Evening star., 1947-01-07
TOP British Officials
Reported in Accord on
Palestine Partition
Division Is Only Hope Of
Settling Holy Lund Issue,
I Bevin, Jones Believe
By the Associated Press

LONDON, Jan. Foreign
Secretary Bevin and Colonial
Secretary Arthur Creech Jones
were reported by a government
source today to have decided in
principle" that partition of Pal
estine into Arab and Jewish
states was Britain's only hope of
settling the Holy Land problem.
While the Colonial and Foreign
Offices studied what this informant
called several variations on the par
tition theme" the British govern
ment received an appeal from Hag-
ana, most moderate of Jewish un-
derground organizations in Pales-
tine, to shun any "large-scale re-
taliatory operations in the Holy
Land"
The British cabinet expected to
consider Palestine proposals Thurs
day. An atmosphere Of urgency
was heightened by the steady flow
|of British soldiers, veterans of North
african desert warfare, from Egypt
into Palestine, where London
sources have predicted a large-seale
offensive to- crush Jewish under
ground resistance.
Cunningham Confers.
Gen. Sir Alan Cunningham, Pal
estine high commissioner conferred
with colonial Office chiefs on parti-
ton proposals, which informants
said would range somewhere be-
tween the American-supported
Goldman plan" and revised ver-
sion of the Standardization
scheme announced last year by
Deputy Prime Minister Herbert
Morrison.
The Goldman plan envisaged
creation of a Jewish state within
the area recommended for the Jews
by the 1887 Peel report, plus the
Negeb Desert in Southern Palestine.
This would give the Jews about 60
per cent of the Holy Land. The
revised version of the Morrison plan
would give more power to the prov
inces proposed In the original draft.
In any partition plan, which
would be subject to final approval
by the United Nations, Britain prob
ably would reserve at least Jeru-
salem and the port city Of Haifa as
neutral areas, informants said, the
former for its sacred shrines, the
latter because it is the terminus of
the Anglo -Iranian Co. oil pipelines.
Neutral areas would be under Brit
ish trusteeship administration.
Seek jews In Farley.
The cabinet, meanwhile, was pic
tured by the British Press. Associa-
ton as seeking means of inducing
Jews to join" the renewed Palestine
conference, now set for January Il
in. London.
Hagana, largest Of the Jewish
underground groups, declared In q
broadcast over the secret Palestine
radio station Voice Of Israel" last
night that retaliation against re-
Icent outbursts Of violence In the
Holy Land would "only tend to
create more terrorism"
It reiterated its oft-stated appeal
to Irgun zvai Leumi and the So
called Stern Gang, the most ex-
treme underground organizations, to
cease their attacks against the Brit
lish.
Nevertheless, British Army officers
were reported ready to launch a
tfull-scale offensive against Jewish
extremism If cabinet permission is
granted at critical sessions either
to-day or tomorrow.
Il approved, government sources
said, this offensive would be the
greatest In the modern history Of
the Holy Land. and would be aimed
Iat smashing extremist groups which
have bombed public buildings, caus-
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