PALESTINE PROBLEMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21028, 17 May 1930, Page 13

PALESTINE PROBLEMS

PRESERVATION OF ORDER. BETTER PROTECTION FOR JEWS. THE POLICE FORCE INCREASED. (British Official Wireless.) (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) RUGBY, May 15. ■ At a meeting of the Council of the League of Nations at Geneva this morn ing Mr Arthur Henderson (British Foreign Secretary) made a statement regarding the general situation in Palestine. He said the council was aware thg,t the commission of inquiry into the disturbances of last August in Palestine had presented its report, and that report would form the subject of discussion by the Permanent Mandates Commission. A full statement would then be made by the accredited British representative, but he wished to be permitted to anticipate that statement in certain respects of special interest to members of the council on matters relating to the report. He would refer, first, to the primary duty of the mandatory Power, which was .that of any Government—namely, the preservation •of order. The British Government had increased the British military forces in Palestine. It' had considered with its exphrt advisers the question of the garrison permanently required in that country, and, pending a clear decision on this subject, it did not propose to make any reduction in the present force. A highly qualified police official (Mr Dowbiggin, of GeyIon)- was sent in January to consider the reorganisation of the police. ‘ His full report had .nqt yet been received, but certain interim recommendations for the better protection of the Jewish colonies had been adopted, and were being put into force. The British section of police had been increased by 400 men, and a further increase of 70 men was now being made. The commission in its report had laid special emphasis on the problems relating to land and immigration, and the British Government had selected Sir John Hope Simpson to proceed forthwith to Palestine in order to confer with the High Commissioner and report on land settlement, immigration, arid development. Mr, Henderson then referred to the presence in England of an Arab delegation from Palestine, with which discussion regarding the future policy in the country had taken place. It was enough to say of those discussions that they had placed the British Government in full possession of the views of leading Arabs regarding the aspirations of the Arab community. The British Government was now engaged on an examination of the problem of devising means, within the framework of the mandate, to satisfy legitimate aspirations and remove any apprehensions that might be entertained.

- Mr Henderson added that he proposed to submit for the approval of the council in private the names of three gentlemen who would be prepared to accept service on the commission to deal with the dispute over the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Those gentlemen were Mr Elief Lofgren (a former Swedish Foreign' Minister), Mr Charles Barde (a former Swiss judge), and Mr F. Kempe (of Holland, formerly Governor of Sumatra).