The conference of the Foreign Ministers of Arab League nations concluded yesterday in Lebanon with a stalemate on the “Palestine issue,” especially on the question of the formation of a Palestine state and a Palestine army to with Jordan strongly objected. The explosive issue was turned over by the conference to a special committee which was entrusted to draft a plan of “regaining” Palestine.
In the meantime the conference issued a communique reading: “The Arab Palestine people are the rightful owners of Palestine. The Arab states should preserve the personality of Palestine and avoid anything leading to its dissolution, “the statement asserted. “When the Palestinians regain their nation and their rights, they will be able to exercise these rights truly and fully.”
The conference was reported to have agreed on making an attempt to prevent Israel from getting a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A resolution is said to have been passed calling for joint efforts by Arabs on the World Bank’s board and by Arab diplomats in Washington to stop the requested loan. Other topics discussed at the conference were Israel’s “diversion” of the Jordan River, Cyprus’ relations with Israel and alleged dangers against Arabs in the Negev.
Jordan’s opposition to the formation of a Palestine state and Palestine army stems from the fear that would imperil Jordanian control over the portion of Arab Palestine seized by Jordan in the 1948 war against Israel. At the conference Jordan said that she would turn over control of this territory only when the whole of Palestine is “liberated” from Israel.
(Premier Hazza Majali of Jordan was assassinated by a time bomb that exploded this morning in his office, the Amman radio announced. Ten persons were killed and 50 injured by this bomb and one set off in another Amman Government office. Curfew has been ordered and troops are now patrolling Amman streets. Agents of the United Arab League had been arrested last March in Amman when security police there discovered a plot to assassinate the Premier at that time).
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.
