Dark Clouds over Palestine On January 9th the five members
(at last announced) of the United Nations Commission to preside over partition in Palestine will hold their first meeting at Lake Success. It is just possible that they may reach some decision which will calm the violence raging in Palestine at the moment, but only just possible. For what can the Commission composed of minor Powers do to calm violence?. Beyond vague wording in the partition resolution of November 29th —about " authority to issue necessary regulations "—there has been no suggestion that the Commission should have force behind it. Meanwhile the situation steadily darkens. Well over a thousand people in Palestine have been killed or injured by violence during December. Christmas brought no lull, and on Tuesday there was the culminating riot at Haifa when forty-seven people were killed and more than sixty injured. It is apparently the intention of the Arabs to make the formation of a Jewish State impossible ; the head of the Palestine Arabs' political mission has prophesied " the biggest and bloodiest flare-up ever known in the Near East." The Jews are avenging every Arab atrocity, and also bitterly com- plaining of British weakness. Meanwhile the British forces are in an impossible position. They have not the numbers to maintain order against outbreaks on the present scale and since the probable day for the abandonment of the mandate is May 15th, they are mainly preparing to relinquish authority. But they are meanwhile being attacked by both Arabs and Jews. Nor is amelioration in sight. The war council of the Arab League Prime Ministers has announced that it will enter into battle against partition, and the Jews are talking of procuring artillery against possible air attack. There is no limit to the dangers of the present situation. The only solution seems a speedy decision by the Security Council to provide some force to take the place of the British Army ; but there is no sign of such a decision.
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