Report to the Secretary-General on Jerusalem (the Thalmann Report), A/6793, 12 September 1967:

On 15 August 1967, Secretary-General U Thant announced the appointment of Dr. Ernesto Thalmann of Switzerland as a one-man fact-finding mission to examine the situation in Jerusalem. After a brief visit and talks with Israeli leaders and Arab notables, heads of the Christian churches and other personalities, Dr. Thalmann submitted to U Thant a report, excerpts of which follow:

10. The Personal Representative arrived at Tel Aviv on 21 August 1967 and proceeded the same day to Jerusalem. He was able to carry out his investigations in an orderly atmosphere and the Israel authorities offered him various material facilities such as transportation and technical arrangements.

11. The Personal Representative was free to move about and to meet the various personalities whom he wished to see and to talk with them privately when he desired to do so. He met a great number of Israel officials, Arab personalities and representatives of the various religious communities. The most important names are contained in the lists in annex III.

19. During his visit, the Personal Representative was struck by the great activity in the streets of the city.

20. Uniforms were few and weapons fewer. The military policemen went about their duties in a matter-of-fact way. They appeared to be mostly concerned with directing the traffic which was quite heavy. The picture of the crowd in the Old City was dominated by the tourists. Arabs and Jews were mingling. To the destruction of the war new destruction had been added. Bulldozers had cleared the walls which separated the firing lines, as well as many houses in the area of the former no-man's-land. Also in the walled city one could see the debris of levelled houses.

21. There was direct access to the Old City through many newly made roads and through the reopened gates. Outside the walled city the scars of battle were more noticeable. Also a number of shops were closed. Most of the hotels had reopened. Before dawn and during the day the muezzin could be heard as well as the church bells.

26. The Israel authorities stated that they had offered the members of the Municipal Council of the Old City the opportunity of applying for new positions within the framework of the Israel administration, which they refused to do. Several members had left Jerusalem; at present there were only eight in the city.

27. The Municipal Council of the Old City had been superseded by the Municipal Council of West Jerusalem, which is composed of twenty-one members, all Israelis, who were elected on 2 November 1965.

28. The Israel authorities further stated that the municipality of West Jerusalem began operations in East Jerusalem the day after the fighting ceased. In the beginning it acted as the agent of the Military Government, but from 29 June, municipal processes started to function according to Israel law.

29. The Arab personnel of the Old City was absorbed in the equivalent departments in the Israel municipality, so that at present, for example, all the engineers and staff of the municipality of East Jerusalem were employed in the City Engineer's Department, the Water Supply Department, etc.

30. Practically all municipal employees included in a list comprising some 370 names provided by the Assistant Mayor of East Jerusalem, immediately after the take-over by the Israel authorities, were now employed by the municipality.

33. In the numerous conversations which the Personal Representative had with Israel leaders, including the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, it was made clear beyond any doubt that Israel was taking every step to place under its sovereignty those parts of the city which were not controlled by Israel before June 1967. The statutory bases for this had already been created, and the administrative authorities had started to apply Israel laws and regulations in those parts of the city. However, for practical reasons - for example, because the texts of the laws had not been translated into Arabic - but also with the intention that the Arab population should become familiar with the new situation step by step, not all Israel laws and regulations were as yet enforced; nevertheless, it was the declared objective of the Israel Government to equalise the legal and administrative status of the residents of those parts of the city which were not previously controlled by Israel with that of the Israel citizens as soon as possible.

34. The Personal Representative was repeatedly assured by Israel that every attention was being paid to the well-being of the Arab population and that the Arab residents would have the opportunity of bringing their standard of living up to the level prevailing in Israel.

35. The Israel authorities stated unequivocally that the process of integration was irreversible and not negotiable.

141. These statements and statutory measures were very favourably received. Various religious representatives in fact told the Personal Representative spontaneously that so far the Israel authorities had conformed to the principles which had been laid down and that there was therefore no ground for complaint. They hoped that whatever difficulties still existed or were feared - mostly of a practical and physical nature would be resolved in a spirit of co-operation.

142. Although the attitude of representatives of other Christian denominations was rather one of "wait and see", they also described the present situation as satisfactory.

143. Apart from the Moslems, whose position was discussed earlier, in connection with the attitude of the Arabs generally, it was essentially only the Catholic Church which adopted a systematically divergent attitude. As is well known, the Holy See remains convinced that the only solution which offers a sufficient guarantee for the protection of Jerusalem and its Holy Places is to place that city and its vicinity under an international regime in the form of a corpus separatum.

144. The Vatican has had talks with the Israel authorities on this and other questions, and the talks are reported to be continuing.

145. Various religious representatives expressed the hope that their links with the outside world, including the Arab countries, would remain open. These links are of particular importance to the religious communities as they relate to contacts with the corresponding religious centres abroad, the influx of pilgrims and the exchange and replacement of clergy, monks, nuns, and so forth.

146. The Personal Representative was assured by the Israel side that a liberal practice would be pursued in this respect. It was stated that, as far as entry from Arab countries was concerned, it was for those countries to issue the relevant permits.