The Permanent Mandates Commission was on record today with a sharp rebuke of Great Britain for prolonging its restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine.
In a report to the League of Nations Council on its June meeting, the Commission asserts that application of the Palestine mandate has been “partially suspended” since the period during which Jewish immigration has been limited was extended “to a greater extent than would have been justified by application of the principle of economic absorptive capacity which was approved by the Council.”
Appended to the report is a letter from Sir John Shuckburg, British representative at the June session, in which he denies the assertion that the present system of immigration control represents partial suspension of the mandate. Sir John promises that the mandatory power will define its attitude on that question at the forthcoming Council session.
The Commission’s report, made public here yesterday, says that “the situation is regarded as less favorable than ever for securing the development of self-governing institutions.” Declaring that the situation has caused the commission the utmost concern, the report expresses hope that the period before a final decision on Palestine’s future will be as short as possible, “since all interests involved will only suffer from a continuance of the present uncertainty.”
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