U.N. Rejects Court Test on Holy Land, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 1948.

Click here to view the original article.

LAKE SUCCESS, July 27 (AP)-Syria lost today her attempt to put the Palestine issue up to the International Court of Justice. The Security Council refused to approve Syria’s request.

The Council vote was six for, one against, and four abstentions. A majority of seven votes was required for approval. The Soviet Ukraine voted in the negative, Canada, France, Russia and the United States abstained.

The U. S. position was outlined before the United Nations Security Council by Philip C. Jessup. He spoke after Britain, China, Colombia and Argentina had supported Syria’s demand for an advisory opinion from the court on the present legal status of the Holy Land.

Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Jakob Malik expressed Russia’s opposition.

Syria, at the outset, declared the Arabs would abide by any decision handed down by the court on the legal status of the Holy Land.

This pledge was given the Council by Syrian Delegate Faris el Khouri as it opened debate.

El Khouri declared that if the Council refused to seek a legal opinion, all the Arabs of the Middle East would consider that the Council is helping what he called the Zionist aggressors.

“If the Security Council gets an opinion, all parties will need that,” he said. “If you oppose the ruling, you do not wish justice to be done.”