Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine

The Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator on Palestine is a UN official record submitted by the United Nations Mediator on Palestine to the Third Session of the General Assembly. It was written and prepared by the UN Mediator Count Folke Bernadotte and was published on September 16, 1948 one day before he was assassinated by members of Lehi.

The report deals with the mediation efforts between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, the two UN supervised truces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, June 11 - July 9, 1948 and July 18 to the time the report was written and with the refugee situation. Bernadotte was an ardent supporter of the Arab refugees right to return — in the report he strongly urged the provisional Israeli government to let them return to their homes:

It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries.

He also detailed his correspondence with Israeli officials regarding the refugee problem and their denial of his appeal.

External links

• - Contains part one and two of the report, p.3-33
• - Contains p.17-18, p.33-36, p.52-53

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