The Palestine delegate to the meeting of the foreign ministers of Arab states, which has just concluded here, was among the signatories of the draft of a constitution for the proposed League of Arab Nations which was drawn up at the meeting.
Although Palestine is not considered to have the same status as the independent Arab states, the fact that Mussa el Alamai, its delegate, was among those ratifting the new constitution is an indication of the common stand on the palestine question which was taken by the foreign ministers. It confirms the belief here that to unified Arab federation is conceived of which would not include Palestine.
However, from information available in Cairo, it seems as if the “Greater Syria” scheme, which envisioned a union of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan, has been abandoned because of the refusal of Lebanon, which is predominantly Christian, to join. The Lebanese fear that they would be lost in what would be a predominantly Moslem state.
Whether Palestine is to be invited to the Arab Congress on March 17, which is expected to adopt the draft constitution, is up to the preparatory committee, it was explained today by Abdul Rahman Assam Bey, Minister for Arab Affairs in the Egyptian Government. At the same time, he pointed out that any decisions adopted at the congress will have to be ratified by the parliaments of the various states participating.
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