made by
the United Nations Commission referred to in section B,
paragraph 1, above. Immovable assets shall become the property
of the government of the territory in which they are situated.
2. During the period between the appointment of the United
Nations Commission and the termination of the Mandate, the
mandatory Power shall, except in respect of ordinary operations,
consult with the Commission on any measure which it may
contemplate involving the liquidation, disposal or encumbering
of the assets of the Palestine Government, such as the
accumulated treasury surplus, the proceeds of Government bond
issues, State lands or any other asset.
F. ADMISSION TO MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED NATIONS
When the independence of either the Arab or the Jewish
State as envisaged in this plan has become effective and the
declaration and undertaking, as envisaged in this plan, have
been signed by either of them, sympathetic consideration should
be given to its application for admission to membership in the
United Nations in accordance with Article 4 of the Charter of
the United Nations.
PART II
Boundaries 5/
A. THE ARAB STATE
The area of the Arab State in Western Galilee is bounded on
the west by the Mediterranean and on the north by the frontier
of the Lebanon from Ras en Naqura to a point north of Saliha.
From there the boundary proceeds southwards, leaving the
built-up area of Saliha in the Arab State, to join the
southernmost point of this village. Thence it follows the
western boundary line of the villages of `Alma, Rihaniya and
Teitaba, thence following the northern boundary line of Meirun
village to join the Acre-Safad sub-district boundary line. It
follows this line to a point west of Es Sammu'i village and
joins it again at the northernmost point of Farradiya. Thence it
follows the sub-district boundary line to the Acre-Safad main
road. From here it follows the western boundary of Kafr I'nan
village until it reaches the Tiberias-Acre sub-district boundary
line, passing to the west of the junction of the Acre-Safad and
Lubiya-Kafr I'nan roads. From south-west corner of Kafr I'nan
village the boundary line follows the western boundary of the
Tiberias sub-district to a point close to the boundary line
between the villages of Maghar and Eilabun, thence bulging out
to the west to include as much of the eastern part of the plain
of Battuf as is necessary for the reservoir proposed by the
Jewish Agency for the irrigation of lands to the south and east.
The boundary rejoins the Tiberias sub-district boundary at
a point on the Nazareth-Tiberias road south-east of the built-up
area of Tur'an; thence it runs southwards, at first following
the sub-district boundary and then passing between the Kadoorie
Agricultural School and Mount Tabor, to a point due south at the
base of Mount Tabor. From here it runs due west, parallel to the
horizontal grid line 230, to the north-east corner of the
village lands of Tel Adashim. It then runs to the north-west
corner of these lands, whence it turns south and west so as to
include in the Arab State the sources of the Nazareth water
supply in Yafa village. On reaching Ginneiger it follows the
eastern, northern and western boundaries of the lands of this
village to their south-west corner, whence it proceeds in a
straight line to a point on the Haifa-Afula railway on the
boundary between the villages of Sarid and El Mujeidil. This is
the point of intersection.
The south-western boundary of the area of the Arab State in
Galilee takes a line from this point, passing northwards along
the eastern boundaries of Sarid and Gevat to the north-eastern
corner of Nahalal, proceeding thence across the land of Kefar ha
Horesh to a central point on the southern boundary of the
village of `Ilut, thence westwards along that village boundary
to the eastern boundary of Beit Lahm, thence northwards and
north-eastwards along its western boundary to the north-eastern
corner of Waldheim and thence north-westwards across the village
lands of Shafa 'Amr to the south-eastern corner of Ramat Yohanan'.
From here it runs due north-north-east to a point on the Shafa 'Amr-Haifa
road, west of its junction with the road to I'Billin. From there
it proceeds north-east to a point on the southern boundary of
I'Billin situated to the west of the I'Billin-Birwa road. Thence
along that boundary to its westernmost point, whence it turns to
the north, follows across the village land of Tamra to the
north-westernmost corner and along the western boundary of Julis
until it reaches the Acre-Safad road. It then runs westwards
along the southern side of the Safad-Acre road to the
Galilee-Haifa District boundary, from which point it follows
that boundary to the sea.
