Palestine Question at League of Nations Mandates Commission Meeting

Although the Palestine question is not on the agenda of the meeting of the permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, which was opened here yesterday, references to it were made by the Chairman of the Commission, the Marquis Theodoli, who, in the course of his opening speech, recalled that the Sixth Commission of the last League of Nations Assembly had dealt with the situation in Palestine and had adopted an important report in connection with it.

In conclusion, he said, the Sixth Commission notes in its report that order has not been disturbed in Palestine since the regrettable incidents of 1929, and associates itself with the hope expressed by the Mandates Commission and the Council that the efforts made by the Mandatory Power to facilitate Jewish immigration without infringing the rights of the Arab population may be crowned with success.

The Marquis Theodoli also mentioned that the League of Nations Council in discussing the conclusions arrived at by the last meeting of the Mandates Commission, had something to say about the terms of the concession for conveying the Iraq oil pipe-line through Palestine territory to the port of Haifa.

In connection with the agreements relating to the pipe-lines linking the Mosul area with the Mediterranean, he said, the Council took note of the Commission’s discussions and the statements made before the Commission by the accredited representatives of the Mandatory Powers, and it requested the Secretary-General to transmit this information to the Governments of the Mandatory Powers for Syria and Lebanon and Palestine for the necessary action.

There are a number of petitions before the present meeting of the Mandates Commission, relating to Palestine. M. Palaccios is acting as Rapporteur on petitions submitted by the Central Agudath Israel containing certain observations on the 1931 Order-in-Council on the Wailing Wall, and by the Palestine Liberal Party protesting against the Wailing wall Order-in-Council. M. Sakenobe is acting as Rapporteur on a petition from the President of the Palestine Arab Executive protesting against the Mandatory regime in Palestine and in particular against the Zionist policy, and M. Ruppel is acting as Rapporteur on petitions submitted by M. Israel Amikam concerning the question of the transmission of telegrams in Hebrew characters in Palestine, and by Dr. F. Kayat and M. J. Wainfeld complaining of a judgment given against M. Wainfeld by the Palestine Courts in an action brought against him by his wife.

The Mandates Commission will consider at the present session the decision adopted by the last League of Nations Assembly that the Mandates Commission in future should meet only once a year instead of twice as hitherto, for reasons of economy.