Palestine Government Dispels Apprehensions on Inquiry Procedure

Apprehensions with regard to the terms of reference of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry are unfounded, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency representative was informed by a high authority in the Government House.

While the terms refer only to investigate the causes of the outbreak and measures to be adopted to prevent a recurrence, omitting mention to the Commission to investigate what actually took place, the government wishes to reassure both the Jews and the Arabs that the inquiry will be exhaustive and will go into every detail of the occurrences. The first act of the government upon the arrival of the Commission will be to submit a complete report dealing with the events throughout the country. The Commission will decide for itself as to who is to be examined. The inquiry will be a full and above-board affair. The decision to exclude or to admit the press and the public is not dependent upon the Palestine government. It is simply a measure to expedite the procedure and to insure efficiency. There is no doubt that the event will be examined from every angle the correspondent was assured.

“If the Inquiry Commission is to perform its duty in such a manner as will bring positive results, it must understand that the last disturbances were not mere incidents, but the product of a system which conflicted with the spirit of the Palestine Mandate and all official pronouncements of the British government,” is the editorial comment today of the “Ha’Aretz,” Hebrew daily. “The Yishub awaits breathlessly the arrival of the Commission with whom there rests the opportunity for restoring British prestige which was diminished in our eyes and in the eyes of the entire Jewish world, owing to the disturbances. The Commission is bound to go beyond the immediate cause of the riots,” the paper says.