The administrative division of Jerusalem into two boroughs, one Jewish and one Arab, with separate municipal councils and mayors under the overall control of a four-man administrative council, is recommended in a report by Sir William Fitzgerald, Palestine chief justice, which was released here today.
The report, which is the result of an investigation begun over a year ago when the Jerusalem municipal council failed to agree on whether to elect an Arab or a Jew mayor of the city, recommends that the administrative council shall be composed of one representative of each borough and two other persons, neither Arabs nor Jews, appointed by the High Commissioner.
In addition the High Commissioner would chose the council’s president and would be given the right to veto the election of the mayor of either borough. The members of the borough council would be elected by the population of the respective units. Under Fitzgerald’s plan the administration of the Holy Places and most of the Old City would be under the direct control of the council.
In an official foreword to the report, the Palestine Government emphasizes that it has not committed itself to acceptance of Fitzgerald’s recommendations. It adds that as soon as circumstances permit, the government will implement a report of a Royal Commission in 1936 which recommended that an expert be assigned to study the structure of local government in Palestine with a view toward completely overhauling it.
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