Izvestia Charges Britain Fostering Hostility Between Arabs and Jews in Palestine

The newspaper Izvestia, official organ of the Soviet Government, charged today in an article that Britain was fostering hostility between Jews and Arabs in Palestine in order to create a situation which would enable it to retain the Mandate and continue to keep troops there.

The recommendations of the Anglo-American inquiry committee have satisfied neither the Jews nor the Arabs, according to the article, which was written by Vladimir Msev, and have created extreme tension in Palestine, which endangers the peace of the entire Middle East. Stating that the inquiry committee was set up against the will of the Arabs and Jews, the article says that it was a private body of the British and American Governments and consequently cannot force its decision on either of the two parties. Responsibility for what occurs in Palestine, it adds, will rest upon these two countries.

Britain has converted Palestine and Transjordan into an armed camp so that it may keep watch over the Suez Canal and preserve its dominant role in the Middle East, Maev charges. He said that the British have complete control of the air in the Middle East because of the many airfields in Palestine and are planning to station large numbers of troops in Transjordan.

U.S. interest in Palestine is motivated chiefly by a desire to strengthen its position in the Middle East, the article says. It points out that America is already firmly established in Arabia and Lebanon and has now entered into relations with Yemen.

Referring to the Arab League, he accused certain of its leaders of being more interested in ensuring foreign domination in Arab countries than in protecting the interests of the Arab people. The article said that Abdul Rahman Azzam Bey, secretary general of the League, was opposed to turning the Palestine question over to the United Nations Security Council.