DIVIDING HOLY LAND

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22586, 15 March 1948, Page 5

DIVIDING HOLY LAND

SPECULATION IN U.S. MOVE TO AVOID FORCE . NEW YORK, March 12. He did not believe that any responslole United Nations’ official could have made the statement that the United States had abandoned the United Nations’ programme for partitioning Palestine, said the Secretary-General, M. Trygve Lie, today. M. Lie made the statement following the United Press story that American officials had reversed their stand on Palestine and favoured a revision of the partition decision.

The United Press report added that as a consequence, a strong movement was expected to transform Palestine into a federated Arab-Jewish State. Nevertheless, according to Reuter’s correspondent, speculation is rife hore whether American insistence on further negotiations between Arabs and Jews at this late hour may not be an attempt to avoid, if possible, the use of an international force to implement partition.

’The United States delegation today issued a statement saying: “The purpose of the present consultations is to find a means for the peaceful implementation of the General Assembly recominendations for the partition of Palestine with _an economic union. Such a solution is required because the peoples of Palestine must be able to live together and not fight constantly. This purpose is not being assisted by the refusal of one or more parties to take part in the consultations.”