An indication that the British Government intends to stand by the terms of the white Paper under which Jewish immigration into Palestine will cease in March, 1944, was given in the House of Commons today by Colonial Secretary Col. Oliver Stanley.
The Colonial Minister said that the war has prevented the fulfillment of the immigration program set by the White Paper. He reported that up to September of this year 43,922 Jews entered Palestine legally and illegally of the quota of 75,000 provided by the White Paper. It can be assumed, he added, that the balance of 31,078 Jewish immigrants would have reached Palestine before March 1944, if not for the exigencies of war.
The British Government, he continued, has considered the situation and reached the conclusion that it would be inequitable to close the doors of Palestine to these persons on account of the time factor. Those who do not arrive in March 1944 because they are prevented by the war from doing so, will not be kept out.
The Colonial Secretary went on to state that the Government was making all efforts to facilitate the arrival of the Jews who could still enter Palestine under the White Paper quota, subject to the absorptive capacity of the country. He pointed out that the chief obstacle which prevented the arrival of the Jewish immigrants was not the lack of shipping facilities, but the fact that Jews under Hitler’s domination are not allowed to emigrate.
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