Conference on Palestine
The conference an Palestine, which opens in London on Septem- ber 9th, is the fulfilment of Mr. Bevin's statement that any decision reached on Palestine should "if possible, be an agreed one" and the request by the Arab League that it should be consulted on the proposals, which does not alter the fact that any future course of action must be the sole responsibility of the mandatory power. With which proviso invitations have been issued to the Jewish Agency, the Arab Higher Executive for Palestine and the States of the Arab League. It is not the intention to base the discussions necessarily on the recent Anglo-American proposals for a federal State. Indeed if the door is to be left open to a discussion that may break the etisting deadlock it is essential to find some compromise between the Arab refusal to consider any division of Palestine and the Jewish insistence on a form of partition giving them virtual local autonomy. Meanwhile both sides have started jockeying for position. The Arabs who have abstained, to date, from provocative action, have now taken the unwise decision of nominating the Mufti as a delegate. It is to be hoped that this does not indicate the adoption of a policy which replaces conciliation by the threat of armed force. The Jews on their side insist on freedom to choose their own delegates, hoping thereby to obtain the release of Agency members detained at Latrun. Never- theless it is reasonably certain that September 9th will see the presence of Jewish and Arab delegates gathered, if not round one, at any rate round two conference tables. Neither side can seriously contemplate a continuance of the present situation and each must realise the futility of attending unless both are prepared to make substantial concessions.