The boundary of the hill country of Samaria and Judea
starts on the Jordan River at the Wadi Malih south-east of
Beisan and runs due west to meet the Beisan-Jericho road and
then follows the western side of that road in a north-westerly
direction to the junction of the boundaries of the sub-districts
of Beisan, Nablus, and Jenin. From that point it follows the
Nablus-Jenin sub-district boundary westwards for a distance of
about three kilometres and then turns north-westwards, passing
to the east of the built-up areas of the villages of Jalbun and
Faqqu'a, to the boundary of the sub-districts of Jenin and
Beisan at a point north-east of Nuris. Thence it proceeds first
north-westwards to a point due north of the built-up area of
Zir'in and then westwards to the Afula-Jenin railway, thence
north-westwards along the district boundary line to the point of
intersection on the Hejaz railway. From here the boundary runs
south-westwards, including the built-up area and some of the
land of the village of Kh.Lid in the Arab State to cross the
Haifa-Jenin road at a point on the district boundary between
Haifa and Samaria west of El Mansi. It follows this boundary to
the southernmost point of the village of El Buteimat. From here
it follows the northern and eastern boundaries of the village of
Ar'ara, rejoining the Haifa-Samaria district boundary at
Wadi'Ara, and thence proceeding south-south-westwards in an
approximately straight line joining up with the western boundary
of Qaqun to a point east of the railway line on the eastern
boundary of Qaqun village. From here it runs along the railway
line some distance to the east of it to a point just east of the
Tulkarm railway station. Thence the boundary follows a line
half-way between the railway and the Tulkarm-Qalqiliya-Jaljuliya
and Ras el Ein road to a point just east of Ras el Ein station,
whence it proceeds along the railway some distance to the east
of it to the point on the railway line south of the junction of
the Haifa-Lydda and Beit Nabala lines, whence it proceeds along
the southern border of Lydda airport to its south-west corner,
thence in a south-westerly direction to a point just west of the
built-up area of Sarafand el'Amar, whence it turns south,
passing just to the west of the built-up area of Abu el Fadil to
the north-east corner of the lands of Beer Ya'Aqov. (The
boundary line should be so demarcated as to allow direct access
from the Arab State to the airport.) Thence the boundary line
follows the western and southern boundaries of Ramle village, to
the north-east corner of El Na'ana village, thence in a straight
line to the southernmost point of El Barriya, along the eastern
boundary of that village and the southern boundary of 'Innaba
village. Thence it turns north to follow the southern side of
the Jaffa-Jerusalem road until El Qubab, whence it follows the
road to the boundary of Abu Shusha. It runs along the eastern
boundaries of Abu Shusha, Seidun, Hulda to the southernmost
point of Hulda, thence westwards in a straight line to the
north-eastern corner of Umm Kalkha, thence following the
northern boundaries of Umm Kalkha, Qazaza and the northern and
western boundaries of Mukhezin to the Gaza District boundary and
thence runs across the village lands of El Mismiya, El Kabira,
and Yasur to the southern point of intersection, which is midway
between the built-up areas of Yasur and Batani Sharqi.
From the southern point of intersection the boundary lines
run north-westwards between the villages of Gan Yavne and Barqa
to the sea at a point half way between Nabi Yunis and Minat el
Qila, and south-eastwards to a point west of Qastina, whence it
turns in a south-westerly direction, passing to the east of the
built-up areas of Es Sawafir, Es Sharqiya and Ibdis. From the
south-east corner of Ibdis village it runs to a point south-west
of the built-up area of Beit 'Affa, crossing the Hebron-El
Majdal road just to the west of the built-up area of Iraq
Suweidan. Thence it proceeds southwards along the western
village boundary of El Faluja to the Beersheba sub-district
boundary. It then runs across the tribal lands of 'Arab el
Jubarat to a point on the boundary between the sub-districts of
Beersheba and Hebron north of Kh. Khuweilifa, whence it proceeds
in a south-westerly direction to a point on the Beersheba-Gaza
main road two kilometres to the north-west of the town. It then
turns south-eastwards to reach Wadi Sab' at a point situated one
kilometre to the west of it. From here it turns north-eastwards
and proceeds along Wadi Sab' and along the Beersheba-Hebron road
for a distance of one kilometre, whence it turns eastwards and
runs in a straight line to Kh. Kuseifa to join the
Beersheba-Hebron sub-district boundary. It then follows the
Beersheba-Hebron boundary eastwards to a point north of Ras Ez
Zuweira, only departing from it so as to cut across the base of
the indentation between vertical grid lines 150 and 160.
About five kilometres north-east of Ras ez Zuweira it turns
north, excluding from the Arab State a strip along the coast of
the Dead Sea not more than seven kilometres in depth, as far as
Ein Geddi, whence it turns due east to join the Transjordan
frontier in the Dead Sea.
