Despite frequent reports that Britain is preparing to turn over the Palestine mandate to the United Nations if the United States refuses to go along with its “federalization” scheme, it became increasingly clear today that the Labor Government has no intention of relinquishing its authority over Palestine.
The Daily Herald, the official Labor Party newspaper which has become a semi-official organ of the government, said this morning that yesterday’s Cabinet meeting decided that under no circumstances would the mandate be given up and that the government would go ahead with its Palestine plan even if President Truman rejects it.
The Herald also said that an important statement of policy on Palestine will probably be issued within a few days. A Foreign Office spokesman, however, said that he could not confirm that such a statement might be issued during the week-end. He added that there was also no indication that the government planned to take the Palestine issue to the United Nations.
BRITISH DOUBLE-TALK ON REPORTED DEPORTATION OF JEWS TO CYPRUS
The same spokesman denied Washington reports that the British Government has informed the U.S. that it intended to deport visaless Jews to Cyprus, although he said America had been told that the British intended to frustrate illegal immigration.
(A State Department spokesman said today that the British Cabinet has informally notified this government that it planned to remove “illegal” Jewish immigrants to Cyprus. He added, however, that no official announcement to this effect has been received and that the British Government has not yet definitely decided to move the refugees.)
An informed source here interpreted President Truman’s delay in making known the U.S. attitude on the “federalization” plan to his wish to avoid prejudicing Jewish immigration. This source said that American rejection of the proposal will almost certainly result in further restrictions on immigration.
At the same time, it was reported that the British are planning to take action on high diplomatic levels in an attempt to curb the movement of Palestine-bound Jews through Europe. The report said that Anglo-American military action would be required in Italy and the Danubian countries to halt the flow of refugees.
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.
