On June 27, 1949, Lausanne prepared for its scheduled recess and the delegation of מדינת ישראל MEDINAT YISRAʾEL set out positions on refugee property and family reunion. The night also saw the Baqa al-Gharbiyye expulsion dated by later scholarship. The daytime rundown and the nighttime Event retain different Hebrew placements.123

What did the delegation permit or withhold?

IS/31 described favorable consideration of wives and minor children of lawful Arab breadwinners and other compassionate cases, with administrative arrangements still being prepared. It also said reunion could not guarantee return to former homes. It resisted broader readmission outside a peace settlement and sought reciprocity for deposits. The property study keeps family admission, residence and recovery of property separate.4

What happened during the night?

The Baqa expulsion study compares a scholarly date and range with the later official account of a complaint and violation finding. It records forced crossing of the armistice line, not voluntary flight. The complaint and later rulings belong to other dates. The night places that principal Event provisionally on 1 Tamuz, without creating a second removal in tomorrow’s recap.5

What did Egyptian and UN records add?

A Cairo conversation recorded Egyptian objections to incorporating Gaza under terms that did not restore refugees to their homes. The American diplomatic account was written in English about a conversation conducted in French; it is not a French transcript. At Lausanne the commission discussed further technical work, without completing a refugee census or paying blocked balances.67

How is this dated?

SR.77 gives June 27 at 10:30 a.m., supporting daytime ל׳ בסיון ה׳תש״ט 30th 𝑜𝑓 Sivan, AM 5709. IS/31 is dated June 27 without an occurrence clock. Morris assigns the expulsion to the night, provisionally א׳ בתמוז ה׳תש״ט 1st 𝑜𝑓 Tamuz, AM 5709. These routes commemorate different stages within the same civil day. The Cairo account keeps its report and conversation dates distinct.8910

Guided reflections

  • Why can family reunion leave return to a former home unresolved?
  • How does the sunset boundary distinguish a daytime negotiation from nighttime expulsion?

Footnotes

  1. United Nations, A/AC.25/SR.77, SR.77, 10:30 a.m. ↩
  2. United Nations, A/AC.25/IS/31, IS/31, June 27. ↩
  3. Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Morris, p. 532; occurrence detail treated in linked study. ↩
  4. United Nations, A/AC.25/IS/31, Points 1–5. ↩
  5. Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p. 532, with detailed evidence in major study. ↩
  6. FRUS 1949, vol. VI, document 801, FRUS 801, conversation and instructions. ↩
  7. United Nations, A/AC.25/SR.77, Technical preparation. ↩
  8. United Nations, A/AC.25/SR.77, Heading. ↩
  9. United Nations, A/AC.25/IS/31, Letter date. ↩
  10. Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, p. 532. ↩

Works cited

  1. United Nations. A/AC.25/SR.77. Lausanne record, June 1949 or July 1, 1949; exact heading and cited passages inspected in hosted English reproduction. Not a verbatim recording or autograph original. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-211573/. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  2. United Nations. A/AC.25/IS/31. Lausanne record, June 1949 or July 1, 1949; exact heading and cited passages inspected in hosted English reproduction. Not a verbatim recording or autograph original. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-211743/. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  3. Morris, Benny. The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Baqa episode p. 532, notes 202–205 on p. 547. Inspected scanned pages; underlying cited archival files unheld. https://yplus.ps/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Morris-Benny-The-Birth-of-the-Palestinian-Refugee-Problem-Revisited.pdf. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  4. United States Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949. Vol. VI. Document 801. Office of the Historian. Hosted text with editorial notes; occurrence, telegram, cited later report and publication remain separate. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1949v06/d801. Accessed October 11, 2026.