The northern boundary of the Arab section of the coastal
plain runs from a point between Minat el Qila and Nabi Yunis,
passing between the built-up areas of Gan Yavne and Barqa to the
point of intersection. From here it turns south-westwards,
running across the lands of Batani Sharqi, along the eastern
boundary of the lands of Beit Daras and across the lands of
Julis, leaving the built-up areas of Batani Sharqi and Julis to
the westwards, as far as the north-west corner of the lands of
Beit Tima. Thence it runs east of El Jiya across the village
lands of El Barbara along the eastern boundaries of the villages
of Beit Jirja, Deir Suneid and Dimra. From the south-east corner
of Dimra the boundary passes across the lands of Beit Hanun,
leaving the Jewish lands of Nir-Am to the eastwards. From the
south-east corner of Dimra the boundary passes across the lands
of Beit Hanun, leaving the Jewish lands of Nir-Am to the
eastwards. From the south-east corner of Beit Hanun the line
runs south-west to a point south of the parallel grid line 100,
then turns north-west for two kilometres, turning again in a
south-westerly direction and continuing in an almost straight
line to the north-west corner of the village lands of Kirbet
Ikhza'a. From there it follows the boundary line of this village
to its southernmost point. It then runs in a southernly
direction along the vertical grid line 90 to its junction with
the horizontal grid line 70. It then turns south-eastwards to Kh.
el Ruheiba and then proceeds in a southerly direction to a point
known as El Baha, beyond which it crosses the Beersheba-El 'Auja
main road to the west of Kh. el Mushrifa. From there it joins
Wadi El Zaiyatin just to the west of El Subeita. From there it
turns to the north-east and then to the south-east following
this Wadi and passes to the east of 'Abda to join Wadi Nafkh. It
then bulges to the south-west along Wadi Nafkh. It then bulges
to the south-west along Wadi Nafkh, Wadi Ajrim and Wadi Lassan
to the point where Wadi Lassan crosses the Egyptian frontier.
The area of the Arab enclave of Jaffa consists of that part
of the town-planning area of Jaffa which lies to the west of the
Jewish quarters lying south of Tel-Aviv, to the west of the
continuation of Herzl street up to its junction with the Jaffa-Jerusalem
road, to the south-west of the section of the Jaffa-Jerusalem
road lying south-east of that junction, to the west of Miqve
Israel lands, to the north-west of Holon local council area, to
the north of the line linking up the north-west corner of Holon
with the north-east corner of Bat Yam local council area and to
the north of Bat Yam local council area. The question of Karton
quarter will be decided by the Boundary Commission, bearing in
mind among other considerations the desirability of including
the smallest possible number of its Arab inhabitants and the
largest possible number of its Jewish inhabitants in the Jewish
State.
B. THE JEWISH STATE
The north-eastern sector of the Jewish State (Eastern)
Galilee) is bounded on the north and west by the Lebanese
frontier and on the east by the frontiers of Syria and
Transjordan. It includes the whole of the Hula Basin, Lake
Tiberias, the whole of the Beisan sub-district, the boundary
line being extended to the crest of the Gilboa mountains and the
Wadi Malih. From there the Jewish State extends north-west,
following the boundary described in respect of the Arab State.
The Jewish Section of the coastal plain extends from a
point between Minat et Qila and Nabi Yunis in the Gaza
sub-district and includes the towns of Haifa and Tel-Aviv,
leaving Jaffa as an enclave of the Arab State. The eastern
frontier of the Jewish State follows the boundary described in
respect of the Arab State.
The Beersheba area comprises the whole of the Beersheba
sub-district, including the Negeb and the eastern part of the
Gaza sub-district, but excluding the town of Beersheba and those
areas described in respect of the Arab State. It includes also a
strip of land along the Dead Sea stretching from the
Beersheba-Hebron sub-district boundary line to Ein Geddi, as
described in respect of the Arab State.
C. THE CITY OF JERUSALEM
The boundaries of the City of Jerusalem are as defined in
the recommendations on the City of Jerusalem. (See Part III,
Section B, below).
PART III
City of Jerusalem
A. SPECIAL REGIME
The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus
separatum under a special international regime and shall be
administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council
shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the
Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations.
B. BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY
The City of Jerusalem shall include the present
municipality of Jerusalem plus the surrounding villages and
towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis; the most
southern, Bethlehem; the most western, Ein Karim (including also
the built-up area of Motsa); and the most northern Shu'fat, as
indicated on the attached sketch-map (annex B).
C. STATUTE OF THE CITY
The Trusteeship Council shall, within five months of the
approval of the present plan, elaborate and approve a detailed
Statute of the City which shall contain inter alia the substance
of the following provisions:
1. Government machinery; special objectives.
The Administering Authority in discharging its administrative
obligations shall pursue the following special objectives:
(a) To protect and to preserve the unique spiritual and
religious interests located in the city of the three great
monotheistic faiths throughout the world, Christian, Jewish and
Moslem; to this end to ensure that order and peace, and
especially religious peace, reign in Jerusalem;
(b) To foster co-operation among all the inhabitants of the
city in their own interests as well as in order to encourage and
support the peaceful development of the mutual relations between
the two Palestinian peoples throughout the Holy Land; to promote
the security, well-being and any constructive measures of
development of the residents, having regard to the special
circumstances and customs of the various peoples and
communities.
