THE PALESTINE ARAB DELEGATION.
[TO THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."1
SIR,—Tho conclusion at which Lord Northcliffe arrived as the result of his own inquiries into the condition of Palestine made on the spot will recommend itself to every Britisher. Lord Northcliffe's visit disclosed two facts: (1) The serious- ness of the situation in Palestine, and (2) tke necessity for an immediate, complete, and impartial investigation. Certain hurried commitments were made in 1917 to the Zionist organi- zation, which have not conduced to peace and happiness in Palestine. The Arabs, who form 93 per cent. of the population, are decidedly disaffected. They complain of a gross injustice being done to them. An impartial inquiry will either convince them of the baselessness of their complaint, or will recommend the redressing of their wrongs. No impartial inquiry has ever harmed a just cause. The Palestine Arab Delegation, therefore, appeals to the British Government, Parliament, and the British nation to reserve their decision on the mandate until an investigation has found out the truth.
A hurried settlement that is not based on the recognition of the facts must inevitably lead to disaster. The ideal must be realized through the channels of the real. The Arab popula- tion of Palestine is a fact, and should be the main concern of politicians who are rearranging the world. To ignore this fact of the Arabs in Palestine and their unwillingness to be dominated by political Zionism may succeed for a while with the help of British armoured cars and aeroplanes. But can England afford to be ever on her guard in Palestine and the Near East, to be continuously on the defensive, with the Moslem and Christian population hostile to her? Certainly not. England neither can afford this, nor is it the wish .of her people that she should be so situated. The Arabs of Palestine are friends, and should be treated as such, and not cowed by force of arms. The moment the Delegation arrived in this country it asked, in its official statement called The Holy Land, that a commission of inquiry be sent out to Palestine to examine and report. It is now glad that Lord Northcliffe has recommended this as the best way of getting at the truth. This controversy might be kept up for years—statements made on one side and refuted by the other—without a satisfactory solution being attained. One condition the Delegation would put forward which must readily meet with universal approval, and that is, that the commission selected be strictly neutral and unbiased either one way or the other. If this condition is not fulfilled the inquiry would become a mere farce.—I am, (for the Palestine Arab Delegation). [We are strongly in favour of an impartial inquiry such as Lord Northcliffe recommends. If the conditions are as sound as the Zionists declare them to he, the Zionists should be the first to welcome an examination of the facts. It can only help their cause.—ED. Spectator.]
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