7 OCTOBER 1938, Page 2

Massacre in Palestine It took the British Government, with the

help of Lord Runciman, not more than two months to settle to its own satisfaction a thousand-year-old conflict between Czechs and Germans. Such speed contrasts strangely with the Government's infinite delay in arriving at a solution of the racial conflict in Palestine, which, after all, is not a country " of which we know nothing." Yet no atrocity ever took place in the Sudetenland comparable with the Arab massacre of 19 Jews, including to children, at Tiberias this week. Since the Government postponed acting on the Royal Com- mission's recommendations last year in favour of despatching another Commission, the situation in Palestine has steadily degenerated ; and it is the suspicion that the Government's final decision may be influenced by displays of violence that have perhaps most contributed to making a bad situation worse. The latest Commission will, it is now believed, report soon enough for the Government to take action this year, though apparently it will have to be followed by yet another Commission to demarcate boundaries, and by the submission of the Government's proposals to the League of Nations. Meanwhile heavy military reinforcements are being sent, and they are necessary. * * * *