Evening star., 1947-08-17
Arab National Movement Neors
Crisis in Palestine and Eqypt

b6dS ue-WOulQ actually uRnL IN
Palestine If the United Nations de-
cided against the Arabs.
But foreigners who have been In
the Middle East long time predict
that arms and guerrilla fighters
from most of those countries would
raid and harass Zionists in the Holy
Land for years to come.
Some observers believe such
raiders would encounter well-armed
Jewish forces. well-trained in fight
ing by years of service in the armies
Of various nations during the war.
Touble Seen in Egypt.
While Jewish terrorist attacks i'm
pair the value of Palestine as a
forward British base in the Middle
East, practically every section of the
Egyptian press warns that there will
be trouble in Egypt likewise if the
U. N. Security Council fails to back
Egypt's demands for withdrawal of
all British troops from the Nile
Valley.
How serious such trouble might
be, no one knows. But undoubtedly
there is far larger supply of small
arms and grenades In the hands OF
Egyptians today than at the time of
the 1919 Egyptian revolution when
trains were derailed, crops destroyed
and hundreds of persons killed.
For years the armies of Britain.
Italy and Germany fought back and
forth across the North African des-
ert, leaving weapons scattered.
Many Of these were picked up by
the Arabs, who also have stolen lib
orally from supply depots.
The chance of strife-provoking in
cidents between Egyptians and Brit
ish troops has been minimized by
the withdrawal of British forces
from Cairo and Alexandria to the
Suez Canal zone last spring. but
troops still rub elbows with Egyp-
tians at the canal zone cities of Port
Said and Ismailia.
There has been talk that Britain
might move her main military base
from the canal zone to the crown
colony Of Kenya, far south on the
east coast of Africa. Advocates of
this move say the Mediterranean
would be closed to shipping and the
Suez Canal subject to heavy air and
rocket attack in any future war, and
that Kenya would be a safer base
for long-range bombers and sea
shipping. But development of big
Kenya base would take several years
and much money.
Egypt Gains Leadership.
Britain maintains garrisons under
treaty rights in two other Middle
East countries, Iraq and Trans
Jordan, but she agreed some time
ago to negotiate revision of the
pact with Iraq. Neither of these
countries has much in the way of
industrial facilities to support a
modern base.
Egypt. most modernized OF the
Arab states. is gaining leadership
not only by her appeal to the U. N,
but also by granting refuge to exiled
Arab nationalists from Palestine
and Northwest Africa.
Hal Amin AL Husseini. Multi of
Jerusalem, who fled first to Iraq
and then to Germany when the
British tried to arrest him as the
leader of the 1896 Arab revolt
against Zionism, is directing the
Palestine Arab executive commit
tee from Cairo.
Add Ell Krim, who fought the
French and Spanish in Morocco in
the 1920's and demonstrated rare
leadership qualities, is giving inter-
views here and promising to fight
France again if the U. N. fails to
listen to independence demands
from North Africa. #h
One of Britain's chief worries in
this troubled situation is the secur-
ity of Middle East oil. The United
States Navy, which uses more oil
from Saudi Arabia than any other
single supplier, is interested in this
problem as well.