Chairman William E. Miller of the Republican National Committee announced today that “the Republican Party cannot support such an unrealistic plan” as the Arab refugee repatriation proposals of Dr. Joseph E, Johnson, special emissary of the United Nations Palestine Conciliation Commission. Rep. Miller’s statement was released as a formal policy expression of the Republican National Committee.
Chairman Miller, who is a member of Congress from New York State, charged that the State Department’s “conflicting policy pronouncements on the Johnson proposal will not lend themselves to the establishment of peace in the Near East and will, on the contrary, contribute to increased tensions. ” In the Republican view, he said, “it is not to be expected that Israel would accede to the proposed terms. It is obvious that, willingly or unwillingly, a mass of Palestinian Arab refugees would seek repatriation.”
Rep. Miller said that “to Israel, with a small population of 2,250,000 and limited territory, the potential influx of a mass of hostile Arab refugees, the Johnson proposal would pose insurmountable problems. ” He stressed that the solution of the Arab refugee problem required “a realistic plan upon which both sides can agree and which would not threaten the economic or political viability of the State of Israel, and ensure adequate compensation to those refugees entitled to it.”
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