ARAB AND BRITISH DISAGREEMENT

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 152, 23 March 1939, Page 9

ARAB AND BRITISH DISAGREEMENT

Crucial Phrase Of The McMahon Letters

REPORT OF JOINT COMMITTEE (British Official Wireless.) (Received Marcii 22, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, March 21. The report of the committee set up by the United Kingdom and Arab delegations to the Palestine Conference to consider the McMahon correspondence is published today as a White Paper.

The committee cites the contentions of the two sides regarding the meaning of the correspondence and then states: “Both Arab and United Kingdom representatives have tried—as they hope, with success—to understand the point of view of the other. But they have been unable to reach agreement upon the interpretation of the correspondence.

“The British representatives, however, informed the Arabs that the Arab contentions, as explained to the committee, regarding the interpretation of the correspondence, specially their contention that the phrase, ‘those portions of Syria lying to the west of the districts of the Damascus land homes and of Aleppo,’ has greater force than had appeared hitherto. “Furthermore, the British representatives informed the Arabs that they agree that Palestine was included in the area claimed by the Sherif of Mecca in his letter of July 14, 1915, and that, unless Palestine was excluded from that area later in the correspondence, it must be regarded as having been included in the area which Britain was to recognize. The Proper Construction. “They maintain that, on a proper construction of the correspondence, Palestine was in fact excluded. But they agree that the language in which its exclusion was expressed was not so specific and unmistakable as it was thought to be at the time.”

The committee also considered other documents and events to see what light they shed on the meaning or intention of the correspondence and, making it clear that it was beyond the committee’s scope to pronounce on the proper interpretation of these various statements, it concludes the report as follows:

“The opinion of the committee on these statements is that Britain is not free to dispose of Palestine without regard for the wishes and interests of the inhabitants of Palestine, and these statements must all be taken into account in any attempt to esablish responsibilities which, upon any interpretation of the correspondence, Britain has incurred toward those inhabitants as a result of the correspondence.” The representative of the Transjordan Government at the Palestine Conference, Tautiq Pasha Abul Huda, Chief Minister of Transjordan, is remaining in London to discuss with Mr. MacDonald, Colonial Secretary, a number of questions concerning the Transjordan. The McMahon correspondence comprises a series of letters exchanged in 1915 by Sir Henry McMahon, first British High Commissioner for Egypt, and Sheriff Hussein of Mecca.

It was agreed last month that’a committee of the Palestine conference should be set. up to consider in greater detail some of the points raised regarding the correspondence.