British-Israel Relations: Consideration of De Jure Recognition of Israel and Jordanian Union With Palestine

Consideration of De Jure Recognition of Israel and Jordanian Union with Palestine

CONCLUSIONS of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 1 0 Downing Street, S.W. 1,
on Thursday, 27th April, 1950, at 1 0 a.m.

The Minister of State said that the United States Government had now expressed their views on the declarations regarding the union of Arab Palestine with Jordan which had been proposed in C P . (50) 78 and approved by the Cabinet on 25th April. They raised no objection to the proposed declaration welcoming the union of Arab Palestine with Jordan : they made no comment on the proposal to accord de jure recognition to I s r a e l : but they preferred that the United Kingdom Government should hot make their proposed declaration reaffirming their desire for peace in the Middle East. Their reason for suggesting that this last general declaration should not be made at the present time was that they hoped that, in the course of the current discussions on foreign policy between representatives of the United Kingdom, the United States and France, it might be agreed that a joint declaration on the Middle East, in much stronger terms, should be made on behalf of all three Governments. In these circumstances the Minister of State proposed that the statement which he was to make that day, in answer to a Private Notice Question in the House of Commons, should be limited to the matters covered in paragraphs 18 (1) and (2) of C.P. (50) 78:

The Cabinet—

Agreed that, in the circumstances described by the Minister of State, the proposed statement on" Jordan and Israel should not include any general declaration reaffirming the desire of the United Kingdom Government for peace in the Middle East.

Sources:British Archives: CAB/128/17/26