The Palestine Talks
All that can be said at the moment about the talks in progress between a British delegation headed by Mr. Bevin and representatives of the Arab League is that something worth attempting is being attempted. The Prime Minister in his address to the conference on
Tuesday did not get beyond certain obvious truths, nor is it easy to see how he could. The reminder that each side must try to see the other side's point of view is more necessary in this case than most, and though Mr. Attlee's expressed conviction that the problem is not insoluble may savour of optimism there would clearly be no use at all in talking if solution were impossible. The Jews are showing singular unwisdom in absenting themselves from the dis- cussions, for it seems almost inevitable that the ground will shift from the federal arrangement proposed by the British to the clear-cut partition which—provided the delimitation accords with their desires —Jewish opinion now favours. So far, unfortunately, the Arabs reject that solution resolutely. The new outbreak of, terrorist outrages in Palestine is a sinister accompaniment to the discussions in London, but the two must be kept separate and the minds of the London negotiators concentrated on their constructive task. Agreement on a Palestine settlement which both Jews and Arabs would accept, however reluctantly, is worth almost infinite patience and effort. No better negotiator could be found on the British sick than the Foreign Secretary.
