LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Arab Refugees
SIR,—At a press conference last week Mr. Moshe Sharett, Israel's Foreign Minister, declared that Israel was not prepared to take any further steps to open direct peace negotiations with the Arab States. He also made it plain that Israel is no longer prepared to consider the repatriation of any of the Arab refugees. but that she would help in their resettlement else- where by paying compensation for lands abandoned.
In a commentary on Mr. Sharett's declaration the Tel Aviv correspon- dent of the Jewish Chronicle states that " Mr. Sharett has indicated rather pointedly that Israel would welcome action by either Britain, France or the United States in order to bring Israel and the Arabs together." He goes on to say, The chief sufferers from the delayed peace are the Arab refugees, whose reserves of cash are disappearing and whose hopes of returning to Israel are fading."
I would like to stress the desperate urgency of relieving the plight of the refugees, whose actual number is now estimated to be 940,000. I worked for seven months with the Quakers amongst the refugees in the Gaza area, and 1 know how desperately they long to return to their homes. In spite of my deep sympathy with that longing, I am neverthe- less convinced that not only is it most unlikely that they can ever do so, but that it would not be in their own best interests. In a country such as Israel, with a vigorous and ever-growing population, and intense nationalistic feeling, the lot of the Arabs could never be a satisfactory
one. The only hope for :heir future lies in resettlement in Arab countries.
The States of the Arab League are still demanding the repatriation of the refugees as a_prior condition of any peace negotiations. I most earnestly hopeghat every possible effort will be made to induce them to drop this demand, and in particular to persuade King Abdullah to reopen negotiations with Israel without thwarting him by insisting that he must not risk a break with the Arab League. The Clapp Commission has • recommended two " work projects " in Jordan, the Wadi Zerqa and Wadi Qilt development schemes, which could absorb a large number of refugees if once an agreement could be reached. The Arab States should at the same time be encouraged to claim the largest possible amount of compensation from Israel (£50 million has been mentioned), which should not be paid over to individuals but used to finance the resettlement schemes.
Last winter was a terrible one for the refugees. We relief workers, in our warmed houses and clad in jerseys and Overcoats, found it impossible to keep warm. They, clad in cotton rags, were in unheated and rotting tents, which failed to keep out the rain and snow and tore to shreds in the gales. Added to this physical suffering are mental torture and moral deterioration. In four months the winter will come round again. In the words of the Clapp Report, " If the Palestine refugees be left for- gotten and desolate in their misery, peace will recede yet further from
these distracted lands."—Yours faithfully, hos E. HORT. 3 St. Peter Street, Winchester.
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