PALESTINE LANDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 March 1940, Page 5

PALESTINE LANDS

BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS CRITICISM IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. MR MACDONALD'S REPLY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 28. Replying in the House of Commons today to criticism of the method adopted in restricting sales of land by Arabs, Mr Malcolm AfacDonald, Colonial Secretary, said that two courses were open to the British Government, the first being to publish draft regulations, but suspending them till the League Council had time to consider them. This Ihe Government would have preferred, but practical considerations made it undesirable to do so. The alternative adopted, he contended, in no way ignored the League Council, and if any member of the League desired a meeting of the Council to discuss the regulations or any view expressed, the Government would be bound to give it the most serious attention.

The Government realised that every party was divided on this matter and that any course adopted would be attended by disadvantages. The Government had decided that the course followed had the least disadvantages and recognised the Government’s obligations to the League and other bodies. The leader of the Opposition Liberals, Sir Archibald Sinclair, stating that in the opinion of an important authority the Government’s action was contrary to the terms of the Mandate, asked whether it would not have been better to postpone the issue even for two more months till the League Council hhd an opportunity of considering the regulations. JEWS EXASPERATED. Captain Cazalet (Conservative, Chippenham) asked whether it was necessary to introduce a measure which “will exasperate Jewish opinion, not only throughout Palestine, but the whole world,” when for the first time for six years there was peace in Palestine. Mr MacDonald answering Sir Archibald Sinclair, said that the question raised by him had been considered by the Government before deciding on the action to be taken, and, replying to Captain Cazalet, he said: “I know the whole House will recognise the way which both communities in Palestine have co-operated with the Government, and the House will pay tribute to the way the communities have worked together in Palestine,” he added. “I would say, however, that it is because failure to introduce measures for the control of land transfer in Palestine any longer might prejudice that peace that we decided to follow this procedure.” Mr C. R. Attlee, Leader of the Opposition, stated that he proposed to introduce a motion on the subject, for dedate.

The regulations have been received with bitter oppositoin, according to a statement by the executive of the Jewish Agency. Declaring that the regulations, by barring Jews access to the soil in Palestine, make a mockery out of the obligation to encourage close Jewish settlement and discriminate against Jews on racial and religious grounds, the statement continues that wherever Jews are settled on the land the neighbouring Arab villages have benefited and prospered, whereas other districts have remained backward in every way. It stigmatised the regulations as being a concession to Arab political claims and not a measure for the protection of Arab cultivators.