Henry R. Labouisse, director of the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said today that the Arab States had made a burning political issue of the misery of the Arab refugees and had continued to refuse to cooperate in alleviating their lot, but he nevertheless placed much of the onus for the situation on Israel.
For the third successive year he demanded that a plebiscite be held among the Arab refugees to determine whether they preferred repatriation to Israel or compensation. He charged that “the Government of Israel has taken no affirmative action in the matter of repairation or compensation.” Elsewhere he noted that a General Assembly resolution calling on the Arab States to cooperate fully with the agency “has not yet been fully implemented He noted numerous cases of obstruction by the Arab governments, notably in his attempt to remove ineligible persons from the agency’s relief rolls. He cited obstacles put in the way of the agency’s work by the four Arab “host” governments.
Mr Labouisse also disclosed that the agency had filed claims against Israel for damages allegedly suffered by UNRWA and its staff during the Sinai operation.
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