LORD RAGLANI wish to ask His Majesty's Government—
It is frequently stated that our expenditure and our financial liabilities in connection with the occupation of Palestine are limited to the cost of the Garrison. My object in asking this Question is to draw your Lordships' attention to the inaccuracy of this statement.
- 1. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the railway and telegraph line between Egypt and Palestine.
- 2. What has been the total expenditure in connection with Trans-Jordania during the past twelve months.
§ LORD ISLINGTONMy Lords, if the noble Duke will allow me, I should like to make one or two observations on the subject of Palestine, because I was unable to speak in the debate last week, and probably this will be the only other opportunity before the House rises this session. There are one or two main aspects of the subject to which I would ask His Majesty's Government to pay close attention in the consideration which they are now giving to our whole policy in Palestine and the present system of government.
A carefully conducted examination such as has been promised by my noble friend who leads the House, an examination representative of the different views before that inquiry, will demonstrate without a doubt the following important features: (1) That a large and growing opinion in this country is strongly opposed to the present Zionist system of Government in Palestine, as has been very clearly indicated in the recent. Election; (2) that this Zionist system of administration is positively detested by the Arab community, who form the overwhelming majority of the population of Palestine, and is creating increasing dissatisfaction throughout that country; and (3) that while great patience and restraint have been exercised by the Arab population in Palestine, that restraint is, on the whole, due to the confident expectation on the part of those people that the new Government will at an early date effect the necessary modification in the present system, whereby something more nearly approximating to a national form of administration will be substituted for the present Zionist system. This expectation strengthened by the fact that there are in the new Government so many Ministers who, but a short time ago, were actively and strongly urging the Arab claims in Palestine and condemning the present Zionist system.
The modification suggested need not entail those drastic measures mentioned, I think, by the noble Earl, Lord Birkenhead, last week, in what he described as the "bag and baggage" policy. There should, probably to the advantage of all concerned, be a close association between this country, in the form of advice and assistance, and the Arab community, but a modification would undoubtedly relieve this country at once of the necessity of a heavy financial burden, while it would also allow a far less extravagant and expensive form of government 240 than that which is now burdening the Palestinian taxpayer quite beyond his resources. I would venture to say that until such modification as I have mentioned to indicate is effected—and in this respect I appeal to those who are convinced believers in the future of the League of Nations the Palestine Mandate as presented to-day has no relation whatever to the Covenant of the League of Nations as expressed in Article 22.
I will not labour that point, because it was discussed in last week's debate, but I would venture to point out that unless modification takes place the British Government and the British nation must continue to incur the charge—and it is a very grave one that the promise to the Arab nation, which was most solemn and precise in character, has been broken by them—a promise made quite definitely prior to the Balfour Declaration or the decision come to at the Conference at San Remo in April, 1920. I merely rose to urge that those considerations which I have pointed out should form determining factors in the examination that is now being made by His Majesty's Government, and I hope that they will go far to influence the decision that will be come to. Finally, may I acid that I trust their decision will be reached without any undue delay, as I am sure, from all that I have heard—and other noble Lords who have had access to similar information will bear me out that peaceful and cordial relations between Great Britain and the Arab community must in large measure depend upon an early and satisfactory settlement on the lines that I have indicated.
§ THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIREMy Lords, I hope that the noble Lord who has supplemented the Question on the Paper will hardly expect me to go into details, and therefore I will merely deal with the Question on the Paper. His Majesty's Government, acting through the Air Ministry, are responsible for the operation and the maintenance of the Kantara-Rafa railway and telegraph lines, but by mutual arrangement between the Air Ministry and the Palestine Government the actual working is conducted by the latter. With regard to the second Question, as the House is aware, a Grant-in-aid of the cost of administration in Trans-Jordania amounting to £100,000 is included in the Middle Eastern Services Vote for 1922–23. No additional expenditure in respect of this 241 country has fallen on Imperial funds apart front the cost of the recent visit of the Emir Abdullah to this country.