2. Governor and administrative staff.
A Governor of the City of Jerusalem shall be appointed by the
Trusteeship Council and shall be responsible to it. He shall be
selected on the basis of special qualifications and without
regard to nationality. He shall not, however, be a citizen of
either State in Palestine.
The Governor shall represent the United Nations in the City
and shall exercise on their behalf all powers of administration,
including the conduct of external affairs. He shall be assisted
by an administrative staff classed as international officers in
the meaning of Article 100 of the Charter and chosen whenever
practicable from the residents of the city and of the rest of
Palestine on a non-discriminatory basis. A detailed plan for the
organization of the administration of the city shall be
submitted by the Governor to the Trusteeship Council and duly
approved by it.
3. Local autonomy.
(a) The existing local autonomous units in the territory of
the city (villages, townships and municipalities) shall enjoy
wide powers of local government and administration.
(b) The Governor shall study and submit for the
consideration and decision of the Trusteeship Council a plan for
the establishment of a special town units consisting
respectively, of the Jewish and Arab sections of new Jerusalem.
The new town units shall continue to form part of the present
municipality of Jerusalem.
4. Security measures.
(a) The City of Jerusalem shall be demilitarized; its
neutrality shall be declared and preserved, and no para-military
formations, exercises or activities shall be permitted within
its borders.
(b) Should the administration of the City of Jerusalem be
seriously obstructed or prevented by the non-co-operation or
interference of one or more sections of the population, the
Governor shall have authority to take such measures as may be
necessary to restore the effective functioning of the
administration.
(c) To assist in the maintenance of internal law and order
and especially for the protection of the Holy Places and
religious buildings and sites in the city, the Governor shall
organize a special police force of adequate strength, the
members of which shall be recruited outside of Palestine. The
Governor shall be empowered to direct such budgetary provision
as may be necessary for the maintenance of this force.
5. Legislative organization.
A Legislative Council, elected by adult residents of the city
irrespective of nationality on the basis of universal and secret
suffrage and proportional representation, shall have powers of
legislation and taxation. No legislative measures shall,
however, conflict or interfere with the provisions which will be
set forth in the Statute of the City, nor shall any law,
regulation, or official action prevail over them. The Statute
shall grant to the Governor a right of vetoing bills
inconsistent with the provisions referred to in the preceding
sentence. It shall also empower him to promulgate temporary
ordinances in case the council fails to adopt in time a bill
deemed essential to the normal functioning of the
administration.
6. Administration of justice.
The Statute shall provide for the establishment of an
independent judiciary system, including a court of appeal. All
the inhabitants of the City shall be subject to it.
7. Economic union and economic regime.
The City of Jerusalem shall be included in the Economic Union of
Palestine and be bound by all stipulations of the undertaking
and of any treaties issued there from, as well as by the
decision of the Joint Economic Board. The headquarters of the
Economic Board shall be established in the territory of the
City.
The Statute shall provide for the regulation of economic
matters not falling within the regime of the Economic Union, on
the basis of equal treatment and non-discrimination for all
members of the United Nations and their nationals.
8. Freedom of transit and visit; control of
residents.
Subject to considerations of security, and of economic welfare
as determined by the Governor under the directions of the
Trusteeship Council, freedom of entry into, and residence
within, the borders of the City shall be guaranteed for the
residents or citizens of the Arab and Jewish States. Immigration
into, and residence within, the borders of the city for
nationals of other States shall be controlled by the Governor
under the directions of the Trusteeship Council.
9. Relations with the Arab and Jewish States.
Representatives of the Arab and Jewish States shall be
accredited to the Governor of the City and charged with the
protection of the interests of their States and nationals in
connexion with the international administration of the City.
10. Official languages.
Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of the city.
This will not preclude the adoption of one or more additional
working languages, as may be required.
11. Citizenship. All the residents shall become ipso facto citizens
of the City of Jerusalem unless they opt for citizenship of the
State of which they have been citizens or, if Arabs or Jews,
have filed notice of intention to become citizens of the Arab or
Jewish State respectively, according to part I, section B,
paragraph 9, of this plan.
The Trusteeship Council shall make arrangements for
consular protection of the citizens of the City outside its
territory.
