SATISFYING ARABS AND JEWS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 159, 23 July 1937, Page 5

SATISFYING ARABS AND JEWS

(British Official Wireless.)

Palestine Report Discussed in Commons PARTITION DEFENDED

jKUIxfcSY, JUiy 7S1. A motion asking the approval of the House of Commons for the British proposals for Palestine, as announced in a White Paper aecompanying the Royal Commission 's report, was debated tonight in the House of Commons, whieh was crowded. The Colonial Seeretary, Mr W. Ormsby-Gore, epoke iirst, and tho debate was woun.d np for the Government by Lord Winterton. The Labour Party's attitude was stated in an amendment proposing a close examination of the proposals by a joint Select Committee before Parliament should be committed. Mr Ormsby-Gore etated that the question of minorities in both the Arab and Jewish States would have to be gone into very carefully and he had no doubt that the League of Nations would require epecial machinery to ensure the exercise of minority rights. The Government was asking the House to say whether it accepted the general thesrn and agreed with the Government that a ease had been made out for a fundamental change in the mandate. Mr Ormsby-Gore eaid that under the mandate the Government of Palestine had become a matter of arithmetic and the British Government was convinced that its continuance held out no hope to the Jews of finding a home there for the largely increased number of Jews, which was their main desire. At the present ipoment there was no hope that Palestine as a whole eould evolve into a Jewish State, which was the object of the Zionists, and no hope for the Araba of the realisation of their aspiratxon of self -government. Tho commission haa eome irresistibly to the belief that the intolerable burden of government eould only be resolved by giving the Jews and Arabs sovereign independence an.d free self-govornment, not for the whoie of Palestine, but each for a part of it. "With that conclusion we agree," he said. "Only by partition can hopes both be realised and peace established and they be able in the future to help each other without fear of domination by the other." The continuance of the presence of the British in Palestine was vital to the amicable settiing-down of Jew and Arab. There would be minorities in both States and it was only by the presence of a neutral Power, t'riendly to both, that these minorities eould feel that they hadssamebody to watch their iuterests. * Tbe Minister said that the Government of Transjordan had expressed itself strongly in favour of the report and other parts of the Arab world were by no means unfavourable to it. x He concluded by appealing to the House and the Jews and Arabs to co* operate with goodwill in constructive eifort to bring peace to the Holy Land. Tho Government believed that the Koyal Commission had pointed the road to peace and the obligations of Britain to the League as weif as to the Jews und Arabs eould beet be fulfilled by the creation of two sovereign independent States. The Labour amendment was moved by Mr Morgan Jones (Lab., Caerphiliy), who suggested that a round-table conference of members of the Government und Arabs and Jews be arrangcd, similar to that held in connection with the indian commission. v Sir Arehibald Sinclair, the Liberal xeader, supported the suggestion for a conference with the Jews and Arabs. He urged that it would be prematuro for the House to decide to surrender the mandate. Mr J. C. Wedgwood (Lab., New-castle-under-Lyme), pointed out that when the House returned from the summer recess the Government would have obtained sanction from the i.eague of Nations. Mr Winston Churchill (Con., Epping) proposed to amend the Labour amendment to the eft'ect that proposals should be brought before the League with a view to enabling the Government, after an adequate inquiry^ to present to Parliament a delinite scheme. Lord Winterton (Con., Horsham) said that the Government should accept Mr Churchill 's amendment. If it received the assent of the House, tho White Paper proposals would be taken before the Mandates Commission at Geneva on July 30. If the commission accepted them* there would be the fullest opportunity for the House to consider all tb6 details of the seheme afterwards. Mr Churchill 's amendment was earried.