Towards the Palestine Conference From the secret discussions that have
been going on at Cairo in the past week between members of the different Arab delegations to the Palestine Conference in London, one conclusion, at any rate emerges—that the delegates will come to London and that the conference will take place. But agreement regarding the delegations has not been reached, for in response to a reasonable request from the followers of Ragheb Bey Nashashibi, known as the Arab National Defence Party, for representation, the Mufti of Jerusalem has approved the nomination of two delegates, one of whom is too ill to travel, while the other has actually seceded to the Mufti—a piece of sharp prac- tice hardly calculated to make for good feeling. Since the National Defence Party is hostile to armed rebellion and stands for co-operation with the Mandatory Power, it is obviously desirable that it should be represented in London, and Mr. MacDonald will no doubt secure that in one way or another. In view of the general international situation it is of cardinal importance that a settlement in Palestine should be reached, and if need be, enforced. All existing proposals, including the abandoned partition plan, will pre- sumably be before the conference, but it is essential that some term should be set to its deliberations and that the Government should have a fully-considered plan ready to impose on both parties if the conference itself can reach no conclusions. The Arab demand for a total cessation of Jewish immigration is inadmissible, but Lord Samuel's pro- posal for a limitation of the Jewish population to 4o per cent. of the whole might well form the basis of a reasonable compromise.
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