Lord Plumer, former High Commissioner of Palestine, in participating in the parliamentary debate on the Middle East air force today, explained that he had not made any special reference to Palestine or to the recent disturbances there “because a special commission was appointed and submitted a report which is still under consideration by His Majesty’s Government, and in the meantime I think it would be improper for one who recently held the office of High Commissioner there to make any observations connected with the causes of those disturbances, with the disturbances themselves or with the deductions that may be drawn from them.”
Commenting on the debate in an editorial, the “Manchester Guardian” emphasizes the difference in the forces required for Palestine and for Iraq. The “Guardian” points out that while troubles in Iraq are usually frontier troubles those in Palestine are domestic and “raiding by desert tribes is expeditiously settled by bombing squadrons which are the most efficient weapon but when rioting or tumult occurs in towns or populous districts airplanes are likely to kill indiscriminately or become ineffective.”
The editorial agrees with the Inquiry Commission’s report in that the events of last August clearly established the fact that for checking widespread disturbances and for restoring order in Palestine infantry is more effective than airplanes or armored cars.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
