Foreign Minister Bevin today told the Arab delegates attending the Palestine Conference that the course of action to be taken by Britain in Palestine will be announced on Thursday.
Arthur Greenwood, acting leader of the House of Commons, announced there this afternoon that a government statement on Palestine will be made to Parliament on Thursday. Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech-Jones will speak in Commons. The Cabinet is expected to meet tomorrow or Thursday to hear Bevin and reach some decision.
The Conference on Palestine adjourned today after a three-hour session, without setting a date for resumption of the discussions. During the talks, Bevin repeated that Britain had not yet drafted a definite policy, and the Arabs, in turn, reiterated their rejection of “the scheme of partition or any scheme leading to it” and their objections to “any form of continuous immigration.” The Foreign Minister did not mention the federalization plan, nor did he report on his meeting yesterday with Zionist leaders.
PALESTINE CONFERENCE MAY CONOLUDE THIS WEEK
The planned Anglo-Arab committee, which was supposed to meet between formal sessions of the conference, has been abandoned. No mention of it was made today. It is learned that the Arabs changed their mind and decided not to participate in the committee. It is expected that the next session of the Conference will be the last.
Earlier today the Jewish Agency executive met to discuss yesterday’s conference with Bevin, during which he informed them of his plan to make known some decision. The Jewish representatives are scheduled to meet with the Foreign Minister again on Friday. It is reported that they attempted yesterday to discuss current developments in Palestine, but Bevin refused to do so.
Labor back-benchars are in open revolt against the party’s Palestine policy. Members of the party’s foreign affairs committee will demand at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labor Party tomorrow that a spacial closed party debate be held on the question of Palestine. They will urge Bewin and Creech-Jones to attend the meeting and thrash out some policy on the Holy Land.
Dr. Chaim Weizmann left by air this morning for Palestine. Some members of the Agency are hopeful that, through personal contact with High Commissioner Sir Alan Cunningham, he will be able to secure at least a mitigation of the planned restrictive measures.
Viscount Hall, First Lord of the Admiralty, declared today in the House of Lords that the civilians remaining in Palestine after the present evacuation must be kept in cantonment areas for protection since the government, in the absence of Jewish Agency cooperation with the authorities agines terrorism, cannot safeguard them anywhere else in the country.
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