Further Rebuff To Arab States

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1947, Page 5

Further Rebuff To Arab States

NEW YORK, May 1. Despite vigorous Arab objections, the United Nations Assembly decided to place on the agenda the British proposal for the establishment of a committee to investigate the Paleo tine problem, thus adopting a recommendation of the Assembly Steering I Committee, which had been a scene of bitter struggle over the last two days. The Arabs wanted the Assembly to consider immediately the termination of the British mandate and the declaration of Palestine’s independence. The delegates from the Arao States of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, heatedly told, the Assembly that all the facts about Palestine were already known and therefore there was no need for a committee. D. Radhil Jamali (Iraq) appealed to the United States to cease advocating further Jewish immigration into Palestine, saying passionately: “Part of our home is 1 on fire and the flames are spreading. Immigration is like petrol poured onto the flames.” Both Dr. Jamali and Faris Ei Khoury (Syria clashed with the prtsident, M. Oswaldo Aranha, who warned them that they were straying too far from the subject under discussion. After nearly two hours’ debate, the assembly adopted the. British proposal without a dissentient. The United States has suddenly abandoned its opposition to giving the Jews a voice in the discussions and is seeking a formula to enable a representative of the Jewish Agency to participate. It is believed this new American attitude results from strong pressure which the Jewish Agency has been exerting in Washington and its repeated appeal to Prsident Truman.

It is believed that the United States will oppose the Jewish request for representation in the Assembly itself, because of the precedent which might thus be created, but will favour allowing a Jewish spokesman to appear before one of the Assembly’s committees.