Tripartite Division Proposed

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26216, 29 July 1946, Page 5

Tripartite Division Proposed

MOST FERTILE LAND TO JEWS Largest Acreage for Arabs (Rec. 8 p.m.) , LONDON, July 27. The Manchester Guardian’s diplomatic correspondent gives details of the partition of Palestine into three parts as proposed in a memorandum to President Truman as a result of British and American discussions in London. The correspondent says the suggested Jewish province includes Eastern Galilee, most of the Esdraelon and Jezreel valleys, Beishan, Haifa, the Plain of Sharon (excluding Jaffa), and also part of the southern coastal plain.

The boundary of Jewish land is somewhat on the lines suggested by the Peel Commission, but it deprives the Jews of Western Galilee, and reduces the land allotted to them from 2200 square miles to 1500.

The 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. This area may be allocated gradually as the Central Government thinks fit. 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 the northern Negeb, and most of their land is hill country.

The Central Government retains exclusive control of foreign exchange, currency, defence, foreign relations, police, Customs, prisons, post and telegraphs, and broadcasting, and also the railway facilities at Haifa harbour. It has the power to develop interprovincial projects and encourage trade. It retains final authority for immigration, subject to appeal to the United Nations Trusteeship Council. The High Commissioner for the first five years will appoint a presiding officer and elective legislatures in each province, and also appoint an Executive from members of the legislatures. The final point is that immigration of 100,000 Jews is to begin only after a decision has been taken to put the recommendations into effect.