The debate on the Palestine question continued in the United Nations General Assembly’s special political committee today with Arab speakers belaboring the Jewish state and the U.N. Conciliation Commission with equal vigor.
Abdul Mustafa Bey, Egyptian delegate, asserted that the latest Commission report–which detailed the lack of progress made at the recent Paris talks among the Commission, the Arab states and Israel–had favored the Israelis and had evaded with much argumentation the Arab demands for the return of the Palestine Arab refugees to Israel. He also attacked Israel for “discriminating against the Arabs” in the Jewish State, insisting that the creation of Israel in the midst of the Arab world was a “threat to peace.”
British delegate John Coulson, who argued for continuation of the Conciliation Commission because he agreed with the Commission report that further efforts would be useful if the parties concerned showed goodwill, said that he had been gratified to note in the report Israel’s offer to contribute to the settlement of the Palestine issue by paying compensation for refugee rehabilitation. He said that he did not question the right of the refugees to return to their homes in Israel, but he did question whether all of them should attempt to exercise this right.
The Syrian delegate said his country refused to accept the Commission’s report and urged the political committee to permit the refugees to return to their homes. The Arab point of view was also supported by the delegates from Afghanistan. The representatives of Israel and several other Arab states are scheduled to be heard tomorrow.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
