Representatives of the five Arab states participating in the three-sided conferences on Palestine issued a joint declaration today affirming support of the Palestine Arab demands for complete independence. The declaration was read at this afternoon’s British-Arab session by a member of the Egyptian delegation in the presence of Lord Halifax, Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
It is now understood that discussion of the independence demand has been completed and the question will immediately be reviewed by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the Cabinet without waiting for the outcome of discussions on other issues.
Ali Maher Pasha, Egyptian spokesman, stressed the value of an independent Arab State not only to Palestine but also to the surrounding Arab states in time of war. He emphasized the strategic value of an Arab State in Palestine linked by treaty to Britain and gave assurances that Jewish minority rights would be safeguarded.
After the joint declaration, Colonial Secretary Malcolm MacDonald reviewed the Jewish immigration question. He was understood to have presented the Jewish views to the Arabs. A spokesman for the Palestine Arabs made a long and closely reasoned statement, citing many figures to support the contention that Jewish immigration was exceeding Palestine’s economic absorptive capacity. The statement followed the lines of the usual Arab arguments, denying that Jewish immigration brought any benefits to the Arabs.
The British negotiators asked time to consider the statement. Accordingly, the next Anglo-Arab meeting will be held on Wednesday. Yacoub Farraj, one of the two Palestine Arab moderates whose inclusion in the Arab delegation was accepted by the extremists, and Foreign Minister Tewfik es-Suwaidy of Iraq attended their first session today.
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.
