Arab Defeats
Asa result of-the recent fighting in Palestine the armies of Egypt, the Lebanon and Syria have ceased to be of any military impartance. The irregulars (mainly Palestine Arabs) under the banner of Fawzi Kawkji' have also been dispersed. It is true that nothing much was ever expected of these inexperienced and ill-led contingents, but the absurdly boastful communiqués through which they have hoodwinked their own public during the past six months make their debacle undignified. The Arabs are therefore now confined to the hill country between Galilee and Beersheba, with a tenuous hold on the town of Tulkarm in the central plain. That they are still in these positions at all is due to the existence of the Arab Legion, which is now all that stands in the way of the realisation of the Zionist dream of a wholly Jewish Palestine. The new military situation has already had its political repercussions. It is only a month since the States of the Arab League were busily snubbing Transjordan by granting their recognition to the " Gaza Government." But, now that all eyes are turned again to Amman, it is almost certain that King Abdullah has obtained a guarantee that this impotent cabal should be quietly dropped by its sponsors, though his recent speech from the throne was carefully moderate, and left open the question who should rule in Arab Palestine. Whether, for many years to come, there is any Arab Palestine to rule, depends partly on King Abdullah's Arab Legion, but even more on the United Nations. Unfortunately in Paris action remains paralysed. For differing reasons both the Americans and Russians seem prepared to clear the way for a Jewish military victory, even though this involves defiance of the United Nations' proposals for Palestine and of the repeated appeals for cease-fire. If the Security Council is going to lapse into inertia, then the least that can be done is to allow the Arabs to buy arms (the Jews are getting them anyway). But it is just possible that, with the Presidential elections behind them, American poli- ticians may be able to make a slightly saner appreciation of the Palestine crisis than they have allowed themselves in the last couple of weeks.
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