'File 11/32 Royal Commission on Palestine' [‎10r] (19/308)

(C26050) B * 3
no)
The only solution of the problem put forward by the Arab
Higher Committee was the immediate establishment of an independent
Arab Government, which would deal with the 400,000 Jews now in
Palestine as it thought fit. To that it is replied that belief in British
good faith would not be strengthened anywhere in the world if the
National Home were now surrendered to Arab rule.
The Jewish Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and the Va’ad Leumi asserted that the
problem would be solved if the Mandate were firmly applied in full
^|ccordance with Jewish claims: thus there should be no new
irestriction on immigration nor anything to prevent the Jewish
population becoming in course of time a majority in Palestine. To
"r Akit it is replied that such a policy could only be maintained by
mrce and that neither British public opinion nor that of World
Jewry is likely to commit itself to the recurrent use of force unless
it is convinced that there is no other means by which justice can
be done.
PART II : THE OPERATION OF THE MANDATE
The Commission exhaustively considered what might be done
in one field after another in execution of the Mandate to improve
the prospects of peace. The results of this enquiry are embodied in
Part II of the Report. The problems confronting the various
branches of the Mandatory Administration are described, and the
grievances of the Arabs and Jews under each head discussed. The
principal findings of the Commission are as follows :—
0 ^ Chapter VI.—Administration
A The Palestinian officers in the Government Service work well in
normal times, but in times of trouble they are unreliable. There
should be no hesitation in dispensing with the services of those
whose loyalty or impartiality is uncertain.
As regards British officers, the cadre is too small to admit of a
Civil Service for Palestine alone and the Administration must con
tinue to draw on the Colonial Service, but the ordinary period of
service in Palestine should be not less than seven years. Officers
should be carefully selected and given a preliminary course of
instruction.
The Commission recognise the difficulties of the British Adminis
tration, driven from the first to work at high pressure with no
opportunity for calm reflection. There is over-centralization and
insufficient liaison between Headquarters Departments and the
District Administration.