The British Government, after five weeks of fruitless effort to effect an Arab-Jewish understanding, today put before the two delegations its final proposals for settlement of the Palestine problem. Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald outlined the proposals for eventual establishment of an independent Palestine state at separate formal meetings with the Arab and Jewish delegations, but did not go into detail on the plan and did not discuss the form of the proposed state.
Jamal el Husseini, head of the Palestine Arab extremist delegation, tonight criticized many points in the plan, objected to the indefiniteness of the proposed transition period and demanded that Jewish immigration and land purchases be prohibited. A further Anglo-Arab session was fixed for Friday.
The Anglo-Jewish session lasted only 15 minutes, with Dr. Chaim Weizmann, head of the Jewish delegation, and David Ben Gurion not present. The Jews refused to discuss the proposals and declined to fix a date for a further meeting with the British.
The plan was understood to embrace the following features:
1- The Jewish population would be fixed at one third of the total in Palestine. (As of last June, according to Palestine Government statistics, the population was estimated at 1,418,619. Of this number 828,806 are Moslems, 399,808 Jews and 111,796 Christians.)
2- A total of 75,000 Jews would be permitted to enter the Holy Land in a period of five years.
3- An independent state eventually would be established, dependent upon good collaboration and cooperation between the Arabs and the Jews.
4- A period of transition, of indefinite duration, would precede establishment of the state.
5- Sale of land to the Jews would be regulated according to a tri-zone system.
During the transition period, the plan envisages continued rule under the mandate with Jews and Arabs participating on a proportional basis. Representatives of both peoples would be named by the British High Commissioner for Palestine to advisory and executive councils. No figure has as yet been disclosed with regard to the advisory body, but the representation on the executive branch of the government will comprise two Jews and four Arabs. The High Commissioner will have veto power. Elections will possibly be held at the end of two years.
The plan was communicated to the representatives of the Arab states last night and extensively discussed at a subsequent three hour inter-Arab session at which Jamal Husseini asked the states for a mandate to reject it completely. The states’ representatives, it was understood, replied that Husseini was free to object to the plan but he would not have their support. The delegations from the Arab states revealed they were leaving over the week-end.
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