The Arab position on the Palestine problem was presented here today at an open hearing by Lebanese Foreign Minister Hamid (##)erangie, who spoke for the governments of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia (##)nd Yemen, all of whom had representatives present.
Reading a prepared statement in French, he demanded immediate cessation of Jewish immigration to Palestine and the establishment of the country as an Arab state. (##) declared that it was acceptable to the Arabs that the Jews already living in Palestine remain there, but that no more be permitted to enter. He asserted that minorities in the Arab states had always lived safely and happily and there was no reason for the Jews to expect different treatment in an Arab Palestine.
A memorandum submitted by Ferangie on behalf of the six Arab states charged that partition would complicate the problem even more, since the existence of a Jewish state would lead to disturbances and warfare throughout the Middle East. It (##)hallenged the need for large-scale Jewish immigration, stating that since the defeat of Nazisman (##) there was no center of anti-Semitism in the world.
The presentation took less than two hours and the entire session was over before noon, marking the completion of the committee’s public hearings in Lebanon. after the public hearings, the members of the committee spent the remainder of the day in closed meetings. Late in the afternoon the delegates met with Lebanese President dechara el-Khoury at his home where he is confined by illness. Some members will probably visit Maronite Patriarch Arida to hear the views of the Christians of Leban(##)on, the only non-Arab majority in any Arab state.
It is reported that a number of members of the committee, together with Dr. Victor Hoo, Assistant Secretary-General of the U.N., are planning to fly to Amman, capital of Transjordan, tomorrow to hear King Abdullah. It is expected that the committee will wind up its work in the Arab states by tomorrow and leave for Geneva (##)on Thursday.
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