1949 Lausanne Conference

1949 was convened by the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) from 27 April to 12 September 1949. During the conference, representatives of Israel , the Arab states Egypt , Transjordan , Lebanon and Syria , and Palestinian refugees attempted to resolve disputes arising from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War , (mainly in accordance with Resolution 181 and Resolution 194 ).¹ Amongst the issues discussed were territorial questions and the establishment of recognized borders, the question of Jerusalem, the repatriation of refugees, (and whether the issue could be discussed separately from the overall Arab-Israeli conflict), Israeli counter-claims for war damages, the fate of orange groves belonging to refugees and of their bank accounts blocked in Israel. On 12 May, 1949, the conference achieved its only success when the parties signed a joint protocol on the framework for a comprehensive peace, which included territories, refugees, and Jerusalem. Israel agreed "in principle" to allow the return of all of the Palestinian refugees. This Israeli agreement was made under pressure from the United States , and because the Israelis wanted United Nations membership, which required Israeli agreement to allow the return of all refugees. Once Israel was admitted to the UN, it retreated from the protocol it had signed, because it was completely satisfied with the status quo, and saw no need to make any concessions with regard to the refugees or on boundary questions. Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett had hoped for a comprehensive peace settlement at Lausanne, but he was no match for Prime Minister David Ben Gurion , who saw the armistice agreements that stopped the fighting with the Arab states as sufficient, and put a low priority on a permanent peace treaty. Among the Arabs, only King Abdullah of Transjordan (today's Jordan) worked for a permanent peace treaty with Israel, in part because he had annexed the West Bank and wanted the Israelis to recognize this. When Abdullah's secret negotiations and agreements with Israel were exposed, he was assassinated on 20 July 1951 in Jerusalem by a Palestinian. In the end, no agreement was reached. The failure to settle the refugee question led to the establishment of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to care for the needs of refugees. The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict 1947-1951 .²