PARTITION PLAN

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 264, 4 August 1937, Page 9

PARTITION PLAN

British Proposals For Palestine CONSIDERATION AT GENEVA Mandates Commission’s ' Decision FIVE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright London, August 2. The British Colonial Secretary, Mr. W. Ormsby-Gore, underwent a gruelling questioning for three and a half hours before the Mandates 'Commission concerning Britain’s plan for partition in Palestine. He was asked about the position of minorities, the treatment of women, the possibilities of defence, and the composition of the Boundary Commission. The Commission arrived at a final decision in regard to its task. It will not make any pronouncement for or against partition, but will set out the advantages of five possible solutions, namely: (1) Maintenance of the existing mandate ; (2) Modification of the mandate; (3) Division of the country into cantons on the Swiss style ; (4) The suggested parrtition; and (a) Any other possibility arising from discussions. In the meantime, certain Arab interests in London are pressing the idea of a round-table Arab-Jewish conference In Palestine, arguing that if parity between the Arabs and the Jews can be achieved Jewish emigration to Transjordania will be guaranteed and the necessity for partition obviated. The British Government’s proposals result from its acceptance of the report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the causes of the recent disorders in Palestine arid to make recommendations for the removal of any legitimate grievances which either Jews or Arabs might have against the working of the mandate there. The members of the Commission went last November to the Holy Land, and last month, after months of hard Work, they returned to London and laid a unanimous report before the House of Commons. They recommended the division of Palestine into two sovereign States —a Jewish State, mainly in the plains, an Arab State, including Transjordan, in the hills, with a port art Jaffa —and the issue to Great Britain of a permanent mandate for Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, and a corridor from Jerusalem to the sea, with an enclave near Akffba. Any scheme for the partition of Palestine is complicated by the intermingling of the communities. The Commission, however, came to the conclusion that by no other means could the British people carry out their obligations both to the Jewish and the Arab races. ■ Under the proposed scheme, the Jews would be given their national home with full control of immigration. Jewish nationals would thus acquire a status similar to that enjoyed by the nationals of other countries. The Arabs would attain their national independence and thus be enabled to co-operate on an equal footing with the Arabs of neighbouring countries- in the effuse of Arab unity and progress. Pending a final decision regarding Palestine’s future, the British Government continues to be responsible for peace, order and good government throughout the country. GENERAL SMUTS’S VIEW Grave Misgivings Concerning Partition Johannesburg, August 2. The Minister of Justice, General Smuts, in a message to the Zionist Conference, expressed grave misgivings concerning the Palestine partition proposal, declaring that clashes between Jew and Arab were small by comparison with the international strategic importance of preserving the British mandate over the Jewish national home.