The “New York Times” reports to-day from Jerusalem that the High Commissioner for Palestine, General Sir Arthur Wauchope, will in May officially inform the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Palestine Arab Executive that the Government has decided to set up a Legislative Assembly for Palestine. The Government will probably ask the two bodies to nominate members to the new Assembly, or it may set a date for elections to be held, on the basis of ten Moslem members, three or four Jews, two Christians and ten or eleven official British members.
The Colonial Office on enquiry by the J.T.A. states officially that there is no foundation for the report in the “New York Times”.
The Zionist Executive declares that it is not aware of any such intentions on the part of the High Commissioner.
In well-informed circles it is pointed out that the passages relating to the intention to set up a Legislative Council in Palestine contained in the Passfield White Paper issued in October 1930 were not amended in any way in Mr. Eamsay MacDonald’s letter of authoritative interpretation addressed to Dr. Weizmann in February 1931, in which several other questions dealt with in the Passfield white Paper under-went changes, or modifications, or were deferred. These passages, therefore, still stand, and it is to be expected that sooner or later some action will be taken with regard to establishing a Legislative body. The Government has not yet, however, considered it advisable to instruct the High Commissioner to take any immediate action in this direction.
The “New York Times” report that the High Commissioner is to announce the establishment of a Legislative Council for Palestine next month is absolutely wrong, the J.T.A. here understands, and is probably based on rumours that have been appearing in the Arab Press.
The J.T.A. is able to state on the highest authority that it is not intended to establish a Legislative Council for Palestine in the near future.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
