Shertok Pessimistic on Talks with British; Says Agency May Take Issue to U.N.

Moshe Shertok, head of the Jewish Agency political department, said today that he was not too sanguine concerning the results of the current British-Jewish discussions, and that the Palestine problem might be referred to the United Nations if the talks fail. He expressed the opinion that the Jewish Agency could make a direct approach to the U.N., since it is the heir of the League of Nations, which granted the Palestine mandate.

Shertok told a press conference that the Agency was still prepared to consider partition, if it is proposed by Britain. He said that the Zionict program was a Jewish state and not partition, but that the Zionist Congress did not forbid consideration of a viable Jewish state, if such an offer were made. He added that it seemed apparent that Foreign Minister Bevin still favors some sort of federalization plan, which Shertok described as “a sacrifice of territory without corresponding increase in sovereignty.”

The Agency political chief said that the decision to evacuate British civilians “has taken us very much by surprise. It was a shock to us.” He said that he did not know what it implied, but that it added emphasis to the urgency of the problem and the necessity for a prompt solution. Military action, he warned, would only complicate the situation.

Dr. Fadil Jamali, Iraq Foreign Minister, acting as spokesman for all the Arab delegates attending the Palestine Conference, said that “it is welcome news to hear that the Palestine Government is preparing to take adequate steps to disarm the terrorists and suppress these outbreaks of lawlessness.” He disclosed that during the two sessions of the conference this week, the Arabs had demanded that “the terrorists be disarmed.”