No Action Will Be Taken on Palestine Arab Complaints Council Decides.-Austen Chamberlain Criticizes Permanent Mandates Commission Report.-Reply of Pelestine Government to Arab Petition Proves Arabs Complaints Baseless.-Important Document Distributed Among League Members.-Full Text of Palestine Government Reply Given in Cable Despatch to Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Council of the League of Factions held a private meeting after listening to be explanations of Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Secretary, and decided to consider the possibility of rewording the text of the report admitted to it by the Permanent Mandates Commission.
In its public session the Council approved, with in alterations, the report of the Permanent Mandates Commission, which stresses the fact that Jewish immigration into Palestine is not in accidence with the interests of the country. The criticism voiced in the report against the immigratoin policy of Sir Herbert Samuel’s administration of its attitude towards the Arabs and Jews met with a reply on the part of Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Secretary.
“I am not quite certain whether the Permanent Mandates Commission fully realizes the difficult conditions under which the High Commissioner of Palestine had to fulfill his duties”, Austen Chamberlain declared. “To say that the majority of the immigrants into Palestine have not had any previous agricultural training”, he stated, “is to ignore the wonderful work they have done. My information authorizes me to maintain that Jewish immigration into Palestine consists mainly of agriculturalists who are admirably suited for the work in Palestine. The immigration also contains industrial and commercial elements. It is sufficient to consider the development which tobacco growing is making in Galilee to realize the justice of this assertion. The tobacco cultivation is yielding excellent results. In any case, the higher class of immigrant who is now pouring into Palestine will help to develop industries which hold out a bright promise for the future.”
The Council of the League of Nations decided to refer the report of the Permanent Mandates Commission to the governments concerned. At the same time, the Council decided not to take my action on the complaints submitted to the Permanent Mandates Commission in the memorandum of the Palestine Arab Executive, representing the Moslem Christian Association.
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