A proposal for a settlement of the Israel-Arab conflict on the basis of a “mild compromise” on borders was proposed in the House of Lords Wednesday in the midst of a debate on the Middle East.
Lord Birdwood, who said he had been labelled pro-Arab, suggested that the Arabs would have to face the reality of Israel ‘s existence, in return for which Israel would have to accept some border changes. He called for international aid on an unprecedented scale to assist in settling the Arab refugee problem. He also suggested reconstitution of the United Nations Palestine Conciliation Commission as a body which might be able to mediate an Arab-Israel settlement.
Lord Silken, a Laborite peer, noted that the British Government was committed to protect the sovereignty of Israel as well as of the Arab states of the Middle East. He stressed that the Arab states had refused to accept the UN decision of 1947 and had gone to war against Israel to nullify it. Finally, Lord Silkin pointed out, by their persecution of their Jewish minorities the Arab states had created a body of 400,000 new Jewish refugees who had gone to Israel.
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