HC Deb 21 October 1937 vol 327 cc23-8
52. Mr. T. Williams

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any information to give the House as to the position of affairs in Palestine?

87. Mr. Mander

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present situation in Palestine and as to the future of the Mandate?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

In the light of the resolutions passed by the Council and Assembly of the League of Nations, His Majesty's Government now regard themselves as free to undertake the investigations required for the purpose of working out a scheme of tripartite partition on the general lines recommended in Part III of the Report of the Royal Commission. It is accordingly proposed to appoint in due course a further special body to submit proposals, after local inquiry, for a detailed scheme of tripartite partition which Parliament and the Council of the League will be invited to approve.

After a quiet August I regret that in September a serious recrudescence of terrorism and murder commenced, including the assassination of a senior British District Commissioner and his police escort. As the result of this prompt and firm action has been taken to deal with the political organisations which, in the opinion of His Majesty's Government, must be held morally responsible for these crimes and outrages. Over 100 Arabs who are believed to be terrorists or political undesirables have been arrested and interned. The Arab Higher Committee and all National Committees have been declared illegal organisations, and four members of the Higher Committee and another leading Arab politician have been arrested and deported. The Mufti of Jerusalem has been deposed from the Presidency of the Supreme Moslem Council and from membership and chairmanship of the Genera] Wakf Committee, in which capacity he had wide powers of control over the disposal of Wakf funds. The Mufti, who had concealed himself in the Haram, has now escaped to Syria, where he is at present under the surveillance of the Syrian authorities. In these circumstances, as I am sure that the House will agree, the immediate and primary duty of the Palestine Government is to take the most vigorous measures to combat terrorism, protect the lives of its officers, and to restore the effective authority of the British Administration throughout Palestine.

Mr. T. Williams

With regard to the first part of the reply, will the recommendations of the Special Committee, which it is proposed should be sent to Palestine to deal with the tripartite proposals, be submitted to a Joint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament, following the precedent of the Indian situation?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I would not like to give a final answer now, but I do not think so. It would necessitate bringing a large number of witnesses over from Palestine, it would cause infinite delay and might lead to a great many further complications. After all, we want to settle this matter.

Mr. Mander

Is it proposed to appoint Members of this House on the new Committee; will they be eligible?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

We are a long way from the appointment of the Committee. It is perfectly clear that until the ordinary rule of law obtains in Palestine and people who commit murders and outrages can be convicted in ordinary courts and evidence produced, to send out any Commission is out of the question. Until a wholly different situation obtains, I do not propose to prejudice the consideration of who shall or who shall not be members of the Committee.

Mr. Bevan

Has the right hon. Gentleman seen reports in the Press of reprisals carried out by the police authorities in Palestine? Is there any truth in these reports, and if so, does he condone that conduct?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

Certainly the military authorities and the police will have my and the Government's full support in dealing with a campaign of murder and outrage.

Mr. Bevan

Does the right hon. Gentleman seriously suggest to the House that it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to carry out reprisals on innocent persons for misdeeds committed by others?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

Certainly not. But the particular incident was that the local people burnt and destroyed the buildings and entire equipment of the civil airport at Lydda, and in my view the police and the military were quite right in destroying the houses of the people who committed that act.

Mr. Vyvyan Adams

Arising out of the first part of the answer, can my right hon. Friend inform the House that the Government will not consider themselves in any way bound by the details of the Royal Commission's report?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

As I have said in debate before in this House and at Geneva, the Government have accepted the report of the Royal Commission on general lines. They are not bound to specific details. We made it clear that a further commission will be inquiring into boundaries, finance and all matters of that kind.

Mr. McGovern

Have any steps been taken to ascertain where the funds for he employment of terrorism came from? Have the Government taken any action to seize the funds that were being used by the Grand Council to employ terrorism?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

It is very difficult to say exactly by whom the bands are paid. The funds formerly under the control of the Mufti are now under the control of a special commission with a British judge at its head.

Mr. McGovern

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that the Grand Mufti has been operating against the interests of this country and Palestine during the whole of his period of office?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

Yes, Sir.

54. Colonel Wedgwood

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether lie can yet make any statement as to any changes in the administration of Palestine?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I gave the right hon. Gentleman some information on this point in reply to his question of 26th July. I am now able to add that steps are being taken to strengthen the administrative, judicial, and land settlement staffs, and that measures for decentralisation in the secretariat are under way. I regret to say that Mr. Spicer, who for the past seven years has discharged with great efficiency the onerous duties of Inspector-General of Police and Prisons, has been compelled to retire, with effect from the end of this year, on the grounds of ill-health. Mr. Saunders, formerly of the Palestine Police, and at present Inspector-General of Police in Nigeria, has been appointed to succeed him. I have also secured the services of Sir Charles Tegart, formerly of the Indian Police, who has agreed to proceed to Palestine on a temporary mission in order to advise the Government on matters relating to police organisation. Sir Charles Tegart's record in Bengal, where he was called upon to deal with conditions of acute difficulty, including terrorist octivities over a long period, is no doubt known to the House. I am confident that his advice and assistance will be of immense value to the Palestine administration.

Colonel Wedgwood

Have any changes been made in the judicial section of the administration, and is there any truth in the story that the Arab judges are protesting to the Government against the action of His Majesty's Government during the last few weeks?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I have heard no suggestion of that. It is true that the judicial machinery has been reinforced; I think a judge has recently been transferred from Cyprus.

Colonel Wedgwood

Is there any question of dealing with the judiciary on account of their action during the troubles last year, when they made joint protests to the Government, and in particular, has anything been done in connection with the public prosecutor, a brother-in-law of jemal Husseini?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I have no reason to suppose that the public prosecutor has not been thoroughly loyal. I have never heard anything to the contrary. I do not know what the right hon. Gentleman means when he speaks of the judiciary making representations to the Government. I am not aware of that.

55. Colonel Wedgwood

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the comments made by the Royal Commission upon the conduct and position of the Mufti of Jerusalem; and whether any action has been or will be taken to remedy the state of affairs commented upon by the Royal Commission?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, regulations were issued on ist October depriving the Mufti of Jerusalem of his office of President of the Supreme Moslem Council and his membership of the General Wakf Committee, of which he was chairman. The Arab Higher Committee, of which he was also chairman, was at the same time declared an illegal body. Haj Amin Effendi is no longer in Palestine. Arrangements have been made for the temporary administration of Moslem Awkaf by a Government Commission of three members, the chairman being a Judge.

Colonel Wedgwood

Will the expenditure of the funds in future be under the control of His Majesty's Government or will that be left to the Moslem Supreme Council?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

As I have said, the management of these funds is now in the hands of a commission. I think a Judge is chairman and one member is a Moslem and the other an administrative official.

Colonel Wedgwood

Are any of these funds spent on education at the present time?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

They are spent on all kinds of charitable and religious work for which they were originally given. They are religious funds.

Colonel Wedgwood

Is there any possibility of the Grand Mufti leaving for Italy?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

That is certainly a matter for the Syrian authorities, and not for us.

Mr. Stephen

Is there any representative of the Arab fellaheen on the commission that is to administer the funds? Does the right hon. Gentleman not think it advisable to have some representative of the Arab peasantry on the commission?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

It is largely a question of interpreting trust deeds and trust funds of various kinds, and allocating them in the customary form, and I do not think such an addition to the Commission would strengthen the position.