The decision of the Arab States to place the Palestine situation before the United Nations did not come as a surprise here and will in no way affect the present British program of action, it was indicated here today by well-informed British circles.
The British Government, it was emphasized, will decide on its next step with regard to Palestine on the basis of recommendations to be made by the Anglo-American committee of experts now at work in London. These recommendations are expected to refer to an interim solution, it was pointed out. The ultimate future of Palestine is a matter for consideration by the United Nations as a whole, it was made clear by Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin last November in Parliament, it was recalled.
Official circles also reiterated that whatever the nature of the proposals of the Anglo-American experts, both Arabs and Jews will be consulted before final decision is taken. At the same time, the News-Chronicle reports today that the British Cabinet has envisaged a federalized Palestine, with separate Jewish and separate Arab states, each in control of the greater part of its own internal affairs and grouped together under a central Palestine government, in which would be Arabs, Jews and British, representing the mandatory.
“This,” the paper says, “would enable immigration to be resumed into the Jewish province and would probably enable the British Government to announce the acceptance in principle of the admission of 100,000 Jews from Europe to Palestine within the near future.”
CABINET MEMBERS ARE DIVIDED ON FEDERALIZATION OF PALESTINE
The Chronicle reveals that not all the members of the Cabinet favor the federalization of Palestine. “Some feel that such a federal solution would not be acceptable to the Arabs and that it would lose us the friendship of the Arab rulers who are considered vital allies in the maintenance of our power in the Middle East,” the paper states.
The proposed federal solution for Palestine would, it adds, leave the federal government in control of defense, finance and communication, but would give wide powers to the two provinces. “It is almost certain that the Jewish province would have the control of immigration into its own territory and would enjoy cultural autonomy,” the paper concludes. “The discussion between the American and British experts during the past ten days in London have strengthened the hand of those who want the federal solution.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
