Arab League

Abstract

On May 18, 1948, the United Nations Security Council approved a questionnaire which asked the Arab League states to report whether they had troops in Palestine, and if so, where such troops were located, what their military objectives were, and whether negotiations were going on with the Jews. Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia replied on May 22, and Yemen and the Arab Higher Committee within the next two days, that their troops had been sent in to protect the Arab inhabitants from Zionist aggression and terrorism, and that they would not negotiate with Israel for an end of the Palestine war. The Council followed the questionnaire with a request on May 22 for a cease-fire in Palestine. The Arab League's Political Committee met in Amman, Transjordan, May 25, to discuss the cease-fire appeal and indicated the acceptance of the Arab states on the condition that there would be a cessation of Jewish immigration, a condition which was unacceptable to the representatives of Israel. On May 29, the Security Council passed a resolution calling for a four-week truce which was accepted on June 2 by the Provisional Government of Israel and the seven member nations of the Arab League, the latter stating that the suspension of hostilities was merely a means of finding the just solution of the Palestine problem. The truce, to go into effect on June 11, was accepted unconditionally by both parties on June 9. United Nations' Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte announced that no military advantage was to accrue to either side under the cease-fire and the truce.