Termination of Mandate Cannot Be Delayed Beyond May 1, House of Lords Hears

Termination of the Palestine Mandate could not be delayed beyond May 1, but might be advanced, Lord Listowell, speaking for the government, said today in the House of Lords during a full-dress debate on Palestine. Listowell denied that British troops in the country had been “idle spectators” and ?id that but for their intervention Jews would have suffered great losses of life ?d property.

Meanwhile, it was revealed in Commons that the overall cost of maintaining British forces in Palestine between July, 1945 and November, 1947 was $400,000,000. ?is was disclosed by Sir Stafford Cripps, Chancellor of the Exchequer, replying to query by Philip Piratin, Communist.

Speaking in Lords, Lord Altringham, who, as Sir Edward Grigg, was British minister of State in the Middle Fast during the war, said that “conditions in Palestine have been enormously aggravated” by the U.N. partition decision and added ?at the U.N, must assume full responsibility for what may occur. He expressed ?gret that Britain had not relinquished the Mandate sooner and endorsed its refusal ? take any responsibility for enforcing partition.

He stated that as a member of the U.N. Britain must help to maintain essential services before the Mandate ends and should encourage British personnel to volunteer for service under U.N. direction, “but there must be no suspicion that Britain ? maintaining a hold on Palestine.”

Lord Strabolgi expressed the hope that an international police force would ?e set up and that both Arabs and Jews would not follow extremist leaders. The archbishop of fork denied charges that he is anti-Semitic, but denounced “violent political Zionism,” He added that partition was unjust and impractical.