- Dec 6, 2009
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montelatici, et al,
No --- you have mixed some fact with some fiction.
(COMMENT)The British renounced their Mandate of Palestine as a result of the Hostile Jewish Invader's (HJI's) terrorism which resulted in a growing number of British casualties. With the renunciation of the Mandate control of the territory transferred to the UN collectively as no single member accepted the responsibility.
As usual, there is some fiction to be found in your interpretation of events.
FIRST: The UK, did not abandon the Mandate because of mounting casualties. At the beginning of 1948, (Foreign Secretary on the 18th February 1947. In the course of his speech he said) "There are in Palestine about 1,200,000 Arabs and 600,000 Jews.
the Plan by Hostile Arab Palestinians (HoAP), the British Foreign Secretary made a critical decision:
• For the Jews the essential point of principle is the creation of sovereign Jewish State.
• For the Arabs, the essential point of principle is to resist to the last the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in any part of Palestine.
154. This decision was announced to the House of Commons by the Foreign Secretary on the 18th February 1947. In the course of his speech he said:-
The British Mandatory understood that there no set of politically acceptable - and - diplomatic prospects, that would resolve the conflict. In the face of the dilemma and presented with "irreconcilable differences," that had no chance of resolving the differences between the Arab Citizens and Jewish Immigrants, the Mandatory came to the conclusion that the Mandate was now unworkable. Essentially, after the passage of the Partition Plan [A/RES/181(II)] in November 1947, together with the announced rejection of --- the British Foreign Secretary made the following decision:
"It is in these circumstances that we have decided that we are unable to accept the scheme put forward either by the Arabs or by the Jews, or to impose ourselves a solution or our own. We have, therefore, reached the conclusion that the only course now open to us is to submit the problem to the judgement of the United Nations. We intend to place before them an historical account of the way in which His majesty’s government have discharged their trust in Palestine over the last twenty-five years. We shall explain that the Mandate has proved to be unworkable in practice, and that the obligations undertaken to the two communities in Palestine have been shown to be irreconcilable. We shall describe the various proposals which have been put forward for dealing with the situation, namely, the Arab Plan, the Zionist’s aspirations, so far as we have been able to ascertain them, the proposals of the Anglo-American committee and the various proposals which we ourselves have put forward. We shall then ask the United Nations to consider our report, and to recommend a settlement of the problem. We do not intend ourselves to recommend any particular solution.”
It had nothing to do with mounting Jewish or Arab Terrorism; or the associated casualties.
"152. His Majesty’s Government considered that these proposals were consistent with the terms both of the League Mandate and of Article 76 of the United Nations Charter. They also looked forward to an early termination of the trust:"Now what is interesting about this is that before the Agreement to Alter was expired, during the three-year period from October 24, 1945, the date the Charter entered into force after appropriate ratifications, until May 14-15, 1948, the UNPC invited the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) to participate the implementation of the Partition Plan. Which of course, instead of using their influence from the inside, that AHC rejected the invitation and instead chose to us military forces to achieve what attain through diplomatic means.
"His Majesty’s Government are not prepared to continue indefinitely to govern Palestine themselves(COMMENT)
merely because Arabs and Jews cannot agree upon the means of sharing its government between them. The proposals contained in the present memorandum are designed to give the two peoples and opportunity of demonstrating their ability to work together for the good of Palestine as a whole and so providing a stable foundation for an independent State.”
The Covenant of the League of Nation provides for eventual nationhood for the inhabitants of the former Turkish territories, the non-Jews were the overwhelming majority of the former Turkish territory that was placed under the Mandate. The UN Charter did not change this provision but repeated it in Chapter X1, Article 73.
"Article 73
"Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end....."
Chapter XI | United NationsIt is clear that the UN completely ignored this article with respect to the non-Jewish inhabitants. The whole operation which facilitated the dispossession of the non-Jews not only ran counter to the provisions of the Covenant of the League of Nations, but also the the UN Charter. The principal "that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount" were not protected for the majority of the inhabitants i.e., the non-Jews.
