MUDDLE OVER ANGLO-AMERICAN REPORT

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 July 1946, Page 5

MUDDLE OVER ANGLO-AMERICAN REPORT

Partition Plan for Palestine Not Finally Accepted by Britain (Rec 10 a.m.) LONDON, July 28. The handling of the Anglo-Ameri-can Palestine report opens yet another extraordinary chapter in the story of the American approach to Britain’s Palestine problem, says the Sunday Despatch’s diplomatic correspondent. The report was presented to the British and American Governments last Friday. Mr. Bevin has been asked by Mr. Byrnes to ensure that nothing is published before President Truman had read the report. This 'has been observed on the British side, but within a day Mr. Byrnes told the United States press the very thing he asked Mr. Bevin to withhold. Moreover, .he said Britain had accepted the report, but that this did not mean that that the United States had. x , . . o The correspondent says this is a mis-statement and that the British Government has not made any final acceptance. In addition Mr. Byrnes suggested that Britain should accept partition. ~ The correspondent says that wnai Britain accepted as a basis for discussion was federation.

DETAILS OF PARTITION PROPOSALS

LONDON, July 27. The diplomatic correspondent of the Manchester Guardian gives details of a plan for the partition oi Palestine into three parts, as proposed in a memorandum to President Truman''as a result of the BritishAmerican discussions, in London. The correspondent says that the suggested Jewish province includes eastern Galilee, most of the Esdraelon and Jezreel valleys, Beishan, Haira the Plain of Sharon (excluding Jaffa) And also part of the southern coastal plain. The boundary of the Jewish land is somewhat on the lines suggested by the Peel Commission, but fit deprives the Jews of western Galilee and leduces the land allotted to them from 2200 square miles to 1500.

Three Provinces.

“The whole division gives the Arabs 40 per cent, and the Jews about 17 per cent., and makes the remainder a special area under a central Government,” says the coirespondent. “The Jewish 17 per cent, comes from the most fertile land in Palestine, whereas the largest part of the reserved area is desert. The southern Negeb Arabs get northern Negeb, and most of their land is hill country. ' “The central Government retains exclusive control ot foreign exchange, currency, defence, foreign relations, police, customs, prisons, post and telegraphs, broadcasting, railway facilities, and Haifa harbour. • It has power to develop in-ter-provincial projects and encourage trade. It retains final authority for immigration, subject to appeal to the United Nations Trusteeship Council. “The High Commissioner in the first five years will appoint a presiding officei’ for elective legislatures in each province, and will also appoint an Executive from the members of the legislatures. “A final point is that the immigration of 100,000 Jews would begin only after decision is taken to put the recommendations into effect.” Strong Opposition.

The Arab Office in Palestine has reiterated Arab opposition to any Palestine solution based on the partition or cantonisation of Palestine. The Arab Association in Cairo has issued a statement declaring that a scheme for the partition of Palestine would never be achieved unless America used the atom bomb. The Arabs would oppose partition by- all means at their disposal. “The round-table conference at which the British, the Americans, the Jews and the Arabs were to discuss the British-American committee’s plan fox* the partition of Palestine will be boycotted by the Arabs,” says the Associated Press correspondent in Jerusalem. The , Arab Executive’s secretary (Hussein Khalidi) told the correspondent that’

the Arabs would refuse flatly to sit at any conference table with Jews. Hussein Khalidi said: “We do not consider the Jews legal participants in any discussion on the future of Palestine.” .