British Warning To Syria: Conflicting Reports Of Tension

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1947, Page 5

British Warning To Syria: Conflicting Reports Of Tension

(Recd. 9.20 a.m:) , LONDON, October 13. The British charge d’affaires at Damascus handed the Syrian Government a Note stating that Britain as still responsible for peace and order in Palestine and any Syrian act against Palestine’s inhabitants would be considered an act against Britain. The British United Press correspondent at Damascus reports that the Syrian Government met to consider the situation arising from the Note. Syria has sent troops to the Palestine frontier. ■ The British Foreign Office stated that the British charge d’affaires had addressed the Note to the Syrian Government on his own responsibility. The action was not the result of any policy decision in London, but Whitehall had endorsed it.

The charge d’affaires had made it clear that while British troops remained in Palestine the British Government remained responsible for law and order. Any movement by Syrian troops to the Palestine border was likely to cause deterioration in law-and order in Palestine.

Reuters says the Foreign Office has received no reports of movements of troops to the Palestine frontier,- although a widespread regrouping of the Syrian forces is believed to be taking place in the.course of manoeuvres. In Cairo today, Ferik Attallah, chief of the Egyptian General Staff, denied any Egyptian troop movements toward the Palestine frontier as unofficially reported at the weekend. Attack on U.S. Consulate

A bomb thrown over the back wall of the United States Consulate compound in Jerusalem this afternoon blew in the consulate’s office door, smashed windows, and damaged a parked motor-car. Glass injured two women employees. The police later detained two Arabs in connection with the explosion. The Consulate is heavily protected by extra guards posted in the past week following Ara)? bomb attacks on the Polish and Swedish Consulates after the Polish-Swedish-American declarations on Palestine.

An Arab League attache, summing up the conferences which league representatives had with King Abdullah, of Transjordan at Amman, today said in Beirut: “There are no differences of opinion now. Everything is 0.K.”

Request to Abdullah

The Associated Press Beirut correspondent says it is reported that the league delegates made a request to King Abdullah to prevent British troops from moving into Transjordan if Palestine is evacuated. The British United Press Jerusalem

i correspondent, who has just completed a tour of the northern Palestine border, says the Arabs are not planning offensive action against Palestine until the British leave. He described the reports circulating in Jerusalem of preparations for Syrian and Lebanese campaigns as “half untrue and half grossly exaggerated.” The correspondent says the British Note to Syria had had a considerable effect on the Arab leaders conferring at Amman. Mr David Remez, chairman of the Vaad Leumi, announced the reinstitution of the “redemption fund,” which has been dormant since the outbreak of the . Second World War. All Palestine Jewry wage-earners will contribute approximately a day’s pay monthly to pay for the protection of the Jewish settlements and compensate for labour displaced to serve as guards. The fund was operated during the 1936-39 troubles in Palestine. Mr Remez said that reinforcements had been sent to the Jewish settlements in north Palestine “for protection against attacks of any sort.” U.S. Unpopular A Baghdad message says that the Foreign Minister, Mr Hafldh, told the United States Charge d’Affaires that feeling was so high in Iraq against the United States since the issue of the United States statement supporting the partition of Palestine that Iraq cannot assure the safety of the United States Congressmen in Iraq. Two United States Congressmen, now in Damascus, Messrs Francis P. Bolton and Chester E. Merrow, were to have visited Baghdad tomorrow. They are now going direct to Teheran. Mr Hafidh added that no Iraq official would receive the United States visitors and that the Iraq Government .had been forced to dissociate itself from all entertainments which

had been planned and approved before the United States statement As a result 300 invitations for the United States Embassy reception tomorrow have been withdrawn, besides 200 invitations to the Iraq Government dinner on October 15.