Reports that Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin has presented a new proposal to the U.S. Government for a negotiated settlement between Jews and Arabs were circulating here today. The plan is said to be based on the principle of partition, but differs from the United Nations partition-allotted territory for the Jewish and Arab states.
Under the terms of this new proposal, according to reliable informants, the Negev would be given to the Arabs, the Western Galilee to the Jews while Jerusalem would be internationalized.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office announced today that Britain is considering action on the Arab states’ maritime blockade of Palestine. The announcement followed the disclosure that a British vessel, the S.S. Richard Borchard, had been seized by Egyptian authorities at Alexandria. The vessel was en route to Israel with a cargo of foodstuffs.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office, explaining the order issued yesterday “withdrawing” 21 British officers from service with the Trans Jordan Legion, asserted today that the Britons would be withdrawn from Palestine only and would be allowed to continue training Legion troops in Transjordan.
The British Trades Union Congress today received a message from William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, urging the British to withdraw their support of the Arabs warring against Israel. The message emphasized that the A.F.L. endorsed the creation of the Jewish state.
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