Transjordania Seeks Foreign Capital for Economic Development

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The treaty between England and Transjordania will be signed within the next two months, according to Emir Abdullah, ruler of Western Palestine, in an interview with the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here.

When the signatures to this treaty will be affixed, a Transjordanian parliament will be convoked. One of the first actions of this parliament will be to attract foreign capital for the economic development of Transjordania, the Emir stated.

“The Jewish-Arab question in Palestine will be solved only by direct Arab-Jewish negotiations. It is necessary to discover those responsible circles who are entitled to speak on behalf of the Palestine Arabs,” he stated.

Asked for his views concerning the policy of Ibn Saud, victorious leader of the Wahabis, who dethroned Abdullah’s father and brother, Hussein and Ali, Abdullah expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement concluded by Sir Gilbert Clayton and Ibn Saud. “This agreement is not satisfactory where it deals with the frontiers. Nevertheless, Transjordania will fulfill this agreement, while it is doubtful whether Ibn Saud will do so. The leader of the Wahabis may later turn his weapons against the English, as he previously did against Hussein,” Abdullah declared.

The ruler of Transjordania further expressed his misgivings concerning the Caliphate Congress called in Mecca by Ibn Saud. “This Congress will not bring any religious results,” he stated. “The participation of large delegations from Russia and Turkey shows that the Mecca conference has, beyond a religious purpose, political aims. It is probable that Ibn Saud wants to establish, with the aid of the Bolsheviks and Mustapha Kemel Pasha, an anti-British force in the East,” he stated.