SECOND: Article 73, speaks to the future tense of Administrations, and not past tense of a Mandate.
The Mandate transferred to the UN under Article 77(1a) of the UN Charter. BUT, since you brought this matter up, this leads to the direct question about Article 80, of the UN Charter. The best explanation I've ever seen is the Article by the News Outlet Algemeiner and the presentation on Article 80 and the UN Recognition of a “Palestinian State” 22 September 2011. EXCERPT:
{indent]The reference here is, of course, to Article 80 of the UN Charter, once known unofficially as the Jewish People’s clause, which preserves intact all the rights granted to Jews under the Mandate for Palestine, even after the Mandate’s expiry on May 14-15, 1948. Under this provision of international law (the Charter is an international treaty), Jewish rights to Palestine and the Land of Israel were not to be altered in any way unless there had been an intervening trusteeship agreement between the states or parties concerned, which would have converted the Mandate into a trusteeship or trust territory. The only period of time such an agreement could have been concluded under Chapter 12 of the UN Charter was during the three-year period from October 24, 1945, the date the Charter entered into force after appropriate ratifications, until May 14-15, 1948, the date the Mandate expired and the State of Israel was proclaimed. Since no agreement of this type was made during this relevant three-year period, in which Jewish rights to all of Palestine may conceivably have been altered had Palestine been converted into a trust territory, those Jewish rights that had existed under the Mandate remained in full force and effect, to which the UN is still committed by Article 80 to uphold, or is prohibited from altering.
ALGEMEINER: As a direct result of Article 80, the UN cannot transfer these rights over any part of Palestine, vested as they are in the Jewish People, to any non-Jewish entity, such as the “Palestinian Authority.” Among the most important of these Jewish rights are those contained in Article 6 of the Mandate which recognized the right of Jews to immigrate freely to the Land of Israel and to establish settlements thereon, rights which are fully protected by Article 80 of the UN Charter.
The UN did not ignore the Article. it plainly did not apply since the UN Palestine Commission (UNPC) had already been appointed by the General Assembly as the "Successor Government." Your assumption here is that the territory was abandoned. That would be an entirely wrong interpretation of historical events. The "Successor Government" was adopted by the General Assembly in the Part I - Future Constitution and Government of Palestine, Resolution 181(II):
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.As is clear, the multinational UNPC was the successor government. External Interference by Military Forces of the Arab League, attacked on the day of Israeli Independence. Both Egypt and Jordan staking claims (Gaza Strip and West Bank respectively) to their piece of Palestine.
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 coordinate 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.
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.
Article 80 Chapter XII - International Trusteeship System
"After the 15th May, 1948, the United Nations Commission will be the Government of Palestine. It does not seem very material whether it is considered to be the de facto or the de jure Government. In any case, its title to be the Government of Palestine will rest on the resolution of the General Assembly. "His Majesty's Government will recognize the United Nations Commission as the authority with which to make an agreement regarding the transfer of the assets of the Government of Palestine."
SOURCE: Joint International Announcement released by the UN and UK Press Release PAL/138 27 February 1948
1. Except as may be agreed upon in individual trusteeship agreements, made under Articles 77, 79, and 81, placing each territory under the trusteeship system, and until such agreements have been concluded, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms of existing international instruments to which Members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be interpreted as giving grounds for delay or postponement of the negotiation and conclusion of agreements for placing mandated and other territories under the trusteeship system as provided for in Article 77.
FINALLY: For every argument, there is a counter-Argument. The arguments over the Mandate and the UN charter have absolutely no impact on Israel after independence and self-determination. The Jewish People were citizens and entitled to exercise their rights. No matter how the Charter or the Mandate are interpreted, even if they are interpreted 100% in all the favorable convoluted ways the Arab Palestinians have presented, it does not matter. The State of Israel will remain the Jewish National Home as envisioned nearly a century ago.
Most Respectfully,
R
the Mandatory came to the conclusion that the Mandate was now unworkable.
It was always unworkable, dumb ass.