“guardian” Calls for Mixed International Body to Settle Wall Dispute

An editorial in yesterday’s “Manchester Guardian,” entitled “Geneva and Palestine,” says that Assistant Secretary for the Colonies, in replying to questions in the House of Commons, had described the Palestine situation “from a military point of view,” as quiet. The editorial goes on to say that “from any other point of view, it obviously is not. Yesterday afternoon, Attorney-General Bentwich was wounded, while there are plenty of other such incidents, such as the stabbing of Dr. Ticho, to show that unrest is still widespread.

“It is difficult to understand why the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations refused the British Government’s request for a mixed international commission to investigate the Wailing Wall dispute. It is true that the Wailing Wall question is intrinsically only a minor question, but such questions have an unfortunate habit of becoming symbols for which men will not only die, but will kill.

“It is very important that this matter, and indeed the whole problem of the Holy Places, be investigated and settled by an absolutely impartial tribunal, according to Article 14 of the Palestine Mandate. It is doubtful whether the British Government will any longer be accepted by the Arabs or the Jews as such a body. It is essentially a matter for the League of Nations.

“The British Government, which is now investigating the immediate causes of the August riots, is in quite a different position. To replace the Inquiry Commission by a League inquiry would be unjust and impolitic, because that would tacitly condemn the British authorities in advance as the cause of the unrest. But the question of the Wailing Wall is entirely different. It is a subject for historic and scientific, rather than judicial, inquiry.

“For an international body to decide these points would not detract from British authority but would rather strengthen our hands in the future administration of the country. The Mandates Commission’s reasons for this curious decision will be awaited with interest. It is to be hoped that it was not timidity, for the Mandates Commission can only grow in importance by taking up the comparatively few opportunities offered it.”