12. Freedoms of Citizens.
(a) Subject only to the requirements of public order and
morals, the inhabitants of the City shall be ensured the
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
freedom of conscience, religion and worship, language,
education, speech and press, assembly and association, and
petition.
(b) No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the
inhabitants on the grounds of race, religion, language or sex.
(c) All persons within the City shall be entitled to equal
protection of the laws.
(d) The family law and personal status of the various
persons and communities and their religious interests, including
endowments, shall be respected.
(e) Except as may be required for the maintenance of public
order and good government, no measure shall be taken to obstruct
or interfere with the enterprise of religious or charitable
bodies of all faiths or to discriminate against any
representative or member of these bodies on the ground of his
religion or nationality.
(f) The City shall ensure adequate primary and secondary
education for the Arab and Jewish communities respectively, in
their own languages and in accordance with their cultural
traditions.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for
the education of its own members in its own language, while
conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature
as the City may impose, shall not be denied or impaired. Foreign
educational establishments shall continue their activity on the
basis of their existing rights.
(g) No restriction shall be imposed on the free use by any
inhabitant of the City of any language in private intercourse,
in commerce, in religion, in the Press or in publications of any
kind, or at public meetings.
13. Holy Places.
(a) Existing rights in respect of Holy Places and religious
buildings or sites shall not be denied or impaired.
(b) Free access to the Holy Places and religious buildings
or sites and the free exercise of worship shall be secured in
conformity with existing rights and subject to the requirements
of public order and decorum.
(c) Holy Places and religious buildings or sites shall be
preserved. No act shall be permitted which may in any way impair
their sacred character. If at any time it appears to the
Governor that any particular Holy Place, religious building or
site is in need of urgent repair, the Governor may call upon the
community or communities concerned to carry out such repair. The
Governor may carry it out himself at the expense of the
community or communities concerned if no action is taken within
a reasonable time.
(d) No taxation shall be levied in respect of any Holy
Place, religious building or site which was exempt from taxation
on the date of the creation of the City. No change in the
incidence of such taxation shall be made which would either
discriminate between the owners or occupiers of Holy Places,
religious buildings or sites, or would place such owners or
occupiers in a position less favourable in relation to the
general incidence of taxation than existed at the time of the
adoption of the Assembly's recommendations.
14. Special powers of the Governor in respect of the
Holy Places, religious buildings and sites in the City and in
any part of Palestine.
(a) The protection of the Holy Places, religious buildings
and sites located in the City of Jerusalem shall be a special
concern of the Governor.
(b) With relation to such places, buildings and sites in
Palestine outside the city, the Governor shall determine, on the
ground of powers granted to him by the Constitutions of both
States, whether the provisions of the Constitutions of the Arab
and Jewish States in Palestine dealing therewith and the
religious rights appertaining thereto are being properly applied
and respected.
(c) The Governor shall also be empowered to make decisions
on the basis of existing rights in cases of disputes which may
arise between the different religious communities or the rites
of a religious community in respect of the Holy Places,
religious buildings and sites in any part of Palestine.
In this task he may be assisted by a consultative council
of representatives of different denominations acting in an
advisory capacity.
D. DURATION OF THE SPECIAL REGIME
The Statute elaborated by the Trusteeship Council on the
aforementioned principles shall come into force not later than 1
October 1948. It shall remain in force in the first instance for
a period of ten years, unless the Trusteeship Council finds it
necessary to undertake a re-examination of these provisions at
an earlier date. After the expiration of this period the whole
scheme shall be subject to re-examination by the Trusteeship
Council in the light of the experience acquired with its
functioning. The residents of the City shall be then free to
express by means of a referendum their wishes as to possible
modifications of the regime of the City.
PART IV
CAPITULATIONS
States whose nationals have in the past enjoyed in
Palestine the privileges and immunities of foreigners, including
the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection, as
formerly enjoyed by capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire,
are invited to renounce any right pertaining to them to the
re-establishment of such privileges and immunities in the
proposed Arab and Jewish States and the City of Jerusalem.
Notes
1/ See Official Records of the second session of the
General Assembly, Supplement No. 11, Volumes I-IV.
2/ This resolution was adopted without reference to a
Committee.
3/ The following stipulation shall be added to the
declaration concerning the Jewish State: "In the Jewish State
adequate facilities shall be given to Arab-speaking citizens for
the use of their language, either orally or in writing, in the
legislature, before the Courts and in the administration."
4/ In the declaration concerning the Arab State, the words
"by an Arab in the Jewish State" should be replaced by the words
"by a Jew in the Arab State".
5/ The boundary lines described in part II are indicated in
Annex A. The base map used in marking and describing this
boundary is "Palestine 1:250000" published by the Survey of
Palestine, 1946.
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