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Some delegations felt that the terms of reference under which the Council was working implied that anything the Council recommended must have the agreement of both Arabs and Jews and that the Council should merely report to the Assembly what it had been able to achieve with this agreement. Others (including New Zealand) claimed that, whilst it was obviously highly desirable that anything recommended should have been agreed to by both parties, the Council's mandate clearly did not preclude recommendations which had not obtained such agreement, and, even if a majority of the Council was not prepared to make suggestions along those lines, such proposals must be explained to the Assembly in order that the latter body should have an opportunity of expressing its own opinion upon them. The draft report, after summarizing the discussions in the Council, recounted the steps taken to brihg about a truce, brought to the attention of the Assembly the fact that the Jews and Arabs had agreed to safeguard and respect all holy places, and recommended that the Assembly should inform the mandatory Power of its full agreement with the proposal that a neutral Municipal Commissioner should be appointed. Clearly, the Council, on the basis of this draft report, had achieved very little, and indeed there would be, under its recommendations, no organic connection between the United Nations and the City of Jerusalem. Accordingly, the New Zealand delegation, taking the view that some positive contribution must be made by the United Nations, proposed an amendment to the recommendations of the Council. This amendment laid special emphasis on (1) the necessity for assuring the maintenance of law and order within Jerusalem, and (2) provision for the taking over of Palestine Government assets located within the city, neither of which were covered by the report as it stood. Essentially the proposal was along the same lines as the French suggestion which had been withdrawn, and it was apparent at this stage that it was the only constructive measure which had any chance of success in the Council. The New Zealand proposal would have asked the General Assembly to give urgent attention to the appointment of a United Nations delegate (who might even possibly be the proposed Britishappointed Special Municipal Commissioner) to proceed promptly to Jerusalem with the following functions : (1) to observe the cease-fire in the Old City; (2) to assist the Security Council Consular Truce Commission in the arrangement of a truce for the whole municipal area ; (3) to organize a police force for the maintenance of law and order in the city ; and (4) to take over from the mandatory Power the custody of such assets of the Government of Palestine as were in the municipal area.
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