The Israeli Government has reversed its decision to publish an official White Book on the Arab refugee question, it was learned here this week-end. The decision was reversed because the White Book would have explained in detail why the government opposed the large-scale readmission of Arab refugees, a policy to which the government is no longer committed.
The document, largely based on the former Mandatory Government’s statements, would have attempted to outline Israel’s contribution to the economic and political stabilization of the status of the Palestine Arabs — a contribution greater than that of any of the Arab states. The document would also have pointed out that Israel has already allowed to enter, or would accept under the plan for reuniting disrupted Arab families, a good-sized proportion of the Arabs who originally lived in what is now Israeli territory.
(The New York Times this week-end published an interview with Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett who disclosed that Arab refugees will be resettled in Israel even before actual peace terms are signed with the Arab states. Revealing that Israel will consider that peace obtains when the U.N. proclaims it, Mr. Sharett said that it will not be necessary to wait for the signing of the treaties as long as the Arabs make a public statement of their acceptance of the terms and the statement is attested to by the U.N. This, he added, would save valuable time because the signing of the pacts may be delayed for months.)
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